Motherboard Help?

[Dtime35]

I know that these questions are asked a lot but I would like an opinion since I rather not get a crap board. I have been reading up on things and think I might go for a 680i. Should I? If I do what is the best for games and overall applications? The cpu will be a Intel Core 2 Duo E6600. I want it to be a motherboard with features that are nice and future capabilities in it. I have no clue yet on the graphics card, so now clue about SLI etc. I most likely though will be using only one card in it at the moment. Thanks to anyone that responds.

 

[jeff_2087]

The board itself generally doesn't have a big impact on performance. The biggest reason to get a 680i board is for SLi, so if you intend to do SLi or think you might in the future, a 680 or 650 board is what you need.

Otherwise, though, the 680is don't have a lot to recommend themselves over other boards. The EVGA is a great overclocker, but so is the Gigabyte 965P DS3.

So if you see SLi in your future, the EVGA 680i is fairly popular, though has reported problems (none of which I've personally experienced). Or the Asus P5N-E SLi will do it, though as its based on the 650i you only get x8/x8 in SLi.

Outside of SLi, the aforementioned Gigabyte 965P DS3 is solid and an excellent overclocker, and would probably be a good choice for you.

You could also check out the Asus P5B Deluxe or P5W DH Deluxe, I think they have more fancy features than the DS3, though more expensive.

 

[Dtime35]

The 680i seems to have the best features and future support but seems to be highly buggy including memory frying. Is there a good stable 680i board, or a 975 board that can support dual gpus and quad core and other future features while still having power now.