Opinions on this motherboard

[DREDIOCK]

Put part of this in another thread.
I've already got the Ga-EP35

Just for chuckles curious what you all think of this motherboard

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=3079367&sku=E145-2026

How good does it look and what would it be good for?


Jusst in case I want to build an el cheapo system as a spare.

decent bang for the $49?

[Fulmar]

I have the 650i chipset in my Asus board.  I can't complain about it.  The chipset is about 18+ months old.  The layout is strikingly similar to my Asus board, but mine is SLI.  The northbridge passive heatsink will run hot.  About 45-50C+ directly on the heatsink surface.  I recommend having a chipset fan on top of that heatsink to keep it cool.  I do on mine and it running about 33C right now.

Rebate are lame, but EVGA does offer lifetime warranties.  Before the rebate, you could spend $20-30 more and get a nicer board.

[AirFlyer]

Not a bad board, but nothing amazing. A bit old but it runs all the new Intel CPU's and up to PC6400 RAM. The only two things that are of any concern are that its PCI-E 1.0 and it's not capable of SLI, but if your looking to just build a spare system that shouldn't be a problem. Overall it's a nice board for the price but not something I would suggest for a high-end computer.

[BaldEagl]

Thats a fine board for a cheap build.  I've got a 780i.

[Anodizer]

Cheap boards are just that...Cheap..  You get what you pay for..  Probably uses chinese caps which are pretty much junk..  Don't expect it to last very long..  Expect compatibility issues, almost no capability to over clock, and 50/50 shot of it working out of the box...

You want a good board for the money?  You're better off going to eBay and getting something used that still has a manufacturers warrant..
Abit has a really nice board that sells on eBay for around 100 bucks..  The IP35 Pro is really nice, supports Core2Quad, Support PC2 10400 with a BIOS upgrade and PC2 8500 out of the box...  I got one new in the box for $99.00
Abit has a 3 year warranty as well..  Asus has some nice board..  Realistically, you need to spend atleast around 100 bucks for a decent board..  Anything else will be a disappointment for many reasons.. 

[1701E]

Cheap boards are just that...Cheap..  You get what you pay for..  Probably uses chinese caps which are pretty much junk..  Don't expect it to last very long..  Expect compatibility issues, almost no capability to over clock, and 50/50 shot of it working out of the box...

You want a good board for the money?  You're better off going to eBay and getting something used that still has a manufacturers warrant..
Abit has a really nice board that sells on eBay for around 100 bucks..  The IP35 Pro is really nice, supports Core2Quad, Support PC2 10400 with a BIOS upgrade and PC2 8500 out of the box...  I got one new in the box for $99.00
Abit has a 3 year warranty as well..  Asus has some nice board..  Realistically, you need to spend atleast around 100 bucks for a decent board..  Anything else will be a disappointment for many reasons.. 

Not all cheap Motherboards are bad, I have a $60 Biostar one and it works great.  Only problem was my HDD didn't want to recoginze it at first (simple BIOS change), and OCing works fine, even tough i don't do it (tried it a few times).  Used it for a while now and no problem from it, compared to my old $120 Socket 939 Motherboard that crashed everyday.

[Fulmar]

Cheap boards are just that...Cheap..  You get what you pay for..  Probably uses chinese caps which are pretty much junk..  Don't expect it to last very long..  Expect compatibility issues, almost no capability to over clock, and 50/50 shot of it working out of the box...

That EVGA board is cheap because it is outdated, not because it's a bargain bin parts one.

Cheap motherboards can be hit or miss.  Back in the day I had a buddy that went through 3 ECS K7S5A (I remembered the model number lol?) boards.  During that same time frame I went through 1 myself in my wife's computer (returned it for an Asus board).

With that 650i chipset, if you use an aftermarket cooler on the CPU, the chipset heastink and CPU HSF may touch or rub up against each other.  May not even fit.

[BaldEagl]

That EVGA board is cheap because it is outdated, not because it's a bargain bin parts one.

And, because it's EVGA, it will come with a lifetime warranty.  It's really only one generation old; 650/680, 750/780/790.  The 50 series are the budget versions of the 80/90 series boards.