mobo recommendations

[BlyGuy]

This is my first build and I want to do it right. So I am gonna need some help. First off I need to choose a good motherboard. I recently aquired a P4 3ghz 800mhz fsb 512L2 cache PGA-478 Northwood core and need a good mobo. I was thinking about spending around $100 or so. Not sure about the features I need as I'm not a major gamer but I do enjoy good preformance when I do play. Thanks in advance.

 

[Wadded Beef]

ASUS P4C800. or if you REALLY want to do it right sell that processor and get a s939 a64 =]

 

[jackschmittusa]

This being an enthusiast site, no one ever mentions Iwill mbs. I have built several machines for an advertising comapany (lots of graphics and ftp use, 9 or 10 printers on the network), and have a couple at home based on Iwill boards. Not much for ocing or even cutting edge features, but they are rock solid. Spend a lot of time fixing problems on other brands of boards, but almost never a problem with the Iwill boards. For standard use, they certainly seem to be a build and forget choice. In fact, am writing this on an Iwill KVR200 with an Athlon 900 and a TNT2 that I built new. Had win98, now xp, always works.

 

[drpootums]

I guess i'd go with Asus or Gigabyte, just find one with decent reviews and the features u want.

 

[helpmeout]

I have the same processor and am using an Asus P4P800-E Deluxe. Never had a problem, great for OC'ing, and lots of room for upgrading later.

 

[BlyGuy]

Great advice and again my thanks for the replys. I am leaning towards the Asus P4P800-E Deluxe the reviews are all really good and it is closer to my price range than the ASUS P4C800. But I am still open to any more suggestions you might have.

 

[Wolfshanze]

I have a 3.0GHz Pentium 4 and will also recomend the Asus P4P800SE. There are actually several differant versions of the P4P800 board (mine being the "SE" version). They are all based on the i865PE chipset, which is a VERY stable and good chipset to pair with a Pentium 4.

The only differance between the various P4P800 boards is the extras that come with the board. The "SE" version I have is pretty standard fare, nothing fancy... USB 2.0 ports, integrated LAN, SATA, but no RAID or Firewire (I don't need either). Other versions offer RAID and Firewire, but they cost more, so just get the board that best suits your needs.

I highly recomend one of the Asus P4P800 boards, as they are very high quality and a good i865 chipset. If you don't need RAID or Firewire, the "SE" version will save you a few bucks. Remember all of the Asus P4P800 boards are essentially the same, the only differance being the "extras", so you can save a lot of money by just getting a board with the features you want... the "SE" version is only $59 bucks.