Best socket 478 motherboard?

I

InorganicMatter

[H]F Junkie
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Overclocking isn't important (though it would be nice to dabble in it a little). Games will be played on it, and stability is important. Would like to keep it el cheapo is at all possible.
 
The BEST is probably the IC7-Max3, but good luck finding one of those at a cheap price :). I picked up an MSI 875P Neo off the forums for around $50 and it works fine.
 
I've used an IS7, IC7, P4P800, P4P800-MX, and an Intel made 875 board. The Intel was a wonderful board for someone not looking to overclock. The IS7, IC7, and P4P800 were all good performance boards, with the IC7 edging them out in the OC department. The P4P800-MX was an inexpensive little board with integrated graphics that I used with a Celeron D for a friend. The only brand I would specifically stay away from is Shuttle's standard ATX boards. I had nothing but BS from an AB60N
 
sac_tagg said:
Can't seem to find an IC7-Max3. I can find a MaxII, what's the difference?
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A couple of SATA ports, better cooling, a NB fan that doesn't die the first week, better overclocking etc.

The Max2 is not bad, (it is what I have) but the Max3 is just better.

Albatron makes a PCI-E S478 MB, so if you want to get a recent video card, that might be the one to look at.

Really any Intel chipset - dual channel motherboard should be fine, as long as it is not one that is made poorly.

==>Lazn
 
IC-7 of any flavor

The vanilla "flavored" like mine is great. Hits 300Mhz FSB, etc.. the only thing anyone would probably miss is that it has no onboard LAN.

The IC-7G is the same thing with LAN and some extra drive channels.

Then the MAX3 has better cooling on the power mosfets, but I've never had any problems with mine even at 300FSB. My northbridge has never run warm. Now it might help that I've always used ratios to keep my ram speed close to DDR400.

Anyway, I think Abit had the best socket 478 mobos (OC'ing wise), then maybe the Asus P4C800 in 2nd place. Though Asus will cost you!

I might sell my IC-7 soon. PM me if you want me to let you know when I put it on the market. (probably ask $90 shipped, might sound high for a 2 year old board, but it runs 300Mhz FSB 24/7)
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the Asus P4C800-E is a workhorse and loaded with features. Won't get you the top top max OC becuase of the infamous Asus vCORE "droop" under load, but it'll run a very very nice one none the less. a FSB of 270 1:1 is not unheard of.
 
good luck finding the albatron
newegg stopped selling them and they are only at one place on pricewatch.com
 
At some point next week I will have a mint condition IC7-Max 3 w/ a 2.8C (o/c'ed to 3.3ghz). I have all boxes, manuals, etc etc. The board has not been modded at all. Ill let ya all know.
 
May I suggest an Asus P4P800-SE.. From what you are telling us, you are not going to overclock and you need it to be cheap. I believe this motherboard fits the bill nicely. It is widely available and cost about 90$. It is i865PE based, so it is all good (please avoid VIA, SIS and all that crap..). In my book, what makes intel processors interesting are their platforms not their processors.. ;)

You can get better motherboard. The P4C800-E along the Abit IC7-MAX3 are the very best you can get on S478 but they are much more expensive.

Para
 
The P4P800-Deluxe has a bucket load of features but it is hard to find and pricey too I believe.
 
sac_tagg said:
I ended up with an IC7-G. Thanks guys, should be here Thursday!
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Good choice, let us know how it turns out.

You said you weren't concerned with OC'ing, but once you get a great board like the IC7-G in your hands you won't be able to resist. Especially with how easy Abit Softmenu is to use.
 
chrisf6969 said:
Good choice, let us know how it turns out.

You said you weren't concerned with OC'ing, but once you get a great board like the IC7-G in your hands you won't be able to resist. Especially with how easy Abit Softmenu is to use.
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To get my IC7-MAX3 I had to get a broken one with reboot problems, and RMA it. It was the onyl way I could get one :p :p

but works awesome. Daily run overclock is a 2.8E to 3.2, and stability is so good most of the time the computer is rebooted because of a power failure, around 4-5 weeks. Yea, power sucks here. Blame it on the university.
 
rally9x said:
The P4P800-Deluxe has a bucket load of features but it is hard to find and pricey too I believe.
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what makes the p4p better then the p4c800-e, i didnt have trouble finding the p4c800-e, got two for $90 total
 
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