MB & memory questions

[MatticusFinch]

im in the process of putting together a new DAW, and the different MB's that have been reccomended are the Abit IS7-G, ASUS P4P800 deluxe, and the MSI 865PE Neo2-FIS2R. i've never built a computer before, and have no idea which of these brands might be preferable. one person has reccomended i stay away from the MSI board because of reliability concerns based on his experience. anyone have any leanings? reliability for me really is the key, i really don't care if one is easier to overclock or will give me a 1% increase in performance.

my other question regards what kind of memory. i'm goin to want 1GB of pc3200 to run in dual channel mode, and once again i want the make that will be most stable under standard DAW use. is the answer to this question somewhat dependent on the answer to the first? any replies/suggestions are greatly appreciated.

oh, in case it matters, the rest of the major components will be: P4 2.8c, matrox G550, 2 WD "JB" drives, and my aardvark direct pro q10

[ManFromMars]

I have used Abit and Asus boards (with athlons though) and both seem to be very good and reliable, reputable manufacturers. MSI I haven't used, but they do get recommended from time to time in hardware reviews... they often are a bit more budget though I think. I'd go for the one with the most upgradeability (I don't know the models you say) and speed, and preferably without a northbridge fan if you dont want to overclock (to reduce noise).
Regarding memory, crucial and corsair RAM are both good, reliable makes, I haven't had any problems with either. This answer isn't dependant on your first (I hope!).
Good luck with it all, building a system yourself is often an arse but ultimately rewarding http://www.audioforums.com/forums/smile.gif

[dawboxpro]

The P4P800 would be my choice between the two. Those are solid boards and have dual channel ram.

Great board very tweakable bios.

Justin Lynch (Studio Consultant)

[MatticusFinch]

thanks for the replies. the different advice i've received has indeed pointed me towards the ASUS board. as for the memory, i seem to be hearing corsair/crucial/samsung echoing around, i just wanted to make sure there wasn't anything people were specifically running into problems with. should order everything in the next day or so. when it gets here the adventure begins. any advice for someone building a system for the first time? im pretty good at following instructions and i have no fear...