Motherboard Help

[vikingblade]

I would greatly appreciate your opinions...

Im looking to build a new gaming rig. Athlon 64, socket 939, Nforce4. Video card will be either an Evga 7800 GTX KO, ATI X1800 XT, or SLI 7800 GT's.

Im looking for a Motherboard with an easy installation and setup. Stable and reliable.
I dont plan on extreme overclocking etc.. First time builder here.

Which Motherboard's would be my best choice for a single GPU rig and/or an SLI Rig?

I would like to keep the price to $120 or under if possible.

I was originally settled on the EPOX 9NPA+Ultra as my single gpu board, however, i read that it had trouble fitting an Evga KO. Also, really didnt know which SLI board is the easiest to work with.

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Also...stupid question but... I can use an SLI Motherboard with a single video card correct?? Without any special configuration required?

 

[morrisbj]

I'll answer the one part I know for sure. Yes you can use a single card on an SLI board without any special configuration.

I did a quick search on newegg for motherboards in your pricerange.

Single
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130484

I don't like MSI much out of experience, but my last board from MSI is over 3 years old now. Aside from that, this board is right up there at the top in the single GPU arena and the layout of the board is much nicer than many other boards in it's class.

SLI
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131524
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127225
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136164

On these, the only one I might shy away from on ease of setup (and this is just from what I've picked up reading comments) is the DFI. I've heard they require a little more jumper configuration than some other boards that may be easier for a first time build. For layout, probably the ABIT is best here, unless you still use a floppy drive, in which case the location of the floppy connector sucks. Personally for an SLI board, I think you might consider a bigger budget for something more like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136157

It may be tougher to work with (don't know), but if you are the kind of person who really wants SLI, you are also the kind of person who is going to end up wanting to overclock. DFI just has a great reputation for that niche.

I could be way off on this, but that's where I'd look personally.

 

[Fern]

Did you check this STICKY yet?

 

[vikingblade]

THANKS...morrisbj

I did read through the motherboard sticky. alot to go through...hehe.

 

[morrisbj]

Originally posted by: vikingblade
THANKS...morrisbj

I did read through the motherboard sticky. alot to go through...hehe.

Be glad that is just for 939s and primarily NF4 chipsets. I can only imagine how long that would take to read (let alone write) if it were all motherboards, all sockets, etc.

 

[vikingblade]

every motherboard i look at, really seems to have problems in one way or another.

being a new computer builder, isnt there just one or two boards that offer a simple setup with stable performance. lets say a single video card board. anything really stand out at a decent price.

 

[morrisbj]

Originally posted by: vikingblade
every motherboard i look at, really seems to have problems in one way or another.

being a new computer builder, isnt there just one or two boards that offer a simple setup with stable performance. lets say a single video card board. anything really stand out at a decent price.

I assume from the comment about having problems you mean you've read the user reviews on retail sites like newegg... don't believe everything that you see.

As I said, I'm not a huge fan of my MSI board, but it is a 3 year old board with a crappy chipset to begin with. If you aren't interested in OCing, then the board I pointed out before will probably do you just fine with little hassle. My suggestion of that board over the others in the same category is based on the layout of the plugs on the board. Looking at it, it simply beats all the others in the category you are looking at.

For the most part, if you don't buy a top of the line enthusiast board, but rather a really nice middle of the road type board, you'll get good stability and easy setup, especially if you stick with the major board brands.

 

[morrisbj]

Originally posted by: vikingblade
every motherboard i look at, really seems to have problems in one way or another.

Oh, and much as we'd like it to be, no piece of hardware is completely perfect. Just thought I should add that.

 

[vikingblade]

THANKS AGAIN. Yeah, I do understand nothing is perfect. I am just trying to avoid problems that can be avoided...

Unfortunately, I am basing alot of my purchasing decisions on newegg reviews. Not alot of choices unless I ask about every single componant here. I read all the reviews I can, but those are editorial reviews and dont really tell the whole story either.

By the way, any known compatibility issues with the MSI Board you listed...Video Cards, RAM...Corsair Value

Thanks again for your help.

 

[morrisbj]

I don't really have a lot of time to look into any known compatibility issues, but you may want to check this link out.

AnandTech - Official MSI Neo4 Platinum Thread

If anyone here has run into a compatibility issue, or knows of one, they will have put it here.