New Intel i5 build advice needed-motherboard

I will be building my mother a work machine and I will be building it around the Intel i5-750 2.66ghz CPU and I have picked out two possible motherboards...the Gigabyte-p55a-UD3 and the Asus P7P55D-E (both on Newegg.com where I will be ordering). Anyone have any ideas,thoughts, or experiences with either of these boards? I was reading some of the reviews on both tonight and both seem to have problems according to the reviews but I DO know not everyone that is happy with their purchase leaves positive reviews.

If there is another quality motherboard selection I should be looking at please advise and point me in that direction. If she had a larger budget I already know what board I would use but she needs a mid range quality machine and I do build PC's for myself and I am aware of what the higher end components are but she has no need for i7 930/980x plugged into an EVGA motherboard so I am having to dabble in lower cost areas I have no knowledge of. Both the boards have SATA 6 gb/s and USB 3.0 support which is what we want for a little future proofing and she does need the 1 ATA connector as well to utilize her new DVD burner.

I would like to allow $139-159 for the motherboard for this build but do want a good brand and there seem to be a fair amount in that range but the reviews are scaring me LOL. I haven't looked at the Intel boards yet but will do that now. Thanks in advance!

pparks1 said:

I almost always build with Gigabyte, Asus or Intel boards. All have been quite reliable. Personally, I like the Asus boards as they have a nice little connector for the front panel and LED's, switches and such that makes plugging everything into the motherboard super easy.

Yes the Q-connector is nice...I have it on my Asus Crosshair.

So after the replies I believe either of these boards will be a solid choice so I will ignore the negative reviews on Newegg (they always should be considered but should not affect your purchase decision soley). I will most likely will choose the Asus since I have heard and read lots of good reviews and tests on that board on many sites.

I am just glad she is choosing to get away from the pre-built (Dell, Gateway, HP, etc) machines and get something that will useul for some time to come and have a decent amount of upgradability. Thanks to all that replied.

DirtyElf said:

which asus p7p55d-e board did you get? the LX? i think thats probably the best bang for the buck

The one I am looking at is the "-E" one and that is the one I believe I am going to go with.

DirtyElf said:

Newegg.com - p7p55d-e

pro, deluxe, lx, lga, etc...?


edit: i got the pro, but looking back i could have saved $50 and gotten the LX

LGA is one I am looking at. She doesn't need extra features just something that is reliable and and supports the latest hardware technologies to keep her going for a while. Sad thing is her budget PC I will be building at a cost of about $900 will be a better performer than the one I built almost 3 years ago (which is the one I am using now) for $2500 LOL. I want to build a new one but just don't have the $$ to do it!!