Opty 165, mobo recommendations

[Cellwind929]

Hey, I have just decided to purchase an opteron 165 dual core and I am wondering which motherboard I should purchase. I would like to stay with agp 8x for my graphics card, but I would also like some mid-range pci-e board recommendations also. I will be overclocking this beast if that is important.

I am also wondering if my existing ram will hold me back or if i need new ram.
Ram specs:
DDR-SDRAM
2x 512 sticks
max bandwidth PC2700 (166 MHz)
Kingston (part # K)

Thanks for the help

 

[RichUK]

what sort of overclocks are you looking at ?? maxing it out?

My MSI did a good job for me, good BIOS support, plus good overclocking, especially with regards to high HTT, also with the obvious AGP support on the NF3.

You'll need to make the decision whether you want to stay with AGP or go with PCI-e though (and i wouldn't want to get an Asrock becuase they have poor voltage support), if going PCI-e, then go with the DFI ultra-D, if you do, try and get an AD0 rev board.

EDIT: your RAM will be fine also, thats what dividers are for

 

[Cellwind929]

I was thinking 2.4 or 2.5 would be a good goal with the stock HSF. I am trying to compare agp and pci-e prices, I'm leaning towards pci-e and getting a new video card also.

 

[The Sauce]

I tried with 2 mobos - DFI NF4 Ultra-D and the Epox 9npa+. I got about an extra 200-300 MHZ o/c with the DFI board.

 

[dirtbikejunkie]

I am also considering the opty 165 and trying to decide on a mobo

I might do some moderate OC'ing. However, mostly looking for a good combination for multi-tasking, photoshop, mild video editing, software development, and possibly hosting small web site. With a budget of about $1000-1500 for the build from scratch, I think the opty 165 is my best option but will take suggestions if you got them.

anyway, I've been considering the abit AN8 Ultra, but haven't heard anyone using the 165 with it. I am assuming it will work no problem and be good for my needs. Are there better options? I am more interesed in handy features and stability than OC ability. The price for the ultra seems about right at around $120-130, I like the passive cooling (going for a quiet machine), I'd be willing to pay a little more for a mobo thats worth it.

any suggestion on a PCIe vid card with passive cooling? no gaming, just something that has crisp imagery, good for DVD playing etc.

 

[Elvis2]

anyone having any luck o/c'g evga's n41 board?