Picking out a mother board?

[eggcream]

Just kind of wondering what you need to look at when buying a new Mobo. I know the simple things like what processor and ram types they support but aside from that I'm clueless there must be more to it then just those things. What sets one Mobo apart from another?

 

[b1gapl]

When looking for a motherboard, look for the features that it has, that will suit your needs. Like, does it have enough SATA or USB ports? Does it have more than one PCIe x16 slot, so I can Crossfire or SLI video cards? Stuff like that.

And also the chipset of the motherboard. If you're going Intel, P35, X38, or 790i. As they're the latest, and best right now. If you're going for AMD, look for 590 SLI or 790FX.

What sets one motherboard from another, is it's features. Top motherboards brands are, Gigabyte, ASUS, DFI, Abit, and MSI.

 

[eggcream]

Ok thats pretty helpful b1, but how is a different mother board going to effect speeds and what not. Lets say i've found two mother boards that have all the ports ect. i'm looking for how can i tell them apart speed and perofermance wise.

 

[veg1992]

Performance from a board won't be able to be told apart (except in Benchmarks), usually the way to tell those boards apart is the chipset they use and their OC'ing ability

 

[NightSurge]

Check the Front Side Bus (FSB). The faster speed (potentially) motherboard will have speeds of 1600/1333 or 1333/1066MHz support. Also, the memory standard is a good way to see what performance RAM is supported. Good RAM standards are 1200, 1066, or 800 DDR2.

 

[b1gapl]

Ok thats pretty helpful b1, but how is a different mother board going to effect speeds and what not. Lets say i've found two mother boards that have all the ports ect. i'm looking for how can i tell them apart speed and perofermance wise.

Most motherboards of the same chipset, perform within close range of each other. So say you find two X38 motherboards that you like, or two P35s. Neither isn't going to be significantly better than the other, in terms of performance or overclocking.

 

[Iron Feet]

Just kind of wondering what you need to look at when buying a new Mobo. I know the simple things like what processor and ram types they support but aside from that I'm clueless there must be more to it then just those things. What sets one Mobo apart from another?

I've been pulling my hair out for the last month trying to decide what mobo to buy. I decided I didn't want or need to go SLI or crossfire

This is the one I finally ordered Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard - Retail
Even though cost wasn't a huge factor on my decision, its a pretty good deal and an affordable mobo.

I'm going to run a Q6600 with it and one 8800GTS G92 powered by a Corsair 520HX stuffed into a Coolermaster 690. I still need to buy a heatsink, optical drive and some RAM, then I can start assembling stuff.

 

[almightyobo]

I've been pulling my hair out for the last month trying to decide what mobo to buy. I decided I didn't want or need to go SLI or crossfire

This is the one I finally ordered Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard - Retail
Even though cost wasn't a huge factor on my decision, its a pretty good deal and an affordable mobo.

I'm going to run a Q6600 with it and one 8800GTS G92 powered by a Corsair 520HX stuffed into a Coolermaster 690. I still need to buy a heatsink, optical drive and some RAM, then I can start assembling stuff.

thats a solid build and a solid plan