POLL: Which AM2 motherboard board would you choose?

[BlueMax]

Scrounged from a Dell E521, I have the following bits to put on this board:
X2 3800+ processor with big heatsink! (could cause issues with some boards?)
2x 1GB DDR2-533 (not fancy, I know.)
ATI X1300Pro VIVO
1x 160GB SATA HDD
1x IDE DVD-Burner
floppy
parallel laser
USB AIO inkjet (Dell unit, pooooor quality.)
mounted in an Antec Sonata II

http://www.msi.com.tw/program/produc...il.php?UID=739

Pros:
3 PCI slots
more IDE & SATA plugs for future

Cons:
don't know much about this chipset, though it received OK reviews.

-- or --

http://www.asrock.com/product/AM2NF6G-VSTA.htm

Pros:
ASRock memory booster - sounds cool!
Known chipset - isn't nForce 405 supposed to have very good IDE/SATA/USB performance?
I seem to trust the "ASRock" brand more than MSI.....?

Cons:
Only 2 PCI slots
Only 1IDE, 2SATA limiting expansion



Whaddaya think, folks? Ordering in less than 24 hours. I could get a fancier board, but I'm limited by whatever CANADIAN site I'm getting it from, and my very tight budget. Both these boards are a lousy $70.

[BlueMax]

ack... why can't I create a poll??

[Kwirky]

I've got the ASRock running in a friend's PC and at the very least, I can say it's rock-solid stable, although I can't really comment on performance as it's only running a Sempron 2800+ and 512MB RAM, using all the onboard components. Still feels 'snappy' though, the memory booster makes a small noticible difference in Windows, the difference may be greater for games but this system never gets used this way.

The lack of IDE & SATA connectors is the major complaint I have about this board... hook up two optical drives on the single channel and you're out of IDE connections

[BlueMax]

I've got the ASRock running in a friend's PC and at the very least, I can say it's rock-solid stable, although I can't really comment on performance as it's only running a Sempron 2800+ and 512MB RAM, using all the onboard components. Still feels 'snappy' though, the memory booster makes a small noticible difference in Windows, the difference may be greater for games but this system never gets used this way.

The lack of IDE & SATA connectors is the major complaint I have about this board... hook up two optical drives on the single channel and you're out of IDE connections

same goes for the lousy 2 SATA.
Oh SNAP! NCIX is out of Semprons!!

Man... I need a new computer shop too?

[terrybear]

Well ... the big thing is as well I asume this is a AM2 model X2 3800+ then right ??

Well ..... they don't per say have it in stock but my choice would be this DFI infinity crossfire 3200 AM2 motherboard for $173

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...anufacture=DFI

Reviews I have found on it say it is a very solid board. This board would also match up perfectly with the ati card & also the ati/amd chipsets run alot cooler then the nvidia ones & preform the same as there nvidia competitors.

Well ... depending on the heatsink they have on it ya might want to look at getting 1 of those AC Freezer64 Pro coolers from ncix for it as well & for $25 there the best bang for your $ cooling solution you can use.

Good luck & hope what I have said / posted helps you some.

[BlueMax]

I'm on a budget here... I don't need a $175 motherboard.

[willy]

I *heard* this one is pretty good ... http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...nufacture=ABit

[BlueMax]

I *heard* this one is pretty good ... http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...nufacture=ABit

I think most people rave about that one for its built-in DVI.

Other than that, it's only a bit better than a standard nforce 4xx.

That kind of money gets the 500-series fancies.