What is a great feature-filled OC'ing MB?

[Serradifalco]

I am upgrading my current system. I have a great foundation... case, power supply, optical drives, hard drives, Windows XP Pro, Dell LCD monitor, etc. The parts I will be upgrading are the MB, cpu, ram, and GPU.

My current selections are DS3 rev 3.3, e4300, 2GB Crucial Ballistix PC-6400 C4, and EVGA 8800 GTS 640mb. This will be an inexpensive but high quality upgrade.

I already took advantage of the extremely hot Buy.com deal on the Crucial ram... $72 shipped! The e4300 will cost me $113 shipped. The video card would run around $300.00. I missed out on the Buy.com $295 deal. The DS3 would cost me $122 shipped from Clubit.com. The total cost of the upgrade would be $607 - $150.00 (from sale of replaced parts) = $457!

I plan on overclocking like a bandit! The video card upgrade is more for my son, as we always have to worry whether or not our current one will effectively play some of the newer games he wants to buy.

My only reservation is the DS3. Is there currently a great OC'ing MB like the DS3 but with more features? Firewire, more USB ports, IDE support, SATA, etc. I would be willing to spend $30-$40 more.

 

[Heidfirst]

abit AB9 QuadGT.
Last time that I looked newegg were doing it for $130 after MIR.

 

[Fallengod]

Originally posted by: Heidfirst
abit AB9 QuadGT.
Last time that I looked newegg were doing it for $130 after MIR.

:thumbsup: Quadgt is a much better buy. Spend the extra $15, its worth it.

 

[renethx]

ASUS P5B-Plus, $135. The latest member of the P5B family, has great features.

A possible drawback of AB9 QuadGT is that the LAN controller RTL8110SC is on the PCI bus that is 20-30% slower than a PCI Express LAN controller (if it's a drawback depends on the user, needless to say).

 

[lopri]

If you want a native IDE support, there are really only two choices: 975X and 680i (well actually you can count various 6x0i in, I guess) Especially if you want a hassle-free RAID.

 

[Serradifalco]

Originally posted by: lopri
If you want a native IDE support, there are really only two choices: 975X and 680i (well actually you can count various 6x0i in, I guess) Especially if you want a hassle-free RAID.

I will not be using RAID. The ABIT AB9 QuadGT looks like a really nice board. It has good reviews and has many great features including eSATA! Right now I can pick it up for $139.99 AR + $6.41 shipping at the EGG.

My current Asus board is full of features and I didn't feel like taking a step back with the DS3. The QuadGT definitely looks like the next hot P965 board!