Best Motherboard to get

[om3gaboost]

hey everyone
im new here @ anandtech and was wondering if you guys can help me find a good motherboard for around <150 for a computer i am about to build in a month or so..

im going for p4 2.26-2.5 (depending on $)
i would like to it to have ddr333 support, agp 8x, usb 2.0, firewire would be nice
it may seem little, but i have yet to to find a motherboard that has all of these features.


any suggestions?

 

[LivinLaVivaPollo]

David,

Depending on what weighs more, features vs. performance, I can give you this advice. If you want maximum overclockability with a decent feature set, check out the Epox 4g4a+. People are raving about it being the best i845g board. There was an issue with it not being able to overclock to its full potential if there was ram in the first two banks, but someone on another thread said that the northbridge's hsf was blowing hot air into the first stick of ram. If that's the case, I shouldn't have any problems with my watercooling setup. I'm leaning towards this board myself.

If you want your features criteria satisfied wholly, then look into boards that have the SiS 648 chipset. It has ddr400 support, agp8x, usb2, and firewire. I should note that the i845g boards support ddr400 unofficially. You can also just add a firewire card if you need it.

 

[o1die]

I recommend you wait for the Intel Sept 1st price cuts. I would go for the sis 648 chipset. Newegg has an abit 648 board for sale at $108, but I would wait for other boards that are coming out soon. This website has a review of the sis 648. I would avoid the via p4x400 chipset, as my present via board is not that great. Via has only a forum for customer support, and a warranty disclaimer in the owner's manual.

 

[VBboy]

Boo-ya!
Tom reviews a bunch of boards!

 

[om3gaboost]

yeah i was thinking of waiting until late august early september cause i don't want to spend too much on my this computer, but then again, i want it to have good stuff.

 

[Vette73]

I would look at the P4X400. Most intel people hate VIA so they slam them before the product has even had a Retail review.

Go to pricewatch and search for P4X400. It has AGP 8, USB 2.0, and some other stuff.

This board is at Pricewatch for $99 Silver P4X400