Upgrading my mobo (775dual-vsta)

[Nullvoid]

Hey guys, I've not been paying much attention to new PC hardware lately and I was hoping you could help me out with speccing a new motherboard. My current system consists of the following:

Case - Lian Li A05b
Mobo - ASRock 775dual-vsta
CPU - Intel c2d e6300
Ram - 2x1gb Kingston value ddr2 667
Power supply - Zalman zm500-hp
Graphics card - Radeon x1950xt 256mb

Would I be able to swap in an Abit IP43 for example and run that without changing any of my other hardware? And if the Intel P43 range of boards would be suitable, do the Asus or Gigabyte offerings make for a better pick than the Abit? I do have other questions but I guess they're better suited for different forums so I'll leave it there for now.

 

[smids]

I would not buy an Abit (they are leaving the motherboard business very soon). Go with Asus or Gigabyte (my preference on the latter). Low end Asus boards generally, I find, have low build quality.

The components listed are all compatible with P43 so you will be fine making the upgrade.

 

[Nullvoid]

Cheers for the reply smids. Have you got any tips for navigating the minefield that seems to be Gigabyte's motherboard naming convention? Why on earth do they have 6 different P43 boards?

 

[smids]

Pretty much like this:

L is the most basic > No final letter = standard > R = slightly higher spec'ed > P = the best in the range (usually) unless you get DS + higher number or DQ which are also higher spec'ed/the best. It's not really that intelligible but I think that's a rough guide.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...P43 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard is a good one though. Should suffice for you but if you can stretch, this is better: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...P45 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard