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Please help me choose a motherboard:

B

brucetogo

Junior Member
I am about to build my first computer and I am debating between the following two motherboards. I expect I?ll buy an E8400 (if it ever becomes available) or a Q9300 (if it ever gets released).

I never game. I mostly use my computer for internet, MS Office applications, Photoshop, music, and videos. I might try my first attempt at overclocking though not to any extreme. I need a parallel port for my 15 year-old-still-works-perfectly HP 4P but I could easily buy a cable or parallel port card for about $15.

1) ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 and

Positives: the Abit looks cooler (which is very important especially since I will never see it in my computer case); seems sturdier; better cooled; more users and information available.

Negatives: bios is 5 months old; not sure if it will work as well with Q9300 or even E8400; no parallel port

2) ASRock 4Core1600P35-WiFi+ LGA 775 Intel P35

Positives: brand new; new bios; should work out of the box with all new CPU?s; has lots of the bells and whistles; has parallel port; less expensive; wifi (not sure if I?ll ever use this).

Negatives: not many review

Can anyone help advise me please?
 
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3R (http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Pro....aspx?ProductID=2743); although this newer version doesn't have the parallel port in the back I/O section, I'm pretty sure it still has the parallel port header (and serial port header, too) on the MB over on the edge next to the last PCI slot. All you would have to do is buy a standard parallel port header -> DB-25 connector cable (maybe $10?).
Definitely more solid and better quality than either the Abit or (especially) the ASRock.
 
Get the one that matches your favorite pair of shoes so you accesorize well. If that isnt important than pick the one that has the feature set that best fits how you use your pc. Raid options, Max FSB, etc. Man I havent seen a HP4P in ages..

Personally the IP35pro is hard to beat. If I didnt get my ip35-E for peanuts I would have gotten one of those.
 
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