After much research and hours of talking to tech reps, reading reviews, tech specs, articles and anything else I came to a semi reasonable and accurate assesment of the two Chipsets...
Turns out that the 975x is a less powerful (and older) chipset then the 965, when running Conroe Core 2 duo processors (X6800, E6700, E6600, E6500, E6400, E6300) chips, and that the 965 was built for the Conroe, while the 975 was built for the older processors.
Intel has adapted a method similar to AMD's implementation of memory management and the 965 unleashes the memory capabilities of the Core 2.
First the 965 and 975x chipset have an adjustable memory multiplier. I am assured that the 975x doesn’t handle memory like the 965. Both chipsets support DDR-2 memory speeds well bellow 800 MHz to a maximum of 1060 MHz.
Note: The Memory Multiplier is different then the CPU Multiplier. This is why there is two ways the clock speed and FSB is calculated.
For new comers FSB x Multiplier = CPU Clock Speed. Take the E6700 for example: 266 MHz FSB X 10 Multiplier = 2.66ghz!
The clock speed formula uses a FSB of 266, while the Conroe chip says it has a FSB of 1060. Honestly I am completely sure for the discrepancy except that it has to do with how the FSB and the North Bridge communicate.
Edit: 266 isnt the exact number... it is rounded off... thus the discrepancy of 266x4
With the 965 chipset you can step up your memory multiplier to 1060 MHz, and uses a “Burst” technology that also improves memory access. This is important if you want to spend money on the good memory. Be prepared, 1060 MHz memory goes for $400 for 2 Gigs.
Note: The performance gains of 1060 MHz Corsair memory have been reported to be slight (3%) compared to the top end 800 MHz Corsair memory. Last I heard the latest bios updates from Asus for the 965 chipsets don’t support changing in latencies from their defaults. Hopefully this will change. I recommend CORSAIR’s TWIN2X2048-8500C5! Can you say LIFETIME Warranty! CORSAIR also admits their memory was built to go well above 1060 and have heard of reports of above 1100 MHz. Corsair also states that you can drop the latency from 5-5-5-15 to 4-4-4-12! I sure hope Asus releases a BIOS update for this. The increase from 800 mhz to 1024 Mhz is definitely a higher performance bump then the lower costing and much lower latency memory.
With the 975x chipset you are limiting your Conroe to an older memory access mechanism. I would be interested in seeing a direct comparison between the two chipsets.
The 965 chipset unleashes the full potential of the Conroe’s power saving features and monitors the 5 thermostats on the Core 2 Duos. I hear it will temporally boost the performance of the chip based on these readings. These advanced power control features should result in overall lower power consumption (even under load) and should result in a better over clocking system.
If you increase the FSB settings, you will increase the speed of the memory based on the memory multiplier. Again, Intel’s Conroe chips also have been known to have other advanced memory features that will also speed up access. Unfortunately the 975x chipset does not support many of these features. Again you can look them up yourself, and hopefully someone can report on the differences.
I bought the x6800 with the Asus P5B, after cancelling my order for the Asus P5W-DH. I didn’t buy the Deluxe because I am saving my money to upgrade to a better motherboard as the future comes. BTW, the 965 does NOT support SLI or Crossfire, the 975x is reported to running some MoBo’s with duel PCI Express 8x Crossfire.
I also chose the 965 chipset because I bought a 1900xtx video card, and run a monitor with a maximum resolution of 1200x1024. This means that my FPS will be higher then the sky even on the newest games with max settings (FEAR, Ghost Recon, ETC) without SLI or Crossfire. In the future it may be cost effective for me to buy a new MoBo with the next gen chipset and another Video Card. Also I am running a complete water cooled system, though due to the extreme modification to the case and the complex wire solutions I am working on, I wont have it running until August 25, 2006 (tomorrow).
-------Added 9/25/06--------
When Buying a 965 or 975 MoBo for the Core 2 Duo, make sure you get the bios flashed to a version that supports your chip. I hear of people having problems with the 965 and the Extreme Processor, and they often need to purchase bios chips from Asus. Other problems exist with the 975. Go to your local no-name dealer who eaks out a living selling machines, and buy your MoBo from him. That way he can use a old intel processor to boot it up and flash it for you. And if you have any problems the guys are usually very willing to help you out.
-------------------
Lastly, expect NVidia and others to come out with purpose built Conroe 2 duo chipsets.
Thanks
Mike
P.S. I will monitor this thread and update my original post with any confirmed information that users can provide. Hopefully we will have a complete resource for thoose people who are shopping for a MoBo.
Edited for corrections bellow!
Turns out that the 975x is a less powerful (and older) chipset then the 965, when running Conroe Core 2 duo processors (X6800, E6700, E6600, E6500, E6400, E6300) chips, and that the 965 was built for the Conroe, while the 975 was built for the older processors.
Intel has adapted a method similar to AMD's implementation of memory management and the 965 unleashes the memory capabilities of the Core 2.
First the 965 and 975x chipset have an adjustable memory multiplier. I am assured that the 975x doesn’t handle memory like the 965. Both chipsets support DDR-2 memory speeds well bellow 800 MHz to a maximum of 1060 MHz.
Note: The Memory Multiplier is different then the CPU Multiplier. This is why there is two ways the clock speed and FSB is calculated.
For new comers FSB x Multiplier = CPU Clock Speed. Take the E6700 for example: 266 MHz FSB X 10 Multiplier = 2.66ghz!
The clock speed formula uses a FSB of 266, while the Conroe chip says it has a FSB of 1060. Honestly I am completely sure for the discrepancy except that it has to do with how the FSB and the North Bridge communicate.
Edit: 266 isnt the exact number... it is rounded off... thus the discrepancy of 266x4
With the 965 chipset you can step up your memory multiplier to 1060 MHz, and uses a “Burst” technology that also improves memory access. This is important if you want to spend money on the good memory. Be prepared, 1060 MHz memory goes for $400 for 2 Gigs.
Note: The performance gains of 1060 MHz Corsair memory have been reported to be slight (3%) compared to the top end 800 MHz Corsair memory. Last I heard the latest bios updates from Asus for the 965 chipsets don’t support changing in latencies from their defaults. Hopefully this will change. I recommend CORSAIR’s TWIN2X2048-8500C5! Can you say LIFETIME Warranty! CORSAIR also admits their memory was built to go well above 1060 and have heard of reports of above 1100 MHz. Corsair also states that you can drop the latency from 5-5-5-15 to 4-4-4-12! I sure hope Asus releases a BIOS update for this. The increase from 800 mhz to 1024 Mhz is definitely a higher performance bump then the lower costing and much lower latency memory.
With the 975x chipset you are limiting your Conroe to an older memory access mechanism. I would be interested in seeing a direct comparison between the two chipsets.
The 965 chipset unleashes the full potential of the Conroe’s power saving features and monitors the 5 thermostats on the Core 2 Duos. I hear it will temporally boost the performance of the chip based on these readings. These advanced power control features should result in overall lower power consumption (even under load) and should result in a better over clocking system.
If you increase the FSB settings, you will increase the speed of the memory based on the memory multiplier. Again, Intel’s Conroe chips also have been known to have other advanced memory features that will also speed up access. Unfortunately the 975x chipset does not support many of these features. Again you can look them up yourself, and hopefully someone can report on the differences.
I bought the x6800 with the Asus P5B, after cancelling my order for the Asus P5W-DH. I didn’t buy the Deluxe because I am saving my money to upgrade to a better motherboard as the future comes. BTW, the 965 does NOT support SLI or Crossfire, the 975x is reported to running some MoBo’s with duel PCI Express 8x Crossfire.
I also chose the 965 chipset because I bought a 1900xtx video card, and run a monitor with a maximum resolution of 1200x1024. This means that my FPS will be higher then the sky even on the newest games with max settings (FEAR, Ghost Recon, ETC) without SLI or Crossfire. In the future it may be cost effective for me to buy a new MoBo with the next gen chipset and another Video Card. Also I am running a complete water cooled system, though due to the extreme modification to the case and the complex wire solutions I am working on, I wont have it running until August 25, 2006 (tomorrow).
-------Added 9/25/06--------
When Buying a 965 or 975 MoBo for the Core 2 Duo, make sure you get the bios flashed to a version that supports your chip. I hear of people having problems with the 965 and the Extreme Processor, and they often need to purchase bios chips from Asus. Other problems exist with the 975. Go to your local no-name dealer who eaks out a living selling machines, and buy your MoBo from him. That way he can use a old intel processor to boot it up and flash it for you. And if you have any problems the guys are usually very willing to help you out.
-------------------
Lastly, expect NVidia and others to come out with purpose built Conroe 2 duo chipsets.
Thanks
Mike
P.S. I will monitor this thread and update my original post with any confirmed information that users can provide. Hopefully we will have a complete resource for thoose people who are shopping for a MoBo.
Edited for corrections bellow!