Looking for a mobo for new build.

[p0intblank]

What I'm looking for feature wise is a (trustworthy) mobo with at least 2 Sata2 ports, 1 PCI-e x16 slot(no sli boards) and S939(using a 4400+ X2). Thats basically it. I've come across a few but I would like more insight from you guys. The boards I have found so far are:

Asus A8N-E

Biostar TForce4U

ABIT AN8-Ultra

Are there any other boards I should be aware of? And is SATA2 really worth it with the selection of boards that I've found. I plan on having 2 hard drives; a 74 gig raptor as my main drive and another 250 gig drive for mass storage.

 

[Dan_D]

The ASUS A8R-MVP reviewed on the front page is pretty good. Not to mention cheap. If you aren't running in SLI mode or Crossfire, it won't matter that it uses the Xpress 200 chipset.

It has a ULI southbridge that is actually very competetive with the nForce 4.

 

[wesleys_dad]

ive been running the asus a8n-e for several months now after running 3 other ultra boards and with out a doubt the asus is the closest to being. the best all around board on the market.perfect layout,mature bios,rock solid stability,not too picky with hardware.i used the abit board an8 ultra and it was a very unstable board.layout is terrible,floppy placement,mounting holes by the ide connectors,connectors way down the board and its been discontinued by abit,buggy bios,abit missed the boat on their nf4 A series boards.i also had the gigabyte ultra and it had its issues also,the msi was fair but the ram slots,1 of them went out and i dont care for their bios.2 weeks ago i built a tower using the biostar tforce ultra board and i was impressed.it was stable and quality seemed to be a cut above what we have come to expect from biostar.my asus board in benches was 5-7 percent faster than the biostar at the same speeds,my neighbor was miffed about this but generally it was a good board.i didnt care for the agp slot but thats just me,the sli board has a better layout,the tforce sli.my asus gives me 400-600 mhz o/clocks with stock or close to stock voltage,running 1 to 1 with corsair xms pc 3200 c2 ram.250x10 and prime stable.had it at 260 x 10 at 1.42v.
my benches for mark 2003 was 10465 with a x800gto video.
the dfi ultra d if you want to wring out every last mhz and run high voltages and have all the rite hardware and the patience to set it up and tweek it out.
from my experience with ultra boards and as you see ive had a few the asus is the best all around board out today and priced reasonably,105.00 on newegg this past weekend.i run a business of my asus and its fast as hell and so stable.its a real pleasure to work with.there is no way in my opinion you would be dissappointed with this board.i would like the dfi ultra d or expert to build a second rig as my hotrod just to see what all the talk is about.i wouldnt want to have to depend on the dfi every day as i do my asus but on weekends take it to the track and go fast ,tweek and have fun.good luck with your choise.

 

[BUFF]

.i used the abit board an8 ultra and it was a very unstable board.layout is terrible,floppy placement,mounting holes by the ide connectors,connectors way down the board and its been discontinued by abit,buggy bios,abit missed the boat on their nf4 A series boards.

& I'm going to disagree totally with him.
I got 1 of the very 1st AN8 Ultras & it's been outstanding - quiet, reliable, fast & a great overclocker.

Yes, the floppy placement is questionable but they are so rarely used these days that imo it's acceptable - other than that I have no layout quibbles.

I'm still not convinced that it's discontinued - the only site that says that is Abit-USA other Abit sites incl. the global one still have it as current.
I know a UK wholesaler that just recently got a shipment of them, needless to say they all went very quickly.
However, if you are in the USA it does seem unlikely that you will find 1, maybe a KN8 Ultra instead.

 

[p0intblank]

Damn, thanks for the reply wesleys dad, very helpful. I'm on an Asus board now and I love it and was hoping to stick with Asus, and I'm pretty sure I will now with what you've said. Thanks again, very informative.