Help Me Choose The Best Motherboard

[darkmage87]

I'm trying to find the best motherboard but I can't decide which of this to pick: ASUS P5K Premium, ASUS P5K Deluxe, ASUS Striker Extreme, Intel BOXD975XBX2KR, GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3, MSI P6N SLI Platinum, or EVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1. Thanks.

 

[Maziar]

Simple , if u want SLI : ASUS STRIKER EXTREME
If not : ASUS P5K DELUXE or P5K PREMIUM depending on your buget

 

[darkmage87]

I need one that woks the coolest (north bridge, south bridge), I don't really want to add a fan to the motherboard just to keep it cool.

 

[Gravemind123]

The coolest ones will be the Intel Bad Axe 2 or the Gigabyte P965-DS3. 680i and P35 are hot chipsets, specifically the 680i chipset. Intel's last-gen chipsets of 975X and P965 are very cool running, my 975X board has two small passive heatsinks and runs cooler then my friends 680i board that has heatpipes on it. P35 shouldn't really need anything more then normal case fans, but is still hotter then 975X or P965.

 

[darkmage87]

Well I'm putting on a E6850 CPU and a EVGA 8800GTX in it, prob need 680i to match the video card, so which is the coolest with 680i chpset?

 

[dswissmiss]

Why would you need a 680i to match the video card?
A p35 board will be great for that setup (since you're not going for SLi), plus you have the option to upgrade to the next gen CPU's. (Although the nvidia chip may allow this too after a BIOS update).

 

[darkmage87]

so which is the upgradeable motherboard then? I would love to get one that supports DD3 and DDR2 for all the 4 RAM slots.

 

[aevm]

There's no such thing, the slots are not the same. For example GA-P35C-DS3R has 2 slots for DDR3 and 4 slots for DDR2.

 

[darkmage87]

Oh ok, so which P35 is the best one that I could put my Linksys WMP54GS wireless PCI network card, Creative X-FI Xtreme Gamer 24bit Sound Card 23249D, and 1 EVGA GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 8800 GTX 768-P2-N831?

 

[aevm]

My favorites are GA-P35C-DS3R, GA-P35-DS3R ($30 less, no DDR3) or their Asus equivalents P5KC, P5K. I got the GA-P35C-DS3R myself with an XtremeMusic and an 8800 GTX. It has 3 PCI slots, so you can fit the Linksys and the X-Fi and maybe a TV tuner too. So does the P5K.

Read this for details:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mainboards/display/ga-p35c-ds3r_2.html#sect0
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mainboards/display/asus-p5k-deluxe_2.html#sect0

The Asus overclocks a bit better but the Gigabyte consumes less power and is cooler.

 

[darkmage87]

All the ASUS motherboards waste a PCI slot with the 8800GTX 🙁

 

[aevm]

Yuck...

 

[Zorg]

The GA-P35-DQ6 has the best mobo cooling, solid caps, best power regulation etc. It rules if you have the dough.

 

[darkmage87]

Has you say, probably the Gigabyte layout of the motherboard is better.

😱 The GIGABYTE GA-P35C-DS3R supports DDR3 and DDR2 (one at the time) the above post said is impossible lol http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128048

I also need a new keyboard and mouse 🙁 this Logitech LX300 sucks

 

[darkmage87]

It kinda sucks that the GA-P35-DQ6 took the PCI slot for a PCIe slot

 

[Zorg]

I was considering the GA-P35C-DS3R for the DDR2 and DDR3. but I figured I wasn't going to overclock enough for it to be worth it. So I settled on the superior cooling, power regulation and BIOS features.

 

[darkmage87]

How stable is that motherboard? and would I be able to fit my Linksys WMP54GS wireless PCI network card, Creative X-FI Xtreme Gamer 24bit Sound Card 23249D, and 1 EVGA GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 8800 GTX 768-P2-N831? I probably won't need the PCI USB 2.0 card (I use 4 of them)

 

[darkmage87]

How about the CPU Cooler? I need one that won't break the motherboard if I shake the computer, and that it could fit with the Gigabyte one

 

[Zorg]

Yeah, more PCI slots would be nice, but what you gonna do.

 

[darkmage87]

any idea about the CPU Cooler?

 

[Zorg]

The 120 extreme is the best. I measured it against the DQ6 I have, I'm still waiting for the Q6600 to be delivered. Anyway, one of the heat pipes barely contacts the northbridge heatsink. It can, I believe still be mounted, but I'm going to take a dremel to the top 2-3 fins and cut a notch for the heat pipe.

 

[darkmage87]

Would that happen to me?

 

[Zorg]

The Thermalright Ultra-120 doesn't have the extra heatpipe that sticks out further, but the Ultra-120 extreme will be very tight. The ultra-120 is also very good, so if you don't have the tools and the balls to take a grinder to a brand new mobo, you should stick with the 120 not the 120 extreme. It should fit fine, but it is tall so you need to ensure your case is wide enough to accommodate it.

 

[darkmage87]

Well I got a Black ATX Neon Case See Through Panel http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300134443250&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=020

 

[Zorg]

I can't tell from that picture you are going to have to do some leg work. I hope you are not planning to use the power supply included with that case. If you are then doom will certainly fall on you.