Time to buy a new mobo/processor!

[mealsonwheels]

I had an E6300 and a GA-965P-DS3 that ran 24/7 overclocked at 3ghz for a little over 2 years. Well, it finally bit the dust last night. I dont really know what happened but im not getting anything from the motherboard now. Keyboard/mouse doesnt light up, and no signal to the monitor. I'm thinking the processor is ok but i'm going to go ahead and upgrade if possible. I know theres a million of these threads but i need help deciding on a motherboard. I use my computer mainly for gaming and have a budget of about $300 for the mobo and proc. I was looking at a Q6600 for $180 or a E8400/8500 for 165 or so but that doesnt leave much money for a mobo. I'm pretty sure i want a quad core, but i also want a nice mobo that overclocks well. So im kinda stuck, any advice on what to get that will suit my needs?

Currently i have a 650watt psu, 8800GT, and 2 gigs of gskill ddr2-800 (black sticks, was top of the line at the time).

 

[JPB]

Gigabyte UD3R $119.99 = $104.99 AMIR
E8500 $$188.99
TOTAL: $308.98 / $293.98 AMIR

Cant beat this.

This board is the best at its price range, and fantastic at everything.

 

[Concillian]

If you buy a Q6600 you don't need a motherboard that overclocks well.

Motherboards pretty much go 400 FSB by default. A Q6600 at 400 FSB is 3.60, which is quite a hefty OC for a Q6600. All you really need is a board with adjustable voltage for that.

E8400 or 8500 wants over 400 FSB due to the strong capabilities of the chip and the fact that they start at 333 FSB instead of 266. UD3R is a strong OCing board for a reasonable price though, so a good recommendation either way.

 

[brainwave]

I recently bought the Gigabyte EP45-UD3R and I agree it is a great board. I have an E7200 which runs very cool 27c at idle 36c with load with stock fan, not OC'd. THis mb has lots of features and is very reasonably priced. There is an upgraded version, UD3P, that has 2 PCIe graphics slots and 2 ethernet ports for basically the same price. Lots of OC options too once you get into the Gigabyte BIOS (I think you hit Ctrl-F1 to enable all the features). I am very happy with this very quiet, cool, multi-feature board.

-----------------------
Intel E7200; Gigabyte P45-UD3R; Kingston HyperX 2 gig 6400; ATI HD2400; Corsair 450watt PSU

 

[mealsonwheels]

I was looking at the UD3R/P and a few 750i boards that were about $150. I think im going to get the ED3R or P but im still not sure if i should get a dual or quad core. I mostly game so im thinking a E8500 might be better

 

[Concillian]

Depends on how you feel about the future. The quad vs. dual comes up a lot. I tend to lean towards what's best right now. If you don't have a "killer app" that takes advantage of the 4 cores, then go with the faster dual.

Then again, if you don't have an application that takes advantage of the extra speed of an overclocked dual, then you can get the quad, since the future is definitely quad. Neither Intel nor AMD have mainstream duals on their roadmaps beyond what's out right now, only duals on their roadmaps are for notebooks. It's just a matter of time until 4.0GHz overclocked e8400 / e8500 / e8600s are getting nailed by Q6600s because applications (games) are quad-friendly.

 

[mealsonwheels]

I think im going to get the Q6600 since it is def the future and i can o/c it fairly well. Thanks a lot!

 

[jeffw2767602]

+1 on the ud3r and q6600. even if you dont need a board that can OC well, at $105AR the gigabyte ud3r is a no brainer

 

[JPB]

Once you receive the parts. Post back with results.

 

[CraKaJaX]

I myself am also in store for a new rig. I had the Q6600 in my mind, but wasn't sure about a board for it. When I came across the UD3R, I liked it... but reading reviews, it says the board has some issues with XP? Was wondering if anyone can confirm this. People basically said "Some issues with XP, runs better with Vista."

Edit: Also, make sure you have an 8 pin power connector for that board. It requires one.

 

[JPB]

I am running the UD3P version of that board with XP Pro. And I have yet to experience any issues with XP and the board.

The only difference in my board from the UD3R is an extra LAN and another PCI-e slot.

I don't believe there are issues.

 

[OCNewbie]

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