[xactly]

I am currently building a new PC so far i have the 8800GT and a OCZ 600w PSU, all I need now is a motherboard a proccesor and some memory. I have decided to go for the Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHz 6mb cache, as I will be using the build mainly for gaming and intenet.

Recently I read an article comparing DDR2 to DDR3 the results were only a 2% gain in gaming terms to DDR3 thus I have opted for DDR2 and will wait until next year when speed, latencies and price have come to a compromise. Therefore I have chosen OCZ REAPER HPC 1150mhz 2x1GB 5-5-5-18 DDR2. These are pretty much the fastest DDR2 sticks around and will be even faster once overclocked .

My final desicion is still undecided i have came across many motherboards such as the ASUS P5Q PRO and the Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3L. All I really want is a motherboard with a 1333mhz+ FSB, 45nm compatible, DDR2 1200 support, 1x+ PCI-E 2.0 X16 a PCI-E X1 and a few PCI's. The whole build is a kinda Budget price high performance build so the motherboard can be no more than £100 ( and for America $140.00). I was planning to wait for the Core i7 except the technology is new therfore bugs can exist. If anybody could reccomend any boards that fit the above criteria I would be happy to hear them. Thanks .

[Carbon]

I'd just go with either the DS3L or UD3P. I think they're better featured boards than the P5Q series in general, and have better overclocking tolerances.

[ilop12]

True. What case and CPU cooler are you getting?

[xactly]

For the time being I will not be purchasing a CPU cooler nor will i a case. I will use the Intel standard Retail fan that is included, as for the case it is a very genric black ATX case with a front 80mm fan and a 92mm rear fan. In a few months I might upgrade the cooler and/or the case.

In reply to Carbons post, I have looked at both boards in thorough detail and can only find that the GA-EP45-UD3P uses the Intel P45 chipset ehich allows for crossfire, a faster FSB dual Gigabit Ethernet and some heatpiped heatsinks. As price is a main concern I may just go for the GA-EP43-DS3L the only concern however was the great lack of reviews; there weren't any. I googled and searched through pages and pages but to find absolutely no reviews wheras with the GA-EP45-UD3P I was easily able to find many.

This has now lead me to these 2 boards and price wise I am leaned more towards the EP43-DS3L however the heatsinks on the UD3P look like they can tolerate more heat when overclocking? does anyone own either of these boards? If so, how are they with performance and overclocking? Thanks again for the replies .