New Mobo Time

right guys,

got a call from the missus this morning (i was down in deepest snowy somerset working) saying that the keyboard wasn't working - it's backlit so when it's not there is an issue. i got her to unplug and replug it but no go. now i've just got home and it did the same to me, although after a few attempts it did come back on. now i know a couple of the usb ports are non operative and now it looks as if a third is on it's way.

now as i have an ext-hdd & an ext-dvd burner and printer and keyboard/mouse/headset all needing to be plugged in (although not all used at the same time) i'm of the mind to go and get a new mobo either tonight or tomorrow.

current board is an asus p5k-c, not the best board but untill the usb ports started playing up it has been a faithful servent - and it o/c's pretty easy. now i know i could change the cpu aswell as the mobo, but there is still life in the legs of my e6750, so it will be the mobo only - also i can't afford to do both right now.


so would like some clues as to the mobo of choice. nothing to pricey,

1. needs some sort of o/c potential, nothing mad.
2. minimum of 4 rear usb's, 6 is preferable.
3. price of £80-100 max, i know there is a lot in that range.



i'm open to most opinions as i'm not brand driven and look for the best bang and buck at the time.

so if it's asus then asus it will be or maybe biostar or dfi etc etc but call me :stupid: - and i don't mean literally, but where did j&w come from as i've not heard of them before or are they an off shoot from someone?

Well your looking at a p45 chipset

so Asus P5Q
or Asus P5Q-pro/E if you can stretch your budget.

If you want to overclock it as high as possible go for the Biostar TPower I45

Alternativly if warrenty & rma would be a concern to you go for one of the Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD range.

Also j&w is a new brand in the uk but very popular in china & no there not an ofshoot. There decent clocking boards with very good customer support. "new bios why of corse sir"

Why not just buy a USB PCI card? It'll save you a load of money if the rest of your motherboard is fine :)

i like the look of the j&w mobo, only one concern that i'd have is the position and angle of the sata ports (same with any that have 90° ports). i have a tt armor case and the drive cage may well impeed the ports - although i think i can get round that.

although i said i would have asus again i'm now not totally sure. also what about dfi?


so to summarize we have a draft list of...........................

Gigabyte EP45-UD3L
Biostar-TPower-I45
J&W-JW-P45D2-ULTRA
Asus-P5Q-iP45
DFI-Lanparty-DK-P45-T2RS-Plus


also would an x48 have any advantages? like this

LanParty DK X48-T2RS

Quote:

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Originally Posted by McPhee

Why not just buy a USB PCI card? It'll save you a load of money if the rest of your motherboard is fine :)

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it's not just the usb's. every other day it's not booting properly - not posting etc (even default settings haven't helped) and some other little bits. it's as if the o/c has failed, but if i reset it it starts no probs. it's currently set at default with no clock as it didn't post this afternoon.

so i think that the time may have come to make a change.

The only advantage of the x48 is crossfire.

My personal pick would be the biostar loads of fetures & ram/cooling allowing will allow you to max out your 6750

one thing i did forget is the backplate for my tr120. i can't remember if i removed the sticky pad or not. so if i didn't i'll need a new plate.

the only one that i can find is This, i might be assuming here but it's the only tr 775 kit i can find.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SuicidaL

one thing i did forget is the backplate for my tr120. i can't remember if i removed the sticky pad or not. so if i didn't i'll need a new plate.

the only one that i can find is This, i might be assuming here but it's the only tr 775 kit i can find.

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The TR kit for the 120 came with the square plastic bit that surrounds the CPU socket too but, I'm guessing you already have that bit.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sputnik

The TR kit for the 120 came with the square plastic bit that surrounds the CPU socket too but, I'm guessing you already have that bit.

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already have 120 fitted so it's just the backplate that i'll need, if it comes with the locking screws then so be it - i'll just have some spare ones.

Although the backplate brackets are all similar I've found they have different hole/thread sizes. Can't you just re-use the one you have?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sputnik

Although the backplate brackets are all similar I've found they have different hole/thread sizes. Can't you just re-use the one you have?

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well in my confused state (may need the head examining :angst:) i may have removed the sticky pad cover, thus being stuck to the board. i will try and see if i can remove it, but don't want to damage the board trying as it will do for a back up and for the sake of £4 is it worth it not getting a replacement?