I need a motherboard suggestion

[therealbub]

I'm stuck on which motherboard I should get. Please help. These are my system specs for my future new computer, without the motherboard of course.

Video: XFX 8800GT 512mb 256-bit
PSU: OCZ GameStream 600W
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
Memory: 4G Crucial Ballistix ddr2 240 pin
HDD: [RAID-0]2 x 320GB WD Caviar HDDs 7200 RPM SATA 3G/s


I am probably going to be using onboard sound until i get a sound card, so 7.1 onboard sound would be great. I am going to get this motherboard for close to free, so something expensive but not to expensive would be great. It needs to be able to fit the 45nm processors for when their price drops out of the sky and are actually affordable

PS - The MoBo needs to go well with OCing both the processor and the Graphics Card.


Thanks for the assistance!

 

[systemlord]

Well the Asus P5E X38 based mobo has Supreme FX 2 7.1 HD audio card plug-in. This mobo also supports 2 full bandwidth PCI-E 2.0 as well. This mobo has a great track record for being a great overclocker and working righ out of the box, just have a look at ALL the 50 reviews who not one has ever had a DOA. Plus by luck you need a 7.1 surround sound card and this board comes with it. Heres a review of it by Xbit Labs.

As I have said in many other threads, the Asus P5K (P35) based mobo's are having major problems with random reboots (bad BIOS) and are driving users crazy. Checkout NewEgg's reviews and Asus's own forums for all the horror stories.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mainboards/display/asus-p5e.html

By systemlord at 2007-12-12

 

[therealbub]

First, could you please link me to the board?

and

Second, would this ram be compatible with the board?

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820148076

 

[systemlord]

First, could you please link me to the board?

and

Second, would this ram be compatible with the board?

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820148076

Yes that Ram will work because I have that same Ram as you link, and heres the link for mobo.

Asus.com http://usa.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=572&l4=0&model=1873&modelmenu=1

NewEgg.com http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131219

 

[Shadow703793]

I recommend the P35-DS3x because of the OCing options. so will many of the people here.

 

[systemlord]

I recommend the P35-DS3x because of the OCing options. so will many of the people here.

Thats a great mobo also but it doesn't have PCI-Express 2.0 like the X38 has and the X38 is proving to be a solid overclocker as has many overclocking tuning options.

 

[Shadow703793]

^Thats why you "upgrade" to X38 when the "X48" comes out. Also the curent graphics cards arn't even using the full PCIe 1.0 band with and the PCIe 2.0 is backward compatible.

 

[systemlord]

^Thats why you "upgrade" to X38 when the "X48" comes out. Also the curent graphics cards arn't even using the full PCIe 1.0 band with and the PCIe 2.0 is backward compatible.

Anybody knows that the PCI-E 1.0 still has life in it. You said, "Thats why you "upgrade" to X38 when the "X48" comes out, is that a question? So we should upgrade to X38 when X48 comes out? Am I the only person here that doesn't get it?

 

[nukemaster]

Well with the DS3r(since the DS3L does not offer raid) @ nearly half the price and the fact that cards have not even maxed out PCI-E 1.0.

I think that would be the reason behind Shadow703793's suggestion

I second it, unless you will miss the firewire and dual video card option.... To be honest the next generation of video card almost always beats 2x the old one anyway. Do you use firewire?

Since you say you will be running onboard sound until you get a sound card. This gives you the option to try onboard, if you hate it....pci sound it is...

@ systemlord - Checkout irfanview. Fast and easy way to do screen caps(among many other things scanning printing converting cropping). http://www.irfanview.com/

 

[therealbub]

im not sure what firewire is but im not going to run sli, im just going to save up for a 9800 series card.


http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131219

That is what i have down in my wish list. Is that the wrong one do you think?

Please link me to the mobos you recommend on newegg.


Thanks

 

[nukemaster]

the board i referred to is the P35-DS3r
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128050

Each has pros and cons

P35 DS3r

Pros
+Cheap
+Decent overclocker
+Will support Intel 45mn cpus
+8 Sata ports
+Very good fan control(this is compared to my last to Asus boards)

Cons
-No PCI-E 2.0
-No Dual PCI-E(Crossfire. Intel chips currently do not support SLI)
-No Firewire
-Has been known to have ram incompatibilities(Rare)

P5E
Pros
+Newer chipset
+PCI-E 2.0
+Firewire
+Massive cooling system(Useful for extreme OCing, But personally I consider it to be overkill)
+45mn cpu support

Cons
-Expensive(more so if you are not going to take advantage of the extra features)
-6 Sata Ports
-Only 2 PCI slots(may be a problems for some who use more PCI cards, more so with the fact that a second video card may leave you with only one. This will not apply to you since you have no multi card plans)

As you can see based on your use and budget, picking a board is gonna come down to what you need and do not need,

What kind of over clocks do you plan on? 3-3.2 is generally easy on almost any board. thats just how good Intels current cpus are.

Also, firewire is an interface that as far as i know was first used for DV cameras to transfer the video to the PC(Or mac). Today it is used for external hard drives/CD/DVD drives and video capture for the most part.