Which MB for my first gaming build?

[meatnub]

Looking to build a decent system to play the latest games for the next couple/few years at close to max settings as possible on my 1440x900 19" monitor. My current 6+ year old AMD Athlon XP 2800+ 1 gig ram geforce 6600 has got ta go!

Note: I won't be running SLI, I don't need Wifi, firewire or Raid.

- E6420 (OC to 3/3.2ghz)
- G.skill DDR2 800 (so I can OC at 1:1 by just increasing CPU FSB - and this RAM instead of Crucial Ballistix DDR2 800 because I hear G.skill better OC'er)
- 8800 GTS 640
- Corsair 520HX
- Thermalright 120 extreme
- WD Raptor 75gig
- P180b (same as 182 except case appearance)

But which MB? I hear the DS3 nb and sb run really hot when OC'd, does the ASUS do this?

I'm not concerned with future proofing, so I don't need the P35 unless it OC's better and has better memory performance.

Appreciate any help this is the hardest decision yet!

 

[brencat]

P35s don't necessarily OC substantially better than the top P965s. What they do provide however, is an upgrade path SHOULD you want to drop a Penryn in there at some point in the future. Personally, having the upgrade path is worth an extra $40 to me...but you'll have to decide for yourself.

My picks for a P965 would be DFI P965-S Dark (if you're not a novice), or Gigabyte DS3 Rev 3.3. My picks based on what I've seen so far for P35 would be Abit IP35 Pro or Asus P5K (-E or Deluxe)

And btw, the GSkill 2GBHZ is great memory...but they are NOT better OCers than the Crucial Ballistix.

Check this out...$109 for the GBHZ, or $70 after MIR for the Ballistix. A fricken no brainer:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820146565

 

[Heidfirst]

abit AB9 QuadGT ($130 at newegg) is also 1 of the top 965 picks.
P35 does oc a little better, run cooler & has better memory performance but in real world app performance you are only talking a couple of % overall.

 

[newschool]

The best DDR2 memory for o/c is micron d9s chips. And some Gskill have it (the HZ). But it is the exact same memory chip as in the Ballistix. You should go for ballistix, since they are sold by micron itself...

And like it have been said, there is not a big difference between P965 and P35. I am myself buying a cheap P965 and waiting for X38. I think the DS3 was rated no2 just below the P5B-Deluxe by at anandtech.

 

[newschool]

oh and you should get the P182 since you can manage all the cables -behind- the motherboard. It is likely the same price as P180.