Motherboard for Intel P4 630 CPU

[cocoadragon]

What is the best bang for the buck? I have the following parts too put into a build:

OCZ Technology – Vanquisher LGA 775 High Performance CPU Cooler –
http://www.ocztechnology.com/ocz-vanquisher-cpu-cooler-eol.html

Intel Pentium 4 630 3.0 gHz single-core CPU -
http://ark.intel.com/products/27478/Intel-Pentium-4-Processor-630-supporting-HT-Technology-(2M-Cache-3_00-GHz-800-MHz-FSB)

DDR2 XMS2 Corsair Memory modules -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145590

I can throw in DDR3 memory if the motherboard needs that.


Backstory: I won a lot on eBay and only needed the graphic card. I have a buddy who has helped me out immensely and would like to repay him by updating his PC. He watches a few Youtube videos and his wife is a heavy facebook gamer. I notice even these web based games are using a lot 3D graphics. If the on-board video is stronger than a AGP ATI Radeon 7000, then that is a bonus right there. The software shouldn't be too taxing, its just Windows 7 Ultimate x64, Office 2010 x64, a x64 bit burning/video/photo suite.

If I could get ALL of this that would be PERFECTION. What I would like:
foremost in a board is the ability to upgrade from the P4 630 to a Core 2 Quad.
Second is the ability to upgrade to 8 or even 16 GB of ram later on
Third is PCI-E x16 V.2 slot, Crossfire or SLI is not necessary, but I'll find a use for it
distant Fourth is SATA 6
distant Fifth is Gigabit Ethernet
(i hear i want something called an Ivy Bridge, but so far that only seems a hypothetical option for a 775 motherboard)

 

[vigilante212]

God I hope you paid 0 for that processor otherwise you got hosed.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&Depa=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=%20lga%20775%20motherboard&IsRelated=1&cm_sp=KeywordRelated-_-LGA_775-_-%20lga%20775%20motherboard

Choose your poison.

 

[GhislainG]

Would a used motherboard be acceptable? A few years ago there were several nice motherboards, e.g., Asus P5Q Deluxe, Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P, etc.

If you want a brand new motherboard, the Gigabyte GA-P45T-ES3G (DDR3) should meet your requirements.

SATA 6 gbps is not available on LGA 775 motherboards.

 

[cocoadragon]

Best answer selected by cocoadragon.

 

[cocoadragon]

the Gigabyte GA-P45T-ES3G (DDR3) would be my first choice in a 775 motherboard if I could find it. I saw that you can run OS X on it. Unfortunately I can not only find new, even the used ones on eBay are x2's the cost of the original

I have noticed there are even better boards than that. Thanks for letting me know there won't be USB3 so I can focus on the other features. Looks like I might start leaning towards nForce 790i boards. (have a lot of low end nVidia video cards lying around, might as well try SLI since i don't have to worry about bandwidth conflicts with USB3)

thanks for your help

 

[GhislainG]

Newegg have the Gigabyte GA-P45T-ES3G in stock: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128496&Tpk=Gigabyte%20GA-P45T-ES3G

 

[cocoadragon]

Since I was bidding for a low end Direct X 10 video card (BFG nVidia 8500gt DDR3 256MB) for Windows Media Center, and I got it in a LOT for less than I had been bidding for it solo, I feel I got it for free. Too bad I didn't research that an 8500gt is not a step below an 8600gt as the naming scale would imply LOL.

Since I am getting ram, cooling, & cpu "free" I felt I could spend a little on a motherboard, rather than trying buy ram, video card, power supply to compensate/beef up a lousy motherboard. A good motherboard would let me add the largest 775 processor when the prices start to drop after whatever is bigger than a i7 comes out.

Since I don't play "modern" games, these old parts give me ridiculous results on the older things I do play like the Final Fantasy XI Online, Phantasy Star Online series and Dolphin Emulator.

In this build, its just for an older guy who wants to be able to do job apps while his wife plays games on the other PC, except I was thinking, give him the older pc and build something "new" with the p4 630 that starts out low and can be upgraded to a quad core with SLI or Crossfire so she can keep playing her facebook games another 6 or 7 years before she needs a new store bought PC.

 

[cocoadragon]

My Bad. I meant to say the Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P motherboard.

That was my first choice, because of the ability to make it a "hackintosh" I am looking at one on ebay, and its soooo cheap, $40 +15 shipping, yet all the others are priced @ $200, but I think I'm going to pass it up 'cause I'm not sure my bank account can handle it just this second. a nForce 790i is coming up in a day or two, and that is my second choice, but seems a lot more powerful, and I have zombie nvidia cards laying around begging for SLI afterlife

 

[GhislainG]

I own a Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P and it's a very stable motherboard.