Okay, here's the story deal. Right now I have the following:
Sempron 64 2800+ w/retail fan (running @ 2.32 GHz, HT-870)
1GB (2x512MB) Kingston DDR-400 (@ 386)
64MB AGP GeForce MX 420 w/composite out
Epox EP-8KDA3J (w/ latest bios)
80GB Western Digital Caviar WD800BB PATA/100
So here's what I was thinking of getting (all from Newegg except where noted):
Pentium D 805 retail
LGA775 motherboard retail
512MB Corsair ValueSelect DDR2-667 (from ZZF) retail
Biostar V6202EL63 GeForce 6200 LE 256MB turbocache (64MB onboard) retail
80GB Western Digital WD800JD SATA/300 OEM
I'd then use the discarded hardware to build a second PC (I have enough spare parts already to do so).
But....what motherboard should I get?
What I need:
1) High overclocking potential for the 805. I want to be able to push it to 4GHz from 2.66 stock. That means vcore headroom, FSB in 1-MHz increments, a PCI/SATA/IDE lock, memory ratios down to DDR2-400 and up to DDR2-667, etc. If the CPU or cooler can't handle that, I'll accept it, but I want my motherboard to be able to do it.
2) It needs to be stable and long-lasting. I can't afford to have the thing die on me in a few months, nor do I need a headache every time I add some new hardware or install a new driver.
3) It needs to be as cheap as possible. $100 is the max I'd like to spend; $120 is probably the max I *can* spend.
4) Three or more PCI slots.
So, I was thinking maybe the Biostar 945P-A7A (8.0) would work well. But I'm concerned because Biostar makes some lousy products, and as noted above I don't want the thing to die on me, ever. I was also considering the <a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813131048">Asus P5LD2 R2.0
</a>. Asus is supposedly one of the most reliable motherboard manufacturers, right? But I'm concerned that it's more expensive than it's worth. Also, the NewEgg reviews aren't very promising about reliability or overclocking potential.
So, what do y'all think?
Sempron 64 2800+ w/retail fan (running @ 2.32 GHz, HT-870)
1GB (2x512MB) Kingston DDR-400 (@ 386)
64MB AGP GeForce MX 420 w/composite out
Epox EP-8KDA3J (w/ latest bios)
80GB Western Digital Caviar WD800BB PATA/100
So here's what I was thinking of getting (all from Newegg except where noted):
Pentium D 805 retail
LGA775 motherboard retail
512MB Corsair ValueSelect DDR2-667 (from ZZF) retail
Biostar V6202EL63 GeForce 6200 LE 256MB turbocache (64MB onboard) retail
80GB Western Digital WD800JD SATA/300 OEM
I'd then use the discarded hardware to build a second PC (I have enough spare parts already to do so).
But....what motherboard should I get?
What I need:
1) High overclocking potential for the 805. I want to be able to push it to 4GHz from 2.66 stock. That means vcore headroom, FSB in 1-MHz increments, a PCI/SATA/IDE lock, memory ratios down to DDR2-400 and up to DDR2-667, etc. If the CPU or cooler can't handle that, I'll accept it, but I want my motherboard to be able to do it.
2) It needs to be stable and long-lasting. I can't afford to have the thing die on me in a few months, nor do I need a headache every time I add some new hardware or install a new driver.
3) It needs to be as cheap as possible. $100 is the max I'd like to spend; $120 is probably the max I *can* spend.
4) Three or more PCI slots.
So, I was thinking maybe the Biostar 945P-A7A (8.0) would work well. But I'm concerned because Biostar makes some lousy products, and as noted above I don't want the thing to die on me, ever. I was also considering the <a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813131048">Asus P5LD2 R2.0
</a>. Asus is supposedly one of the most reliable motherboard manufacturers, right? But I'm concerned that it's more expensive than it's worth. Also, the NewEgg reviews aren't very promising about reliability or overclocking potential.
So, what do y'all think?
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