Mother board questions

[Astoron]

What's the very best mother board on the market right now for using an ATIs top end card? I know I want DDR2 RAM slots and PCI express slots. All I've seem to come across thus far are Nvidia built boards that really only support geforce cards. Any thoughts???:confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

[Ekimus]

amd or intel?

[Astoron]

I'd like to use an Intel chip. AMD is cheaper of course but cost shouldn't be a matter.

[Phion]

If you're going to use intel, wait for the Core 2 to come out. If you're going to use AMD, the AM2 socket is starting to make an appearance on motherboards as well, so consider that too.

You'll have to do some searching to find CrossFire motherboards that support DDR2, for some reson they're harder to find. AMD's AM2 socket which does support DDR2 has a few options, including this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131013
That'll support AMD's Athlon 64, 64 x2, and FX processors. Though it's only got one IDE channel :(

If you're adamant about going with a pentium-compatible motherboard, I can ask a couple of my friends who've built pentium-based systems recently. But I'm sure someone here might still use a pentium and could steer you better. The only real intel alternative I know of is:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813186058
But it's only got one x16 slot

[Astoron]

Ok so lets say I wanted to build an AMD rig. Are there any really good mother boards, for AMD, that support ATI? The ones I looked at seemed to really support Nvidia and I've had really bad luck with Geforce line of cards. Whats the best AMD boards for an ATI card? how about this card http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2767

[Phion]

Just about any card should work on anyone's chipset, so long as it's got the PCIe slots for it. The big difference comes down to whether or not you wanna run an SLi or CrossFire setup. The board you linked is one of ATi's CrossFire boards for the AM2 socket. It'll support everything you've asked for, the only problem I can think of off-hand is availability. Newegg, Tiger Direct, or ZipZoomFly should have it. Just check-out any board using the CrossFire Xpress 3200 chipset.

-Edit-
Also keep an eye out for the RD580 to be re-released with Core 2 compatability in a few weeks. That'll either drive prices down or give you some solid alternatives for a CPU (AMD's already started cutting prices).

[Astoron]

Core 2 is what? I don't really know much about AMD. Is core 2 the duel chip from AMD?

[Phion]

Core 2 is Intel's newest processor, formerly known as the Conroe. It's set to replace the Pentium as its mainstream product, and is based off the Core Duo processor that you currently see in a ton of Laptops and Macs.

[Astoron]

Cool, I'd much rather wait for the intel board to come out. I've put intel rigs together before and it's a norm for me. Thanks for the info Phion