Intel chipsets number many

[WildW]

Hi folks - I'm a bit confused on Intel chipsets for skt775 (i.e. there are loads of them). Could any of you reccommend me a chipset/motherboard for my needs please?

I have a spare case that I'm looking to make into an occasional LAN-gaming box on the cheap (rather than move my 10 ton main rig). When I use it I'll be borrowing my main PC's ram (DDR2 800) and graphics card (Radeon 4670), as they aren't too much hassle to swap over, but I've decided motherboard and CPU is too much effort to swap between cases.

For the moment I'll be reusing an old Pentium-D 3.4GHz CPU, so I'd like a board that will let me squeeze the best performance out out that for now, with the option to drop in a Core2Duo later when I feel a bit richer.

Bonus points for a board that's micro-ATX (at the moment the case I have is full ATX, but ideally I'll eventually get a smaller one), has 4 memory sockets, and reasonable overclocking potential. (I don't expect to get much more out of the Pentium D, but useful for when I change CPU)

Oh, and it has to be cheapish Don't really want to spend more than £50 to £60 (buying in the UK). Would like to avoid cheapy VIA type chipsets and get something semi-reasonable, so Intel preferred. Don't need anything fancy like RAID/Crossfire/etc.

 

[Gillbot]

The x38 and x48 are not really "cheap" so that rules them out, any thing else is rather old. Go P35 or P45, opt for P45 if you can't find a P35 for CHEAP.

 

[WildW]

The Pentium D support limits me to P35 or older. I read a few reviews this morning and looked on the web a bit. Found a P31 Express from Gigabyte with good reviews and picked one up.

Clearly I have no patience

 

[EvilBob]

Originally posted by: WildW
Bonus points for a board that's micro-ATX (at the moment the case I have is full ATX, but ideally I'll eventually get a smaller one), has 4 memory sockets, and reasonable overclocking potential. (I don't expect to get much more out of the Pentium D, but useful for when I change CPU)

Originally posted by: WildW
The Pentium D support limits me to P35 or older.

actually, there are P45/G45 boards out there that support your P4D just fine.

for example, two uATX boards that do are:

the asus p5q-em has a good reputation as an oc-able uATX board that would support both your current CPU, and a C2D or C2Q down the road. it's a G45 board - you'd just disable the onboard gpu and use your 4670.

there is also the DFI LP JR P45-T2RS - that's a P45 uATX board, so no duplication of GPUs.

Now, both of those boards fail your pricing requirement - just converting the USD price, they're around £100. Sorry, no bonus points for me!