Which Motherboard????

[PV5150]

If you're on a budget, both the Biostar TPower 145 or the Gigabyte EP45-DS3R are definitely worthy of a look

 

[-VK-]

Although going for either of those boards you miss out on a lot of features...

P5Q boards are proven strong overclockers....if you want to stick to a lower budget go for a P5K Pro...pretty basic but very stable and is nice to watercool (Has seperate VRM / NB Heatsinks).

P5Q = Win.

 

[Luigi]

Biostar TPower I45! £95 and a beastly overclocker, cheap as chips too... kinda

I can back that up, awesome board!

 

[TonyG]

Where can you buy this MB?

 

[alexspen1]

Asus Maximus Formula

The deal is done and I impatiently await delivery :yumyum:

Thank you all for your advice I , I went for this board in the end due to the following;

a) Looks awesome! (Not massively important but it helps)

b) Up to 1600Mhz FSB (Full support for 45nm CPU's)

c) Up to 1200Mhz DDR2

d) Crossfire (both cards running at x16)

On the basis that the motherboard is arguably the most important component in a PC I felt that the extra pennies warranted being spent (That's my excuse anyway.....

Thanks

Alex

 

[wigseryc]

Congrats dude.

We expect pictures and a mini review and OC results please.

 

[alexspen1]

No probs......

Will try to get some pics sorted soon.

Alex

 

[PV5150]

Good to see you finally made a decision mate. That motherboard will provide you with plenty of enjoyment, although I would have taken the P45 based P5Q over the X38 Maximus personally, but hey. Enjoy

 

[Luigi]

the maximus formula doesnt take 1600mhz chips, only the extreme

 

[alexspen1]

1600 fsb

Says it can support it on the website????

 

[Luigi]

Maybe it can now, I know it didnt use to, and my one with current bios wont.

 

[alexspen1]

Do you rate the board?

???

 

[Luigi]

take 1600fsb.. I have a maximus..

 

[Zoot]

Maybe it can now, I know it didnt use to, and my one with current bios wont.

P45s, X38s and X48s to my knowledge (not sure about the P35) can all use a CPU with a 1600MHz FSB, the only one atm being the QX9770.

 

[Luigi]

x38 and P35 cant natively, its through a bios hack the manu's run

 

[Zoot]

x38 and P35 cant natively, its through a bios hack the manu's run

So you're saying 1600MHz FSB support is achieved from appropriate BIOS flashes with X38 and P35 based boards?

 

[Luigi]

Yes

 

[james4t]

The deal is done and I impatiently await delivery :yumyum:

Thank you all for your advice I , I went for this board in the end due to the following;

a) Looks awesome! (Not massively important but it helps)

b) Up to 1600Mhz FSB (Full support for 45nm CPU's)

c) Up to 1200Mhz DDR2

d) Crossfire (both cards running at x16)

On the basis that the motherboard is arguably the most important component in a PC I felt that the extra pennies warranted being spent (That's my excuse anyway.....

Thanks

Alex

I've been doing some research as to the best board with mid-range specs and the Maximus II Formula looks a pretty good buy. Let me know how you find it.