Quick MOBO question...

[myowngod]

There are so many motherboards... diff brands... diff prices... but all seem to have the same specs... can some one please tell me what the difference is?

I was wanting to go ahead and drop like 225 for a good X48 ddr2 board.. and I found this:
ASRock X48TurboTwins-WiFi LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Which supports both ddr2 and 3... which I figure could improve long term upgradability? right?

I also found:

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-X48-DS4 LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
Newegg.com - DFI LANPARTY DK X48-T2RS LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

The others seem to have the same specs? is there a better and a worse here? Thanks....

 

[DawnOfDoom]

Yes the DDR2 / DDR3 board will give you better future upgradability.

also you gota watch what ram you put in the DDR2/DDR3 board because it only supports 2 speeds 1066 or 1600. Now this board will probably OC better because you can put faster ram in there but thats not always the case.


The difference between the Gigabyte and DFI is that DFI supports DDR800 and Gigabyte has the DDR1200 support. Now if your an extremist go with the Gigabyte but if your gona be doing some mild OCing then you can go with the DFI.

 

[thirdshiftdj]

Look at the layout of that ASrock board. Its disgusting. You got sata ports near mosfets and the atx power next to the NB. Pci-e ports right next to eachother.

edit: the ddr1200 is just an OC speed.

 

[myowngod]

I thought it looked a little cramped - but for both ddr2 and 3 support for only 220.. i mean... I was looking for something that can decently keep up with the times (as much as you can in the computer world) - and i thought that the ddr2 1066 support still could backwards support 800? I was aiming to OC to 3.0 or maybe 3.2 if possible on a q6600... running a single 4870 and eventually Crossfiring with an X2 when released...

 

[veedubfreak]

If you only plan on going single card 4870 or x2 look into the p45 boards. The only reason to go x48 is if you are planning on crossfirex which is 2 or more cards. Personally after having bricked 2 DFI boards, i would tend to shy away from them. I recently picked up this board Newegg.com - ASUS RAMPAGE FORMULA LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards and so far its been great.

Also as far as "future proofing", you'll have to buy a new board in the next 6-10 months anyway if you plan to get the newest intel chip. Right now there is no reason to go ddr3 with core2 chips.

 

[veg1992]

DDR2/DDR3 supporting Chipsets are known to be extremely buggy!

Plus you'll be upgrading the board soon anyways..

 

[myowngod]

So i'll need to get a new board when the new chips are out anyways? - hmm... Well i was looking to crossfire... thats why i was going for the x48 over the p45... since i was running a single 4870 and adding in an X2 when they come out...

But if ill need a new board for the new chips (i thought an older board with 45nm support would work?) then i will just go with a DDR2 board.. and when the time comes - get a dedicated new board for new chips and ddr3...

Anybody have a nice 220 ish x48 board recommendation? the rampage is a lil more than i wanted to spend...

 

[veedubfreak]

Go with the gigabyte ds4.

And yes, the upcoming x58 boards will be ddr3 only when the nehalem chips come out.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

An older board with 45nm support will work for the Penryn processors, which are already available. The new Nehalem cpu's will be out at the end of the year and use a new socket (lga1366) so no current motherboard will work for them.

A good x48 is the Asus P5E Deluxe.

Newegg.com - ASUS P5E Deluxe LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

 

[myowngod]

appreciate the info guys - cleared alot up for me - I didnt realize they were using a new socket... Gonna go with the DS4 probably - the p5e seems to have some bad reviews?... while every one is good on the ds4...