Noob Post #2

[imported_Scratch]

After much deliberation, I've decided on a P-35 board. Not earthshaking info, I know, especially for you experts, but a real move forward for me. This will most likely be married to an E8500.
Anyway my first (old) build was with an Asus P4-Te. I did find the build easy and had no problems for several years. Unfortunately Asus now seems to be having some qc problems (from what I've read) so I've been looking at other boards.
Many seem to like the quality of the DFI boards. Unfortunately after reading some reviews, I feel a bit intimidated by the complex bios. (still looking at the Lanparty PT-35 T2rs)
Also looking at the Abit P-35 Pro.
Hope someone can point me to a board and bios that I can live with.
Many thanks.
Scratch-

 

[akhilles]

Nonsense. Any brand can and will make duds. If you mean the GB VS ASUS thing, well, GB lied about the quality of ASUS board. They're gonna issue an apology on the front page of a newspaper in Taiwan.

You keep saying what you don't want. What about what you want in a mobo? Overclockablity? Noob-friendly?

 

[imported_Scratch]

"What do you want in a motherboard"
1. Rock solid stability
2. A bios that I can find my way around in. oc options are ok, but I'd like it to boot to
stable default values.
3. Designed so that vid card isn't covering the sata ports
4. At least six (eight is better) usb ports
5. Good cooling for the nb.
I didn't include a budget because I figure I'll have to spend a bit more for a good board.
Hope I'm not asking too much,lol.
I've got one build under my belt, which means I have to do a lot of reading and research.
Havn't paid a lot of attention to the Gig/Asus dispute. I figure they both have an ax to grind.
That said, reviewers at NewEgg don't give the Asus much respect anymore. I take that with the usual grain, but I do look at the percentages.
Thanks for checking in akhilles. Appreciate any help I can get.
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[NoStateofMind]

I'm honestly not trying to be a smart ass OP. But I would start with the Power Search feature on newegg to help narrow down your choices.

 

[imported_Scratch]

Greetings PC Surgeon:
No reason to think your a smart ass.
Interestingly (or not) as long as I've been shopping at the Egg, I've never used the power search. Seems to be a useful item.
My first foray produced 14 boards:
8 Asus, 4 DFI, 1 Gigabyte, and 1 MSI.
I'll sort through them and try to narrow down my pics a bit more. Tommorow.
And report back.
Appreciate the advice.
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[imported_Scratch]

OK-
I've narrowed my choices to two DFI boards:
LP UT P35 T2R
LP LT P35 T2R
Seems like the major dif in the boards is that the UT supports Hyperthreading, and the cooling is upgraded, most likely to facilitate oc'ing. Not sure if there is anything that I'm missing. Not convinced that the additional perks are worth the additional $70. premium.
If anyone wants to add anything, please feel free.
Cheers!
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