Which uATX Motherboard for Q6600

[nme_uk]

Hi all,

I'm looking for a new setup for my dev pc, which I use for all sorts, mostly web design / dev, hosting VM's, HTPC and some gaming.

I'm looking to keep my existing case, so am restricted to Micro ATX FF.
I need advise on which motherboard is best suited for my use.

I've been reading around and think I have the following options - Which would you recommend?

1. Abit Fatal1ty F-I90HD - Heard lots of reliability rumours (Are these now sorted?) but would suit a HTPC function / not great for OC.

2. Giga-byte GA-G33M-DS2R /Gigabyte GA G33M-S2 (not sure what the difference here is but these boards seem to have a good rep for OC.

3. Asus P5K-VM - dont know much about this one.

4. On the outside I've also noticed two foxcon boards. What do you make of these?
- FoxConn G33M
- Foxconn G33M/S

These two seem to support a higher FSB (1333 - what does that really mean?) but not sure how good they are for OC.

I hope to run this overclocked if its possible to do so without much extra fan noise, but ideally want quad core purely for the multi tasking aspects including the virtualisation stuff, and am sure that a 2.4ghz quad would be plenty nifty enough either way.

I'd like to be able to support future upgrades of the CPU's as pricess drop, including the next gen 45nm stuff ( whens it due?)

Please feel free to suggest anything else if its more suited to my needs.
thanks

[nme_uk]

ok, so I've decided to go with the Giga-Byte Board - the G33M DS2R uATX board.

This is the one.

Any comments before I hit the 'buy it now'?

also looking to get the following:

Intel Quad Core Q6600.

and this RAM

How's this for a combo? Any feedback most welcome!

thanks
nme

[tinners]

Id personally recommend a new case and a full size board for overclocking performance. The uATX boards tend to come with limited OC potential and cut down BIOSs e.g. no RAID etc.
I have the P5KVM which is overclockable but not anything like the same league as my Gigabyte ATX board.

[MikeC]

I would agree with tinners, yes a full atx will o/c better than an m-atx. Depends on how far you want to take it

I have a P5K-VM & has a useful o/c of 50% on a E2140.
I use mine as HTPC so its ideal.

I did buy a GA-G33M-DS2R but after 1 day, the NIC failed on it so I swapped it for the P5K-VM which I am more than happy with.
The GA-G33M-DS2R does have raid on it (hence the R suffix) which you may or may not want.

HTH

[nme_uk]

Thanks guys for the suggestions. Unfortunately the upgrade is on a bit of shoestring budget, so a new case etc is out of the question. All in all, I'm not too bothered about overclocking as I'm sure the new board n cpu will be more than capable for the vm stuff I have in mind at stock, and the overclocking will only really happen if i can keep the whole thing quiet - I HATE fan noise but I'm really more concerned about compatibility between the bits.

Oh, and one more thing, What cpu cooler do I get?

Thanks all
nme

[nme_uk]

now I can see it getting even more expensive! - Would this PSU be ok to power the above rig? Its the existing one in my pc, its supposedly a quiet fan.

Zalman 4000A

I think its rated at 400W - Otherwise, which completely silent PSU would you reccomend - I think its and mATX Type.

Thanks

[tinners]

PSU will be fine. I had the same in my last HTPC and they're good PSUs.
I also have the P5K in my current HTPC (see sig). I did play with overclocking and got my E6300 to 2.8 no problem but dropped it back down as I dont need the extra performance.

[nme_uk]

Cool - thanks tinners -DEAL DONE!

Just hit the buy button - roll on friday :-)

Can you think of anything else I might need? I've brought all retail packs, so no need for extra sata cables, etc, but I'm sure I've missed something.

[tinners]

to overclock well youll need a better CPU cooler