Well, I’m helping a buddy build a computer, and in about a week we’re getting the processor and motherboard (gonna pick up at least a P4 - he doesn’t want an Athlon, so don’t bother mentioning it - at around 2.4 ghz). Right now I think I’m going to select him the Soyo Dragon Lite motherboard (same kind I have, I believe, and it’s been good so far), because it comes with some good stuff, great upgradeability, and such.
But I’m thinking… what other good motherboards are on the market? Which ones should I pick up? The Dragon Lite is going for a hundred bucks, so anything much more expensive than that is automatically nixed. And I really can’t think of many more features that the Dragon Lite lacks (aside from maybe built-in Firewire). Should I find a different motherboard? Maybe one that’s just as good, but cheaper?
I just built one with an Asus P4PE/L, very slick. And at $111, its right in the range you are looking for. The /L desgination is for onboard LAN. 1000 mbps, at that. Very nice. Caveat is that there is no onboard video, but with a 2.4 Ghz P4, I imagine you are getting a solid video card too.
I’m certainly no expert on the subject but I also like ASUS the best. Of the few manufacturers I’ve dealt with they also seem to have the best manuals as well. A friend of mine used a cheap Soyo board to build a computer and the English in the manual might as well have been Chinese because we couldn’t understand any of it. Maybe it wasn’t Soyo on second thought. I cannot remember for sure but all of the ASUS manuals I have seen have been pretty easy to understand which can cut out a lot of headaches.
Abit, all the way. Most reliable boards I’ve ever used with excellent customer service. I don’t follow their P4 line too closely, but I believe the BH7 is very well regarded.
If you are not going to overclock your processor, you may want to consider the Intel motherboards. Who else would know better and have more cash in R&D than Intel with regards to compatibility with their own processors?
I’ve had one. Very solid motherboard. Not as feature packed as some other brands, nor as cheap, but if you are looking for stability, Intel is a brand to consider.
I find Intel motherboards tend to have… interesting chipset issues. That are NEVER FIXED. Because they don’t care that much.
Again, Asus, Abit, or Epox, depending. Asus and Epox by choice. Personally, I try to get as little integrated into the motherboard as possible. Especially not modem or LAN. Tend to have to replace Lan cards now and again.