Motherboard Quest

[moderate_rock48]

What are some of the better motherboards, im talking about motherboards that support the best processors and memory(i.e. most ram). And then what are the motherboards that are the most bang for your buck?

[Coconut Monkey]

Well, first you need to choose which type of processor you want (AMD - Athlon64 754 and 939, Athlon XP, and Sempron 754 and A. Intel - P4 478 and 775) because otherwise it's going to be a very long list!

There is no board that supports different socket types (e.g. A64 754 and 939) and/or different CPU manufacturers (e.g. Intel and AMD).

[moderate_rock48]

Well i know there isnt a mobo that supports different sockets...Lets go with the AMD Athlon 64 4000+ socket 939

[Coconut Monkey]

Whoops, sorry, I believe there is one board that supports socket 478 and 775 CPUs. :D

The ASRock K8 Combo-Z supports both socket 754 and 939, not simultaneously of course.
What application(s) is the motherboard needed for? Your processor choice is fairly high end so I'm assuming you're needing the most grunt you can get?

[moderate_rock48]

Well for me, this is all hypothetical. When I do get around to putting a machine together I will probably purchase the AMD athlon 64 3400+ socket 754. I was just amazed when I found out that there are motherboards that support 3 gigs of ram! Seeing how my current computer maxes out at 512mb. lol a guy can dream cant he?

If you are looking at socket 754, my only recommendation can be DFI Lanparty UT 250Gb. I may be a bit biased with this one, but they are extremely good boards with high quality components and I wouldn't trade mine for any other.
It will take 2Gb of RAM at 400MHz, and 3Gb at 333MHz, but 1Gb is usually more than you need.

[moderate_rock48]

Yes, I think im leaning towards the DFI lanparty mobo's, they are pricey :eek: but I guess you pay for quality eh?

[oenone]

The Soltek K8T Pro is an excellent choice for a socket 939 mobo. A very fast, fully featured mobo for around 100-120. Best bang for your buck 939 mobo in my opinion. The Asus A8V or the Abit AV8 are also excellent options.

EDIT: Didn't see the post saying you were probably gonna go with socket 754. I would go with 939, personally. Pricewise, you would pay maybe $50 more for a AMD 3500+ and a Soltek board than you would for a good socket 754 combination.

PS: One of the new apple G5 powermacs can have up to 8 gigs of ram :P
You really don't need more than 1 gig of ram, however, unless you do a lot of rendering, compiling, and other "workstation" applications. 1 Gig is plenty for even the latest games!

[moderate_rock48]

Well yes, 8 gigs of ram is quite excessive, but just think of the computing power and gaming to come. We are making boards with 8 gigs of ram and we arent even using that much, its very exciting.

[Shadowgrip]

I had an old MSI socket A board that supported up to 4 gig's of ram, but I never got more than 512 in it, didn't need it back then. Def the DFI Lan party for either socket 754 or 939. From what i've read about the new boards they have for the 939 it almost makes me sorry i got my 754 3400+, but this is enough for me for now. I do alot of video editing, and gaming and I've never used all of my 1 gig of ram, so unless your serving that's a moot point, and if your serving, prob a dual proc mobo is what you should look for. lol. :)