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Well updated my bios while in windows and all went well. Restarted and boot screen was all garbled. Force restarted it and now it wont even post. So much for Asus crash free bios crap. It has to be able to post to use the crash free off the disc. The older crash free was actually a second chip on the mobo and you could swap a jumper to boot of it but guess those days are long gone. Im thinking about going with a DFI mobo. Whats you guys oppinions for a new mobo. All I need is ddr2800 or better with 775 socket.

Google mobo/cpu combo's and you'll find many deals. It depends on how much $$ you want to spend, AMD or Intel. I've been an AMD guy for years now but I'd need to research who's better these days before I upgrade again.

Ok, I wasnt very clear. I want to use my existing cpu which is LGA 775 core 2 duo, and want to use my existing mem ddr2 800.

Looking at this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813188038

i've been on my new asus P5Q Pro for a week...it was the easiest build i've ever had. of course, you sound like you're off the asus train though.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131299

during my research, it came down to gigabyte or asus, imo...$$$ vs features/performance.

Well Im going to snag the below board even though Im not sure if it will work in an inverted ATX case due to the heat pipe routing. Are heat pipes bi-directional or do they always need to face up?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813136053

You got gonads for trying to update the BIOS via Windows. Seems like there would be too many things that can go wrong while in Windows.

Well I dont have a floppy drive so other than using the mobo disc (which is even more elemetary than floppy). Ive done it quite a few times since there were so many updated bios since the board had like next to no compatibility with most mem. So you think I can mount that mobo in an inverted atx case without having heat issues due to the routing of the pipes?

Nvrmnd, found a $hitload of threads from peepz that are doing it without issues....

I have actually had no issues updating Asus motherboards in Windows... Gigabyte motherboards are nice. They have a Dual bios and an easy bios flash utility built-in. I have updated it from a USB floppy drive on more than one occasion.

Have you tired resetting the bios with the jumper? It's a long shot but it's worth a try.

On some newer Asus boards(not sure about older boards) you can update an award BIOS with a thumbnail drive. Just updated mine without any problems

I tried reseting the cmos (moved jumper and removed battery) and no workie.

Ok, ended up ordering this today...hope its a decent board.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813136045

Looked at some Asus boards but still very irritated with the last two asus boards I used. Thought about gigabyte.....said what tha hell, give DFI a shot since it was relatively cheap.

Maybe pick up new vid card after the holidays. Ati looks like they have got their act together.

Ok Im going to kill the UPS man when I see him. The guy shows up at 8:30pm drops my package off at the door and doesnt even ring the damn doorbell. I went out to smoke and BINGO theres my board....Installing windows now.....posted with lots of errors....now shows "FF" which according to DFI means fully functional...hope all goes well. Found out my mem cant run on nothing less than 2.2v as well with the help of google. Maybe thats why my last build was so unstable...was running 2.0v. Fingers crossed mx_

Key Keeper wrote:Maybe pick up new vid card after the holidays. Ati looks like they have got their act together.

ATI is owned by AMD now, so basically... they got their act bought out.

Nvidia cards are still great, I usually get the ones by BFG Tech.