What motherboard should i choose???

[Rumple]

OK i have my Q6600 G0 and my Crucial Ballistix DDR2 800 (2 1 gig sticks). Now i just need a motherboard and id like to order it on Wednesday so that i can build this weekend. I just dont know which one to get. I REALLY need to stay at right around $100.

I had decided on the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L since its pretty much the same as the DS3R that i want just without the extra SATA and RAID. I really only need 4 SATA ports. I dont need firewire or RAID. I dont care about DDR3 support. I dont care about SLI or Crossfire.

Basically i want a rock solid motherboard that supports DDR2 800 with 4 SATA ports and 1 PCI-E slot. I want the P35 chipset also. I do want the option to overclock later on when i can afford a good heatsink and fan for my CPU. I spent a little over my budget when i just HAD TO HAVE the Q6600 lol.

Basically i have these to choose from i just dont know which one:

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128059

MSI P35 Neo-F
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813130095

Asus P5K SE
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813131189

Abit IP35-E
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813127031

I REALLY like the looks of the Abit. But the fact that people say it wont boot with certain ram and the double boot issues are kind of scaring me off. I have NO access to any other ram so if my Crucial wont boot it up im screwed. The Asus board looks good too. I really like that some of these new boards are getting rid of all the worthless ports like the com and serial ports. If anyone can gurantee me that my crucial wont have a problem booting up for the first time with the Abit i think i may go that route.

Thanks for any help guys I really appreciate it!

 

[Blain]

You're blasting away with a Quad core yet trying to cheap out on a MB? :roll:
Forget your arbitrary $100 limit and get the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R. It's only a little more.

I can only imagine the "IT WILL GET ME BY" PS you're planning on using. :laugh:

 

[tcsenter]

There is no difference in performance between $80.00 and $150 P35 boards. P35 is P35. The only differences are features and overclocking potential.

Not interested in overclocking...or only interested in moderate overclocking as opposed to comparing the size of your e-penis?

That eliminates the biggest justification for paying more rather than less, leaving features as the only other deciding factor, since even the cheap boards are getting moderate overclocks very reliably.

 

[Rumple]

Originally posted by: Blain
You're blasting away with a Quad core yet trying to cheap out on a MB? :roll:
Forget your arbitrary $100 limit and get the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R. It's only a little more.

I can only imagine the "IT WILL GET ME BY" PS you're planning on using. :laugh:

Im actually using a GOOD PSU the Enermax Liberty 500watt. The only difference between the budget P35 boards and the "good" P35 boards is Raid/more SATA/Firewire. I need NONE of those things for what i do. Therefore it would be stupid of me to pay the premium price for features i WILL NOT USE. I know the NEED for a good quality PSU im not stupid. This is my first time building an Intel system and i havent built a PC in over a year and a half so im kind of out of the loop as far as the good budget boards go. Budget meaning good price for features that i WILL use.