I got to thinking today about all the motherboards I've had over the years, and I came to the conclusion that I've yet to own a 'perfect' board. My DFI NF4 Ultra board was close, but the lack of a parallel port meant I ended up getting a USB printer. So I thought it'd be interesting to see exactly what features etc people look for in a mobo, or more precisely, what you'd like them to come with. Here's my list, ignoring the obvious stuff like price, good stability and everything working properly...
-Good overclocking/tweaking options (fsb range, voltages, ram timings etc)
-Legacy support (PATA/floppy/ps2/pci). I'd like at least 3 pci slots, really.
-Onboard networking (ideally including WiFi)
-An 'emergency' key on the keyboard to boot with safe settings to save having to clear CMOS. My P5N-E SLI doesn't seem to have this, which is annoying. Instead it automatically boots with safe settings if it fails to boot, but obviously that only works if it fails. If you push memory timings too much, it will boot for a couple of seconds but lock up before you can actually change anything
-Power switch on the mobo. I really miss that from my DFI board, makes troubleshooting a lot easier
-On the plus side, my new board has this Q-connector thing which makes plugging the case cables in about 100x easier. Normally one of the most frustrating things about a new build I find is getting those blighters on the right pins!
-Ability to flash BIOS from within windows
-Reliable temp sensors
-Sensible board layout and cooling solutions
-Good, easy to follow error reporting (beeps/LEDS with descriptions in the manual)
-Good overclocking/tweaking options (fsb range, voltages, ram timings etc)
-Legacy support (PATA/floppy/ps2/pci). I'd like at least 3 pci slots, really.
-Onboard networking (ideally including WiFi)
-An 'emergency' key on the keyboard to boot with safe settings to save having to clear CMOS. My P5N-E SLI doesn't seem to have this, which is annoying. Instead it automatically boots with safe settings if it fails to boot, but obviously that only works if it fails. If you push memory timings too much, it will boot for a couple of seconds but lock up before you can actually change anything
-Power switch on the mobo. I really miss that from my DFI board, makes troubleshooting a lot easier
-On the plus side, my new board has this Q-connector thing which makes plugging the case cables in about 100x easier. Normally one of the most frustrating things about a new build I find is getting those blighters on the right pins!
-Ability to flash BIOS from within windows
-Reliable temp sensors
-Sensible board layout and cooling solutions
-Good, easy to follow error reporting (beeps/LEDS with descriptions in the manual)