Mobo help!!

[chris22]

so i'm running this:
Antec Performance One P180 Silver cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

EVGA 512-P3-N845-AR GeForce 8800GTS 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W Power Supply

OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600

ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm 2-ball UFO Bearing / Transparent CPU Cooler

Acer AL2216Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor

Im in between these two for a mobo:

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L

ABIT IP35 Pro

besides almost a $100 price difference, what is the better decision?

also any overall comments/suggestions would be appreciated!

thanks

 

[wjogert]

Before even looking at the specs, I should say that I'm partial to Abit over Gigabyte. I've run both brands and they are quality products. But, if the specs were comparable, I'd personally choose the Abit.

Since that is just personal preference, I'll go look at the specs and come back to give you some REAL advice.

 

[chris22]

yeah but at the same time, reading reviews i see that many people favor gig over abit.

Since there is not a HUGE difference i think i might just go with gigabyte; simply because of the decent price difference

 

[tiraides]

The DS3L is bare bones: one IDE slot (for two IDE/ATA devices), four SATA ports, and no RAID.

Here's a better list of motherboards to look at... choose one based on which features you feel you need.

Abit IP35-E Intel P35 Motherboard - $90
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L Intel P35 Motherboard - $90
MSI P35 Neo2-FR Intel P35 Motherboard - $112
DFI BloodIron P35-T2RL Intel P35 Motherboard - $120
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3R Intel P35 Motherboard - $122
DFI LanParty DK P35-T2RS Intel P35 Motherboard - $140
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3P Intel P35 Motherboard - $151
Abit IP35 Pro Intel P35 Motherboard - $170
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS4 Intel P35 Motherboard - $180
Gigabyte GA-X38-DS4 Intel X38 Motherboard - $207

Just to help you out: If you don't need RAID, more than 4 SATA ports or legacy ports, then the IP35-E is a good choice. If you like the IP35-E but need legacy ports, check out the DS3L. If you need 5 SATA ports, 2 eSATA ports, and a second PCI-E x16 port, then get the Neo2-Fr. If you want heavy overclocking abilities and six SATA ports, check out the Blood Iron. If you like the BloodIron but want significantly better overclock stability, go for the LanParty. If you want 8 SATA ports, RAID, and legacy ports and high overclocks, than the DS3R is a good choice. If you want the DS3R but need Firewire and a second PCI-E x16 port, then go for the DS3P. If you want something that can overclock pretty damn high along with eSATA ports and firewire connections, than the IP35 Pro. Note that the IP35-Pro seems to have problems with the Wolfdale CPUs.

 

[chris22]

thanks man. yeah i didn't realize that the ds3l was lacking. ill take a look

 

[engiNURD]

What features do you need in a motherboard?

RAID?
Firewire?
8x SATA ports?
eSATA?
Legacy ports (serial/parallel)?
onboard switches?
4.16x PCI-E slot?
4x or 6x+ onboard USB ports (on rear I/O panel)?​

Any of the boards tiraides listed in his quote will OC that Q6600 nicely.