Question : Problem: Best Motherboard for this CPU

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 Quad Core Processor LGA775 2.66GHZ Yorkfield 1333FSB 12MB OEM No HSF

Price: (Under $400CND)

Key Points: O/Clocking Planned.
Needs to be stable when overclocked (Thinking only 12% OC) Nothing Huge (will have cooling needed)

Thinking only a Single Video card, not going duel.

Thanks much!

Answer : Problem: Best Motherboard for this CPU

My experience is different.
Abit had problems when EVERYONE was having problems with the bad electrolyte in caps fiasco that flooded the market with dodgy caps a few years ago.
(Affected everyone except Intel and Tyan that I know of.)
When that happened Abit got hit harder than many because they that had a huge number of attractive boards on the market at the time *and* were using Taiwan sourced caps almost exclusively.
Then they switched to all Japanese caps and got caught up in the over filled Nichicon caps fiasco on many of their boards.
(That one caught EVERYONE including Intel and Tyan.)
But:
Abit is about the only company that learned the lesson well and has been adamant about using only high quality caps on their motherboards since. Their standards for parts on their motherboards are now essentially the same as Intel's and they have been for the last several years..
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With MSI, DFI, and Asus it is still (as always) hit and miss.
Some great, some good, some bad.
I don't know for sure with DFI, but MSI and Asus still use questionable caps on low and some mid-range models.

It is really best to do some research on the specific model you are considering.
The 'brand' isn't always a good indication.

.