Price Guide, February/March 2006: Motherboards
by Haider Farhan on February 28, 2006 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Intel Motherboards
Here, we are now at the new nForce 4 Ultra boards for the Intel processors. At the moment, there is only one board from Biostar and our very own Gary Key recently had the opportunity to take an in-depth look at the Biostar TForce4 U-775 [RTPE: TForce4U-775]. This board is based on the nForce 4 Ultra SPP and the nForce 4 Ultra Intel Edition MCP. If gaming is your thing, then you'll want to look into this board as it's very competitive with the i975X and surpasses the i945P in performance. For more information about this board, be sure to read Mr. Key's latest findings. Currently, this board is going for about $100, although we can see that supply on this board is very limited. It has only been in the market for the past two to three weeks, and it's already out of stock.
Our i975X channel has been slowly increasing in strength, which means that we are seeing more of i975X based motherboards appear in our RTPE. The i975X motherboards were brought into the market to replace the disastrous i955X motherboards while roughly remaining at the same price point. The i975X motherboards are able to support the Conroe processor, although not the Yonah due to it being based on the socket 479 platform. While some time in Q1 of this year, we are expecting the release of the 945GM, which will offer support for both the Yonah and Merom cores.
Ideally, we would suggest one to go for the i945P based boards if they're going for a low-end, dual-core setup. The i945P is still a stellar performer, but currently there are, although a bit more expensive, better options. There are quite a few motherboards from which to choose in this niche. For the overclocking enthusiast, the Abit 945P AL8-V [RTPE: AL8-V] appears to be a great option. It is roughly priced at about $120. While the Abit is a great choice for overclocking, the Gigabyte 945P GA-8I945P Pro [RTPE: GA-8I945P Pro] is an excellent feature-filled board, on sale for $127 shipped.
If you're not looking to do any gaming, the i945G motherboards offer adequate onboard graphics capabilities. Motherboards with onboard video can save you the hassle and expense of having to purchase a video card, and is completely unnecessary for one who doesn't need any fancy video capabilities. For your basic home/office setup, any of these motherboards should prove to be sufficient.
Here, we are now at the new nForce 4 Ultra boards for the Intel processors. At the moment, there is only one board from Biostar and our very own Gary Key recently had the opportunity to take an in-depth look at the Biostar TForce4 U-775 [RTPE: TForce4U-775]. This board is based on the nForce 4 Ultra SPP and the nForce 4 Ultra Intel Edition MCP. If gaming is your thing, then you'll want to look into this board as it's very competitive with the i975X and surpasses the i945P in performance. For more information about this board, be sure to read Mr. Key's latest findings. Currently, this board is going for about $100, although we can see that supply on this board is very limited. It has only been in the market for the past two to three weeks, and it's already out of stock.
Our i975X channel has been slowly increasing in strength, which means that we are seeing more of i975X based motherboards appear in our RTPE. The i975X motherboards were brought into the market to replace the disastrous i955X motherboards while roughly remaining at the same price point. The i975X motherboards are able to support the Conroe processor, although not the Yonah due to it being based on the socket 479 platform. While some time in Q1 of this year, we are expecting the release of the 945GM, which will offer support for both the Yonah and Merom cores.
Ideally, we would suggest one to go for the i945P based boards if they're going for a low-end, dual-core setup. The i945P is still a stellar performer, but currently there are, although a bit more expensive, better options. There are quite a few motherboards from which to choose in this niche. For the overclocking enthusiast, the Abit 945P AL8-V [RTPE: AL8-V] appears to be a great option. It is roughly priced at about $120. While the Abit is a great choice for overclocking, the Gigabyte 945P GA-8I945P Pro [RTPE: GA-8I945P Pro] is an excellent feature-filled board, on sale for $127 shipped.
If you're not looking to do any gaming, the i945G motherboards offer adequate onboard graphics capabilities. Motherboards with onboard video can save you the hassle and expense of having to purchase a video card, and is completely unnecessary for one who doesn't need any fancy video capabilities. For your basic home/office setup, any of these motherboards should prove to be sufficient.
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Marlin1975 - Tuesday, February 28, 2006 - link
What about VIA for the Intel boards. The Asrock and other PT880pro boards are getting a lot of talk with the support of the 805 dual core chip. i.e. $200 gets a dual core P-D and a board with AGP and PCIe.Phiro - Tuesday, February 28, 2006 - link
Why on earth do you relegate the mATX market to a niche group?Your article flow for AMD starts off with everything 939 then on the second page you say "on to socket 754", which is a dead as hell market. AFTER all of that is done, then you slip in a chunk of 939 6100/6150 boards. No comments on those boards, they aren't grouped with the rest of the 939 boards. It's all about the back of the bus for mATX 939 boards, isn't it?
The 6100/6150 didn't land on Plymouth Rock, did it? Plymouth Rock landed on the 6100/6150!
Calin - Wednesday, March 1, 2006 - link
The market for Socket 754 boards is based around the cheap Sempron processors. The minute I can buy a Socket 939 Sempron processor (preferably boxed) for $60 or around, I will forget about the Socket 754. Until the cheapest Socket 939 variants are double that, 754 is a viable platform.About mATX boards... even if I haven't bought one, I am thinking at buying one...
JarredWalton - Tuesday, February 28, 2006 - link
I've moved the remaining IGP 939 boards to the top of the second page. No slight was intended, but there are a lot of boards to cover and sometimes things end up in odd places.DigitalFreak - Tuesday, February 28, 2006 - link
Man, I wish AM2 was going to be released sooner. I'm jonesing to replace my P4 system.SonicIce - Tuesday, February 28, 2006 - link
wheres 939/AGP? :(JarredWalton - Tuesday, February 28, 2006 - link
Unless you're looking to replace an old (broken) 939 board, I can't see any point in purchasing a new 939 AGP board. The ASRock ULi board is your best bet for AGP 939 at this point, as it has both AGP and PCIe X16.JarredWalton - Tuesday, February 28, 2006 - link
Note: I've added a paragraph on the second page highlighting this information. If you disagree with our assessment of AGP boards, please direct complaints towards me and I'll be happy to discuss the situation. Basically, what's the best AGP card out there right now? 7800GS, or perhaps the outdated X850XTPE (outdated as in no SM3.0). 7800 GS costs close to $300 and offers inferior performance compared to the 7800 GT.Starting at around $285 (not counting MIRs), you can get a 7800GT. Throw in a PCIe board starting around $75, and it's difficult to support AGP as a platform any longer. Again, if you have a fast AGP card and you need a new 939 board, the ASRock is a great option. Low price, support for AGP and PCIe, and it performs well in nearly all areas.