What makes a motherboard great?

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jarekb84

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I'll be building a new pc after the nVidia GTX 280 comes out, and I've researched and debated about all the parts to get for this new build. I'm pretty set on the cpu, hd, memory, case, and of course graphics card ( GTX280 unless it gets mediocre reviews), but as far as the motherboard I'm not sure what to get. For the other components, I know what to look for to gauge if it is a good buy (speed, size, price/performance ratio, etc..), but with motherboards I don't know what sets a $50 mobo apart from a $250 model. The only things I can see are more SATA ports, support for different CPU slots, support for faster memory, built in wifi, and maybe a handful of other features. I've often heard of some motherboards being better overclockers then others, but how?

Below is the likely setup of my forthcoming build.

CPU - most likely e8400
HD1 -VR 300 ( or 2x VR150 in RAID 0 if they come out by the time I'm buying parts)
HD2 - WD6400AAKS 640GB
Mem - G.SKILL (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000)
Graphics - GTX280
Case - Antec Nine Hundred or COOLER MASTER RC-690
Burner - SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R SATA

And for the motherboard GIGABYTE GA-EP35 or GA-P35-DS3L mainly because they've both got enough SATA ports for the parts I'll get, support my CPU, and support the memory. I may be doing some over clocking to the CPU, but I'm a complete novice in that respect, so it won't be much.

So I guess my main questions are what makes a great motherboard and are the one's I'm considering the right choice for this setup?
 
Don't underestimate the value of good NB/SB coolers. The L has a much smaller one, so if you overclock heat becomes a problem after a certain level. Go for the EP35. It's worth the extra money. I believe that model has Raid support in case you'd ever use it. Sounds like you are planning to have that.
 
You win "best question of the year" !!!

This reply is not just for you so excuse me if you have experience building machines I wrote the reply for people that might not have.

IMO (and thats all it is).

In order of importance (to me).

1) All necessary and needed Bios settings are there and work. (Basically a full complement of frequency, voltage and memory settings. )

2) If OCing and maybe if not, the CPU power mosfets and other components of the cpu voltage regulation circuitry are overbuilt and easy to cool.

3) The board has or can be modified to do proper cooling of the cpu and MCH/northbridge.

4) Solid caps (I keep boards a long time 3+ years and there is no doubt solid caps offer a chance of better lifetime, however like everything else in the world, there are cheap solid caps and good solid caps and we can seldom know unless you do a LOT of digging )

5) Warranty and tech support. Does the Manuf have their own forum. What is the RMA procedure (God forbid).

6) Download and read the Manual BEFORE buying, it does not have the marketing BS and a very careful read will tell you exactly what the board can and cannot do.

7) Within reason you get what you pay for. Better quality parts and better circuit design. Unless you know exactly what you are doing stick with the tier 1 manuf (abit asus gigabyte Intel etc.) upper midrange products typically are the best buys. I love the "striped down" versions of the top of the line boards. You get the better circuit design without all the un-needed crap. If you OC get a board designed to OC. For example; Yes a $90 DS3L can be made to do amazing things but it is a budget board and if you are really going to push it, a poor choice for long term high OCing. But if on a budget and not going to the edge, worthy of consideration.

8) Was the board build to support the cpu you are getting or is it an older design updated to support the cpu. Avoid the updated boards unless you know. The key is the design of the cpu voltage regulation circuity and for what series of cpus it was intended. This gets technical and manuf hate/dont tell us this info. This item and #9 will eliminate a lot of boards. You are looking for a fairly new board but not too old and not too new LOL.

9) Avoid ver 1.0 boards or ones that were just released last week. Let someone with more money and time do the "bleeding". A mature and stable bios on a product that has been out for several months is much nicer to work with unless you enjoy that kind of thing.

10) I could go on that thats my big item list. Good luck.

Oh, a dirty little secret:

Other than a few features and support for specific cpus the performance of a good quality Intel chipset board has not improved much since the P965 chipset. DDR3 is a big improvement but the cost is high, getting better, but still too high - IMO. Intel has basically just "tweaked" the 965 chipset to give us the P35 -> X38 -> X48 providing little in the way of raw performance increases. Yes the newer ones are a bit faster and better and support the newest cpus but never underestimate the power of a Q6600 in a solid P965 chipset board for example. I would not buy a 965 now, but nothing at all wrong with a good P35 board. Remember, it will not be long before Nehalem obsoletes everything we have today. It will be a while before Nehalem costs come down and are widely available so I do not recommend waiting, just trying to say I dont see sinking $400 into the tippy top of the line gee wizzz bang motherboard unless you have money to burn.

Second point.
Despite the "time" listed with my online name, I have been here since this board started and over that time I have learned a couple of things from here and my own personal experience. The time and care and board prep BEFORE installing the board in the case makes the most difference. Slapping a system together and flipping on the power switch is the most certain way to be disappointed if looking for high performance. DO THE HOMEWORK and PREP THE BOARD - first. And I am not afraid to admit it, I am an EE with 25+ years messing with this stuff, but it I have not built one like it before, I READ THE MANUAL - Twice and if I find something in there I dont understand I go find out.

Best of luck and have fun.
 
chrispycrunch said:
Don't underestimate the value of good NB/SB coolers. The L has a much smaller one, so if you overclock heat becomes a problem after a certain level. Go for the EP35. It's worth the extra money. I believe that model has Raid support in case you'd ever use it. Sounds like you are planning to have that.
Click to expand...

Ding. Try the GA-EP35-DS3R. Bigger NB heatsink, more SATA ports, more USB ports, and overall a more comfortable board for only about 30 bucks more. It's worth it.
 
Aelfgeft said:
Ding. Try the GA-EP35-DS3R. Bigger NB heatsink, more SATA ports, more USB ports, and overall a more comfortable board for only about 30 bucks more. It's worth it.
Click to expand...

yep yep look at the better/beefer cpu voltage supply too.
 
I'll go along with BillParrish but add:
It has features that you need/does what you want it to do in a reliable, fuss free manner, with a good layout & for least $$. (yes, I do want a cherry on top :D)
Sometimes boards promise a lot but can be a pain to work with either due to layout or because they push the performance limits at the expense of stability or poor compatability with other components.
Oh & some way of easily replacing/repairing the BIOS if it becomes corrupted or you have a bad flash. I still favour a socketed removable BIOS chip but if soldered a 2nd BIOS on the mobo is acceptable.

PS. after rebate the abit IP35 Pro is currently ~$10 dearer than the EP35-DS3R @newegg & imo it's a noticeable step up.
 
Thanks Bill for that response. I'll have to try checking out the manual before I buy to get a better idea of layout and feature set. One question though, where would I find the revision number of the board I'm getting and how would I know or where would I check to see if that version is problem free?

Buff- Looked at the IP35 Pro and the same question came up, why is it better then the EP35-DS3R. I compared the features of both and the EP35 allows for faster memory (DDR2 1200 vs DDR2 800), has more SATA ports (8 vs 6), has more USB ports (8 vs 4), is smaller, and cheaper. I don't think the differences between the audio and lan chipsets would be a huge difference and I don't have anything that would need firewire. So why is the IP35 Pro more expensive and a better buy?
 
BillParrish said:
You win "best question of the year" !!!
Yes a $90 DS3L can be made to do amazing things but it is a budget board and if you are really going to push it, a poor choice for long term high OCing. But if on a budget and not going to the edge, worthy of consideration.
Click to expand...

+1 (see sig). this was my first build i did fully on my own. i'd been wanting to do one for years, but unfortunately my Dell died on me unexpectedly, and i had to build what i have now on a smaller budget than i'd have liked. the DS3L has been a nice 'learning' board for me, but would i buy it again? no. but that's 'cause i already have one :p i'll be swapping it out soon, and i'm leaning towards a DFI. i've read great things about their BIOS and overclockability. i may wait for the P45 chipset; then again, i may not (PCIe 2.0 is still overkill at this point, since even the highest-ed graphics cards barely exceed saturation of 8 PCIe 1.1 lanes).

my only thing to add is that boards tend to be laid out in slightly different ways. very poor layouts have connectors in the middle of the board. but even the more reputable manufacturers have slight differences that might work for some people while causing others headaches. for example, the Gigabyte SATA ports all tend to be oriented horizontally, making it easiest to route the SATA cables down towards the bottom of most cases. this is, however, less than ideal for my case, an Antec 900, because it puts the cables running closer to the PSU than i'd like.

so, another part of "doing your homework" i would suggest is a quick sketch-up of how your case and wiring will be laid out. if you happen to have a CAD program, that can work quite well, but a good old fashioned ruler, pencil and paper will work just as well. whether or not you want it to look pretty, it's always a good idea to keep your wiring organized and your airflow as unobstructed as possible.

cheers, and good luck!
 
Why not get one of the new p45 chipsets instead of the p35, they should be hitting stores soon. Well I hope cause I want one for my new build :).
 
jarekb84 said:
Buff- Looked at the IP35 Pro and the same question came up, why is it better then the EP35-DS3R. I compared the features of both and the EP35 allows for faster memory (DDR2 1200 vs DDR2 800), has more SATA ports (8 vs 6), has more USB ports (8 vs 4), is smaller, and cheaper. I don't think the differences between the audio and lan chipsets would be a huge difference and I don't have anything that would need firewire. So why is the IP35 Pro more expensive and a better buy?
Click to expand...



  • the DS3R supports DDR2 1200 in overclocked mode only - the IP35 will run DDR2 1200 when overclocked.
    This is a bit of a red herring as there is little real point in running DDR2 1200 unless your apps scale with bandwidth & are very bandwidth hungry
  • the abit actually has 8 SATA ports but 2 are configured as eSATA on the rear IO plane

  • both support 12 USB ports
  • smaller isn't necessarily better, the EP35-DS3R uses a cutdown (widthwise) PCB - this can leave the rh side unsupported & as that's where you are generally plugging in things (e.g. ATXPower, SATA & IDE connectors etc.) can allow board flex.


  • the Gigabyte has the better sound codec but probably not by much

  • the abit has 2 Gb LAN ports rather than 1

  • the abit has firewire

  • the abit has a 2nd physical x16 PCI-E slot for Crossfire or RAID card etc.

  • the abit has uGuru - the best hardware monitor/fan control solution from any mobo manufacturer

  • the abit has onboard power & reset buttons, external clearCMOS switch & a POST diagnostic LED display
  • 4-pin ATX12V1 socket on the P3DS3R often signifies lesser PWM than the 8-pin on the abit

  • the abit has an easily removed/replaced socketed BIOS chip, the Gigabyte's is soldered

Basically the IP35 Pro is abit's equivalent to the DS4/DQ6 (i.e. their top P35) not the DS3R but it's at runout pricing as there is a new version out (Pro XE, not that there is actually much difference, you can even flash the XE BIOS to the V1.1 Pro & it will work).

It's only a better buy if it has something that would actually be useful to you but I would suggest that the extra features are worth $10.
 
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