Motherboard for my new rig

[Goi]

Hi,

I'm building a new C2Q rig and I'm trying to decide which motherboard to get. I originally was thinking of the DFI LanParty LT X48-T2R that was favorably reviewed on AT. However, I was advised by other forum members to save some money and get the Gigabyte P35-DS3L since I wasn't gonna SLI/XF and they were otherwise identical performance wise. OK, that made sense, but I can't get the P35-DS3L where I am, though I'm able to get an almost identical EP35-DS3L. However, since I have more than 4 SATA drives, I would need more than the 4 SATA ports available on both P35 boards. I'm wondering if the EP35-SD3R or P35C-DS3R would be good choices then, or should I just revert back to the DFI X48 for a bit more? Or are there other better choices within the same price range?

btw the rest of my rig:
CPU - Q9450
Memory - Corsair XMS2 DHX PC2-6400 2x2GB
Gfx - Leadtek 9800GTX 512MB
HDD - 3xWD Caviar 640GB, a few other older/smaller SATA/PATA drives

Any thoughts/recommendations? TIA.

 

[Aisengard]

You should try the abit IP35 pro. It has 6 SATA ports. You can get it from mwave for $170 - $30 MIR.

But really, you should just sell your 'other' drives, or give them to less fortunate computer owners. All the separate partitions you'll end up with are probably not worth the trouble.

 

[VulcanX]

Ho Goi i just wanted to find out about your RAM, i saw it posted in a thread, and its the Corsair XMS2 2x2Gb sticks, and is it 2.1V 4-4-4-12 or is it the 1.8V 5-5-5-15, if its the 5-5-5-15, what is the overclocking capabilities of it, bcoz im running the "low latency" version, which is 2x1Gb XMS2 2.1V 4-4-4-12 and i cant seem to push it any better than that, well not on Everest scores atleast, so with yours, what is the OC capabilities of it, and what is the highest speed along with tightest timings you can get?

 

[Goi]

aisengard I have a bunch of them, I'll probably put the SATA ones in the system, and use the PATA ones are external backups. I'll check out the IP35 Pro. 6 SATA ports should be sufficient. How is that board for overclocking though?

VulcanX, sorry but the "rest of my rig" is what I'm going to buy. I haven't bought them yet. I'll let you know once I get them. Should be within 2 weeks

Edit: seems like there are 2 versions of the Corsair DHX being sold here, the CL4 and the CL5 version. Price difference is <US$10 for 2x2GB so I think Imma just go for the CL4 one.