Hi guys, I have been out of the loop when it comes to computer parts lately. Can anyone tell me what is the best motherboard out there for gaming? I don't know if I should stay with AMD or jump to Intel. Any recomendations?Thanks,Bill

For an intel P4 this would be my first choice right now:http://www.asus.com/prog/spec.asp?m=P4C800%20Deluxe&langs=01-800/ 533 / 400 MHz FSB-8x AGP-hyperthreading support-Dual Channel Memory Architecture-4 x 184-pin DIMM Sockets support max. 4GB PC3200/PC2700/PC2100 ECC/Non_ECC DDR SDRAM memory-1 x ASUS WIFI Connector for optional wireless LAN upgrade -ASUS JumperFree-CPU, Memory, and AGP voltage adjustableThe P4's right now outperform AMD but cost significantly more and are arguably less value. If you want tops though I would go intel. Who knows where all that will stand in a year...Not long ago I was die hard AMD but they seemed to have slipped. I went to Intel P4 and have been very happy. Admittedly less stable for overclocking, but that may just be my crappy mobo.Brew

Bill,Depends on the type of CPU you want to run.For AMD right now you can't go past the nForce 2 motherboards. If you're planning on going Intel you'd be advised to go with the new 800Mhz FSB P4 CPUs and take advantage of the i875 chipset otherwise known as Canterwood. Both boards are capable of running dual DDR which gives you a good boost in bandwidth, but you need matching sticks of RAM to achieve this.

Hi Bill,if you decide to stick with AMD, this would be my recommendation:http://usa.asus.com/products/mb/socketa/a7n8x-d/overview.htmI am very happy with this board and its performance.Cheers,Gosta.http://hifi.avsim.net/activesky/images/wxrebeta.jpg

I know this isn't a "for sale" forum but if you're interested, I've got an Epox 8RDA+ Nforce2 mobo and 2 512MB sticks of Kingston HyperX PC3500 ram I'd be willing to let go for cheap. I've got some bills to pay after relocating and haven't been able to find a job yet. Let me know if you're interested, send me a private message or just respond to this thread I suppose. I'd give you my e-mail address but something's wrong with my internet connection (I think it might be my network card) and I can't send or receive e-mail.-Max Cowgill

I am in the same boat as you looking for a new mobo and my main concern is stability and compatibility with all other components. From what some of the gurus from some of the reviews sites have told me "If ya want stability go with the Intel mobos and the latest and greatest is the D875PBZ". Of course that is the pentium chip board which is what I want cause the 800Mhz FSB and the hyperthreading sounds like it is going to be one heck of a quick system.

For AMD i'd recommend an ABIT NF7-S.I got one myself about 3 months ago for a new rig i built.I did my homework on the components and this is the mobo i went with.Hav'nt looked back since.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is overclocking. Right now the king of overclocking (like the venerable 300a was years ago) is the P4 2.4C, which with air cooling is hitting 2.8 pretty easily. If you check out http://www.outsideloop.com or http://www.azzo.com, there are some pretty good o/c combos out there, especially with the Abit IC7-G m/b (has Gigabit lan onboard). Right now if you're looking for the best, as others have mentioned, go with an Intel based Canterwood board, 800 FSB, and dual-channel DDR (I like the Kingston HyperX DDR, it runs great in dual-channel boards although it's not dual-channel specific, you can get 512M of the 3500 for a pretty good deal out there, although some of the o/c combos at the websites I mentioned include ram. One other thing about the 2.4 and o/c; it used to be you had to be pretty lucky to get a good CPU to overclock- only certain "steppings" were good o/c'ers... with the 2.4c, it seems (so far) that every single 2.4C produced so far has been a good o/c! The great thing is that if you purchase an o/c combo, they do the o/c for you, you receive the m/b with the CPU and fan mounted and carefully boxed (in most cases). You don't have to do the sometimes tedious o/c, test, o/c test loop that many of us know!One last thing, check out http://www.hardocp.com for good info on o/c and really good motherboard reviews!Good luck!Jonathan