Why are some motherboards so expensive but cheapers ones are just as good?

[oldfolks123]

I dont know to much about mobos as you all may know. But i was wonderig why a mobo like the rampage formula cost 288.99
Newegg.com - ASUS RAMPAGE FORMULA LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards


while a mobo that can hold almost the same type of RAM(ddr2 1006) is much cheaper

Newegg.com - EVGA 123-YW-E175-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i FTW SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

[pullmyfoot]

Its not about the type of ram it can hold, or the CPU socket or whatever. ITs about board stability, the other features, overclockibility, the quallity of components used in the board. Bios options also make it more or less expensive, as the kind of support and warrenty you get. Most of all, it depends on the chipset. The Rampage is based on a very high end Intel chipset (the best money can currently buy), whereas the EVGA one is based on a mid range NVIDIA chipset. One example of how the X48 is better is that it can overclock better, plus has more lanes on the PCIe bus so you can run more cards in crossfire mode at the full X16 mode. The 750i has less lanes.

As a rule of thumb, if you dont know anything about computers, dont bother with an expensive board. You will not have a clue of how to use 80% of the extra features that make it expensive to start with. Something anywhere between the $60 to $100 mark will be more than enough for a beginner. Even then it will have plenty of features that will take time to learn how to use.

[ShyguyXPC]

The reason why is because your comparing to COMPLETELY different boards to one another, besides different brands, & chipsets (as well as feature sets), the one is a top of the line board & another is a midrange more "basic" board...

as Pull My Foot explains above, there are tons of reasons why one is more expensive than the others. its the same thing as to why some GDDR3 Graphics cards are 2-3 times more expensive than some others using the same memory... besides brands, GPU's & other features, the more expensive ones are generally top of the line cards, compared to lower performance range ones...


oldfolks, in your church PC thread you mentioned you have your system built, or done, or whatever... I remember that Rampage board was one of the ones you were looking at buying, so begs one to wonder, did you actually buy it yet, or are you still wondering whether or not to get it?

or is this in reference to the Church PC build?

[oldfolks123]

o no its not compared tot he church build they dont need a rampage or a sli ready board =p but okay i was tryna decide rather to get the rampage or a cheaper one like this.

Newegg.com - ASUS P5N-D LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

i plan on getting 2x 4870s x2 when i build my REAL computer

the one i actually built was just a test to see if i could do it i bought some parts for about 500( i got about everything all i did was go to each section and go to lowest =p) but now im actually about to order the real parts for my computer i upgraded quite a bit since last time. and went OVERKILL!!! i call it my "OVERKILL RIG"

Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg

i didnt need a monitor due to somting ood tha thappen

and i got the 60 dollar fan controller just to fill some of those 5.25 slots

and 6 fans to replace the stock

and im not sure if my video card is on thei rbut im gettin a sapphire 4870

[ShyguyXPC]

OK, listen VERY carefully, this is last time I'm mentioning it... if your going to run 2 or more crossfire capable video cards you will NEED, a crossfire capable Motherboard...

so in this case, you eventually want to run 2 HD4870x2's in crossfire, one card by itself does not need a crossfire board, but for 2 of them, you WILL need a crossfire board... grabbing an SLI board like the 750i you mention WILL NOT work. it will ONLY work for SLI capable setups, in which case you will have to switch to getting nVidia based GPU graphics cards.




NOW onto the list...

good choice on the case, but forget about replacement fans YOU DO NOT NEED THEM, the stock fans that come with this level of case is perfectly fine, add in the fact the case has only ONE 140mm fan in it & you have 6 new replacement 140mm fans selected... you would only need one, but in this case you don't need any. the stock fans are perfectly fine the way it is.

my Armor case (the original design), I am still using the original fans that came with it & they are doing plenty good for cooling. & its been over a year & half now that I've been running my system (99.9% of the time the system is run 24/7)

ditching the extra fans, saves $90 that can be used else where, like another hard drive or something. also you won't really need a fan controller for this set up, if the fans are anything like the stock fans in the original design of the Armor, their quiet enough & no need for a controller.

also because the front bays utilize a grill mesh design, it provides extra breathing for the case for better cooling, so grabbing that 2 bay controller to take up some of the bays will only serve to hinder the cases airflow design.

if you want something to fill a drive bay use the included 5.25" to 3.5" bay adapter piece & grab a 3.5" bay fan controller or something more useful like a 3.5" floppy drive with Flash Media reader built in...

Newegg.com - VANTEC UGT-CR905 58-in-1 USB 2.0 Card Reader/Writer for 3.5” or 5.25” Drive Bay with Built-In USB Port - Card Readers

Mount this in your 3.5" bay also as an option if you don't need a media card reader: Scythe Kaze Master 3.5" 2 Channel Fan Controller / Temp Display - Black (KM01-BK-3.5) - FrozenCPU.com


here's also another handy little device to install: Lian-Li 3.5" Lintus Media Center - Black w/ Black 5.25" Adapter (LM-01-B) - FrozenCPU.com

but basically its a matter of using whats given to you to use in the case, with its design to keep from hindering the cases cooling design.

realistically for stock speeds & even mild overclocking you won't need any fan controller, so thats off the list, so it really comes down to grabbing something like the other two devices which would come in more handier down the road. most likely the card reader would be the most valuable asset.

the Power supply is as you put a bit Overkill, but as long as it doesn't burn out prematurely, should be plenty of power down the road to add tons more parts & add-ons, even possibly be migrated over to the next build or two, years down the road.

just remember installing that particular PSU that fitting things in the top bays may be a tight fit due to the PSU's extra length. (something that isn't uncommon amongst near or over 1000W PSU's these days)

[oldfolks123]

no no no..u dont understand

i just picked a random board to compare it to...i NEVER said i was using it..

[ShyguyXPC]

still the same thing applies, just make sure its a crossfire motherboard.

no idea why out of all the other cheaper boards, Intel P43/45, G31/G33/P35, etc etc etc, boards why you randomly picked the SLI one to compare with? but whatever.

[oldfolks123]

i randomly picked up because i was viewing someones build then i clicked on the mobo then noticed something about it then i looked at my rampage and saw the price so i asked this question and i just put the URL of the 2 mobos i saw first

[shizzzon]

that video card in your wish list is NOT a 4870x2 card either.

you cant buy 4870x2s for $309, lol.

Look for 4870x2s in the $550-600 range per card.

[ShyguyXPC]

originally I think they were maybe thinking of doing three-way Crossfire, with a 4870 & 4870x2... I'm thinking thats why the single 4870 was in there.