Just my 2 cents :
phpbb is equally good and comes free ( see phpbb.com)

also xmb .

if its speed that matters most and not bells and whistles see
phorum.org



--- Chris Bowyer <wrox@m...> wrote:
> There's no question about it: http://www.vbulletin.com
> 
> I don't work for vBulletin, but I'm a user of their product,
> and a *HUGE* 
> fan. It's written in PHP, and the data is stored in a MySQL
> backend. It's 
> easy to setup, the entire script can be controlled through a
> control panel 
> (switches, forms, and HTML templates), and beats the pants out
> of UBB in 
> every way, basically.
> 
> I dig the hackers, too: they've got TONS of hacks for
> it...many of which 
> have been included in progressive versions. It's highly
> recommended! Costs 
> less than $200 for a lifetime license, too.