In search of a good mobo

[Bluemouse]

Hey all,

Im in search of a good motherboard, but im not really sure what to get.

I need it to be sli ready and preferably have wifi built in. It is for a core 2 duo computer.
I am also looking towards the future, so I am thinking getting one that is quad core ready/compatible, but I am extremely confused as to what I should get.

Anyone have some good suggestions?

Thanks

 

[nickslick74]

You don't see many Wi-Fi boards out there. Here a re a couple of decent boards that meet your other criteria.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131032
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813135026
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131045
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136168

 

[SNGX1275]

I would avoid ECS. My buddy just got an Asus board, I think the P5B Deluxe and he is having real problems getting things to work (any MS OS to install) when he has 4 sticks of RAM in (4 gigs) and his cards in SLI mode. He says apparently a few people are having the same problem, so do some googleing on that issue before getting an Asus board with wifi and sli. The DFI board, well it didn't get very good reviews on newegg.

Bottom line is perhaps onboard wifi is a bit too much to ask right now in a SLI ready board. PCI wifi cards aren't terribly expensive anyway, and will probably be better than onboard.

 

[Bluemouse]

Hmm...
How about mobos that are SLI Ready and Quad core compliant without having the wifi? Know any good ones?

Cheers

 

[Bluemouse]

anyone have some good ones?

 

[Sharkfood]

SNGX1275-
Many of the newer Asus motherboards have a problem with Windows installs (XP, SBS and 2K).. usually locking up, freezing or other tomfoolery.

It's a USB problem, which is actually an MS issue, but has one of two cures:
1) Perform the initial install with only ps2 mouse/ps2 keyboard and leave all USB devices/ports disabled in the BIOS (can be re-enabled once OS is installed and patched up).
2) Look for an "EHCI Handoff" or similar option in the BIOS. Toggle this value and retry the setup.

 

[Bluemouse]

er, wrong thread?

 

[Sharkfood]

No Bluemouse.

If you're planning on buying one of the many dual-core capable motherboards, some of the Asus models have problems with the initial windows install (as SNG warned).

I've setup many of the Asus P5xxx series and about 20% of them have issues with the initial install (be it WinXP, SBS 2003 or Win2K) due to the EHCI hand-off and Asus hardware support of the USB ports. It's a Windows issue and has some work-arounds to get the thing up and running.

I'd just say dont let this thwart your purchasing decision. If you see a good Asus with the price/features you want, you can work around these issues if you run into them rather easily.

 

[Bluemouse]

Oh, now I see what you are talking about Thanks lol. I will keep that in mind.

Which motherboard would you suggest then to avoid having these problems while still getting a good price/quality/feature packed mobo?

 

[SNGX1275]

Thanks Shark - I'll pass that info along to him, hopefully that solves it. He's about to get irritated enough to send it back.