Motherboard and stuff...
 

I just got a good deal on a brand new case from my friend. I was plannin on building a new computer, but not for a while...but seeing as I have a case, its time to get a move on it!

Anyway, what suggestions do you all have for a motherboard? I want it to be unpgradable as much as possible, and I will probably have a P4 in it.

Any good web sites out there with mb reviews?

Thanks all.

If you can get one of the current generation 865 based mobos that have PAT enabled, then you would be best to go for that. It will be cheaper than a full blown 875 and perform very close to the same. I believe the Soltek model is getting some good reviews, but Asus was the first to enable PAT on 865 I think.

hardocp.com has some good reviews and they tend to throw more real-world apps at it than many other sites.

Abit IS7. IF you want a 865 chipset get it now. The second generation of chips will actually be handicapped by Intel so third parties can't offer PAT like features on them.

the Abit IS7-E is $99 right now, and it would make the baby jesus cry.

How about an Asus P4P800 (deluxe)? Or one of the MSI Neo2 boards? Both good choices.

I second the motion for an Asus P4P800dx. Installation and setup was a no-brainer. Add a 3.0 GHz 800FSB P4 and a gig of ddr400 ram and your system will smoke.

has Asus gotten better...i owned a 7205 board from them and it really really sucked. Onboard features where bad, and the board was ugly.

www.pricewatch.com is good site for getting the lowest prices on stuff.
be sure to check the company you may order through on http://www.resellerratings.com/

as for hardware review sites
www.anandtech.com
www.hardocp.com
www.tomshardware.com
http://www.overclockers.com/

A real good motherboard website: http://www.motherboards.org

My last was a soyo....worked good, no problems, but i hear a lot fo good things bout the asus....damn, its hard to make a decision!

<--- Happy. My secondary machine built with the IS7-E mb came with the gigabit ethernet chip.