I'm trying to figure out the best motherboard for me to get under $200.
I'm definitely getting a Duo 2 Quad, 6600 or 6700. Another requirement is PCI Express 2.0. I'm getting 1 GeForce 8800 GT right now, so I won't use SLI right away, maybe in the future if I want to upgrade.

These are the priorities in this order:
1) Performance
2) Stability
3) Flexibility

I was thinking about getting an SLI motherboard but then if I dont upgrade till 5 years from now, I'll probably want to replace the processor which this motherboard may not support. Was thinking about getting DDR3 compatible board but I by the time I actually need to use DDR3, years may go by and I mind as well get a new board as well.

Basically what I'm trying to say is that I'm not sure how much flexibilty is worth in the board: DDR3, SLI, 45nm compatible intel cpu holder. But maybe I'm wrong and I should invest in a flexible motherboard.

With all this in mind these are the boards im looking at:

- ASUS P5N-D ($150)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131232
Pros: SLI, Asus therefore Quality, Highly Praised
Cons: only DDR 800, more expensive due to SLI, 1333/1066MHz FSB

- ASRock P43Twins1600 ($75)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813157130
Pros: Cheap, DDR3 (4Gigs is enough for me), WIFI, 1600/1333MHz FSB
Cons: Cheap parts low Quality from what I hear, no SLI

- ASUS P5QL PRO ($95)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131329
Pros: Quality (asus), everything I need for right now including DDR2 1066
Cons: No SLI or DDR3

- Anything else less than $200

I just want the best bang for the buck, please help I've been going over this forever it seems, at a fork in the road. THANKS A LOT!!!!

If you have a E6600 or E6700(I like the 45nm parts better) any mobo that you get will perform about the same, or close enough that you can't tell the difference. If you are trying for bragging level overclocks, that is another matter.

DDR2 and DDR3 will also perform about the same. Don't spend extra for DDR3.

When nehalem arrives, about the end of this year, it will need a new X58 mobo anyway, so there is no "future-proofing"

If you want to upgrade your vga card, sli is usually not as good as selling your old card and getting a newer single card. SLI implies a Nvidia chipset which may not be as stable as the intel chipset.

PCI-e 2.0 makes a miniscule difference, primarily on the top end vga cards. It should not be high on your requirement list.

The hew P45 based boards are nice, and they have lots of rear usb ports, which I like. For stability, though look at some of the older P35 based boards. They have had lots of time for the bios to mature.

X38 (dual PCI-e 16x 2.0 lanes for CrossFire)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 38&x=0&y=0

X48 for $219
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] rder=PRICE

Also, get a 4850, not an 8800gt.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] rder=PRICE
(check slickdeals.net and fatwallet.com for cheapest prices on the 4850 - $145+)

I'm assuming "Duo 2 Quad, 6600 or 6700" meant "Q6600 or Q6700".

P5E Deluxe x48, $220
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131317

Alternatively, P5Q Pro, $150
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] =P5Q%2bPro

The first one is better for two HD 4850 or HD 4870 cards, but the difference is small on 22" monitors or smaller. If you have or will have a 24" or bigger monitor get the x48.

I also like the GA-X48-DS4, $225, but it's out of stock at newegg.

Get a 750TX or PC Power & Cooling 750W to support that setup, including the second video card.

Also, you should get a case with good cooling. RC-690, Antec 900, NZXT Tempest, etc.

Edit: I assumed you'll take Noya's good advice about the HD 4850. I wouldn't buy an 8800GT these days. If you do get the 8800GT then these MB suggestions are bad and please ignore them.

x48

For gods sake man, get a 45nm CPU... they are the same price or cheaper.

Newegg prices right now:
Q6600 $185 (OEM)
Q6700 $275
Q9450 $330

With overclocking, all 3 are very close. (The Q9450 has a multiplier of 8, Q6600 9, Q6700 10) If the OP does not overclock, or he uses SSE4 software, then the Q9450 is the best choice, true. Otherwise, though, the Q6600 sounds best to me.

It seems like you guys are saying 2 things:
1) Chipset is the most important thing I should be concerned with?
2) Get Intel mobo + ATI combo instead of a Intel mobo + NVidia combo?
3) SLI/Crossfire, DDR3, and PCI Express 2.0 don't matter?

Is this correct?

So many chipsets out there: P35, P45, X48, X38, P43, etc.... What is the order from best to worst of these chipsets anyway? And does it really matter much?

HD 4850 must of just came out, I was doing a lot of research and the best I could find for a cheap price was the 8800 versions.

I was thinking about starting off with 1 card and in the future if I needed more power I could just add another graphics card for cheap with crossfire or sli. I shouldn't do this?
BTW this machine is for gaming only.

Also I don't mind going an Overclock route... I know overclocking is pretty simple these days, maybe expensive getting cooling gear, and better power supply though. I just heard that when you overclock, your parts die out quickly. Is this not true anymore? Is there no reason to not overclock?

Also as far as gaming goes are you guys suggesting to go with an overclocked Duo instead of an overclocked Quad?

At the level of the E8500 or Q9450, the vga card is much more important for gaming than the cpu.
At that level, overclocking is good for bragging, but it will not net you as much increase
in FPS as a better vga card will. Today, very few games can make use of more than two cores.
Flight simulator X is an exception. It is not a trivial matter to code multi threaded programs,
and game vendors will not sell too many games that require quads to run.
I don't see this changing in the next couple of years, and then nehalem will be upon us.

Net: E8500 for the increased clock speed, particularly at today's reduced prices. A fast duo will run cooler, and overclock higher if necessary(which I doubt)

For gaming, get the best vga card you feel comfortable buying today. The 4870 or GTX280 will run just about any game decently. In a year, there will always be something much better and cheaper. At that time, you will not want to spend a lot to double up on a card when there is something so much more capable available.

Unless you need/want more than a single vga card can deliver, there is no need to pay more for a multi-gpu capable system today. The mobo will cost more, and the psu will cost more.

Considering you don't have much money, I'd say you should stick with a single-card solution, but get the best card you can afford. Think about something like GA-EP43-DS3L ($100, no RAID, single PCI-E 2 slot), 650TX PSU, HD 4870 (or at least HD 4850). 3 or 5 years from now replace the MB/CPU/video card, but the PSU will be reusable.

Yes, the chipset is very important. The best: X48 > X38 > P45 >P43 > P35. SLI/Crossfire are nice if you can afford a more expensive case/PSU/MB and the second card and a 24" monitor or larger. DDR3 is not important, or even worth it yet. PCI-E 2 does matter with a HD 4850 or HD 4870.
HD 4850 can be found for $170 at newegg. Better value than anything else IMO at this time.

Overclocking: get an E8400 or E8500, add a cheap Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, overclock a little, it won't hurt the lifetime of any components. If the machine is only for gaming (and you're not playing FSX) don't bother with a quad.

^+1

So I think I'm going for a Quad, since I won't be upgrade for another 4-5 years more than likely.
I want to try overclocking this time.
So I'm guessing this is what I'll need:
Q6600
P45 mobo
HD 4870

what do you think? I'm making a build right now to be more specific...

Sounds good. Get a P5Q Pro and a 750TX, then you still have the Crossfire option for later.

BTW, I mean P5Q, not the P5QL you linked earlier. The P5Q has two PCI-E slots and supports Crossfire and uses P45. The P5QL is a P43 board, no Crossfire.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] =P5Q%2bPro

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core
MOB: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P45
RAM: Mushkin 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) 5-5-5-12 1.8V
GPU: SAPPHIRE 100243L Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16
PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V
FAN: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler

New Egg Part List: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/ [...] er=8866966
$734.94

I might be able to get some parts in other places for cheaper.

I definately want a Quad, GPU under or close to $280, and I'm planning on overclocking.

Parts I have already: Case (need to be replaced), Hard drive (need to be replaced), Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, and DVD Drive

Concerns:
- Still a little too expensive
- Still need a hard drive and a case honestly

Recommendations Needed:
- Need Cheaper, same Quality P45 mobo
- Cheaper Ram, low settings and voltage for overclocking
- Want cheaper PSU and perferably one that comes with a case so I can knock 2 birds out with 1 stone.

Questions:
- Is 650W needed, can I go lower? What is the lowest number of Watts I should get?
- Should I try to get better ram, 1000/1066/1200, will it make a difference?

My Budget is very very low, like $600, but I'll pay more if I have too.
Rig Purposes:
1. Gaming
2. Gaming
3. Gaming
4. Some server applications, like streaming music across the web
5. Photoshop (no 3d work)
6. Web Programmer and multitask like non other

Please tell me your thoughts, thanks a lot!