Best non SLI motherboard and recommended RAM ??

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hector1403

hector1403

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Oct 16, 2008
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Hi,

I need some recommendations for the best non SLI motherboard for intel core 2 duo or core 2 quad processors.

Any help would be appreciated.

Also I have already bought 4GB of following RAM so please keep the compatibility in mind (if any).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?nm_mc=AFC-SlickDeals&cm_mmc=AFC-SlickDeals-_-NA-_-NA-_-NA&Item=N82E16820227198

Also what would be the best Graphic card for under 200 dollars which can be used to play graphic intensive games.


Thanks in advance
 
The problem is that you're asking for specific answers without providing specific information. We need to know your budget for the motherboard (in addition to the budget for the video card, that you posted). Also helpful would be to know what games/apps you want to run.

The "best" (arguably) motherboards are going to run you upwards of $300+. You can probably find a motherboard that has/does everything you need and more in the price range of $90-150. The P35/P45s (credit to Joz) fit snugly into this price ranged and should provide you what you need.

As for the video card, start by looking at the ATi 4850s/Nvidia 9800s and work your way up to what you're comfortable spending.
 
Thanks everyone
My budget for the motherboard is between 100-150 so i think P45 mobos fits right in.

And yeah i was planning to get a HD 4850 and was thinking that it might be sufficient for me considering that i m not a hard core gamer.

I love playing strategy games so looking forward to play Command and Conquer Red alert -3, Tiberium wars. Some FPS games like Call of duty and similar games.

For video card, I do not want to spend more than 200 dollars so the choice that you have given (4850s and 9800s) fits right in my budget.

Thanks a ton for giving me these options. 🙂
 
Yeah, the 9800GTX+ is a good card too.

I recommended only the HD 4850 because it's more future-proof. You can put two of those on a P45 in Crossfire, but you can't do that with 9800GTX+ cards.
 


Yeah, keep it. You get it for free anyway with the P5Q Pro and GA-EP45-DS3R. That is, you pay $20 more than for a similar board with a single PCI-E x16 slot, and get Crossfire, eSATA, FireWire, RAID, more SATA ports for your $20. OK, you'd need a bigger PSU too, but who cares, with the 650TX only $72 (at www.buy.com).
 
Now that clears all the confusion that I had in my mind regarding mobo and video card.. :)

I will buy P5Q or GA-EP45-DS3R and will get a HD 4850.
And I wont mind putting extra bucks in PSU as its one of the most important component in the build.

I am planning to buy an Intel core 2 duo E8400/E8500 processor.
Do you think I should get a core 2 quad processor ?
 
Oh, no, not another "quad vs dual" thread!!!

The short answer is it doesn't really matter. The most popular CPUs in these threads are E8500 and Q6600. They're both very close and both very good and it doesn't really matter which one you pick.

The Q6600 is better IMO if any of these applies to you:
1. play a lot of Flight Simulator X or Supreme Commander
2. video editing, compression, DVD ripping, audio editing or compression
3. you intend to keep this CPU for 3 years or more
4. you are the kind of guy who does several things in parallel (downloads, movie playing, antivirus, game, etc, all at the same time)
5. You work on the PC (Photoshop, databases, programming, CAD)

If none applies, the E8500 will be a little better.
 
All right, it looks like Q8200 and Q6600 are so close that you won't actually notice a difference.

If you overclock, the Q6600 is a better choice because it has a larger multiplier. The Q8200 is very hard to get to 3GHz from what I've read, and at that speed is about as fast as a Q6600 at 3.1 or 3.2 GHz. A Q6600 on the other hand can get to 3.4GHz, or 3.6GHz. If you're interested in that, get the Q6600 OEM (not retail) from Newegg and add a Xigmatek HDT-S1283 or Sunbeam Core Contact to the shopping list.

If you don't intend to overclock, get the Q8200 because it's a little faster at stock than the Q6600 at stock.

Some numbers here:
http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,...Core_2_Quad_Q8200_versus_Q6600_and_Phenom_X4/
 
I would still recommend the older q6600 over the newer q8200, they should be approximately equal out of the box, but you'll likely get a higher overclock (if you even overclock at all) with the q6600.

Just my .02 regarding those two quad core procs.

EDIT: aevm is on top of things and beat me to it.
 
A P35 DFI board would do you fine, I like the BloodIron.
Rams get the most you can put in a 32 bit OS computer, 4GB of good quality DDR2 800 will be fine.
I would stay away from Asus products, they have crap RMA service.
 


It wasn't long ago that the $190 E8400 was by far the choice over the $270 E8500! :)
Looks like the E8500 is the way to go now. I own an E8400 at 3.6Ghz and a Q6600 and have to say that the quad offers much better alt tabbing and slightly better Xvid encoding (depends on which video encoder you're using). I would go with the quad now that they're so cheap, personally.

For the single PCI-E board I would have to say the Gigabyte EP45 DS3L. I own 2 EP35's and think they're great. They overclock well, are durable, offer a good amount of features... and are cheap. The EP45 model offers a lot more features then the P35 one, so you can't lose :) (no raid though)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128345

As for the <$200 GPU, I would go for the HD4850. It outperforms the 9800GTX+ in most tests, and with this cooler on it, heat shouldn't be a problem.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102770
$140 after rebate :)
 
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