Intel P35 chipset or NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI

[jharris0221]

Hey,

Everyone was so helpful with my CPU question that I thought I would ask about the mboard.

I narrowed it down to two, the p5k-e with the intel p35 chipset http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16813131225R or the p5n-d with the nvidia nForce 750i SLI chipset http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16813131232R. SLI is not a must, but I like all the other features on the board and I may choose to utilize it in the future. I will be overclocking these with the intel e8400 (45nm wolfdale) cpu.

Is there benefit to one over the other, only in terms of overclocking?

Also, if anyone has a cheaper (sub 100$) and better idea, I am open to ideas. I like the ASUS boards a lot, and it needs to have DDR2 and at least one PCIe. Open box = cheaper = better for me.

Thanks in advance

 

[dagger]

P35 overclocks better, 750i supports sli.

Open box items are those rmaed by others due to various problems. They were briefly powered on by retailer, if it turns on, it's restocked as open box item. They are not repaired or stress tested, which means whatever problem that caused the first hand buyer to return it originally will resurface.

 

[boonality]

I came really close to buying the P5E X38 ASUS board but settled on the gigabyte P35 because it was over $100 less. What are your upgrade intentions?

 

[homerdog]

I'd say 750i for the SLI support (you may want it in the future) and PCIe 2.0. It's a good chipset, and while the P35 may edge it out slightly performance wise I think you would be hard pressed to tell the difference unless you're one of those "extreme" overclockers. Of course the P45 and company should be coming out in not too long...

 

[jharris0221]

Intentions: Im trying to make a nice, low/midrange desktop PC that I can overclock. This is my first attempt at buying a PC to overclock, and all my research points to the Core 2 duo and the p35 chipset. It will be used as my personal PC and a media server, dual booting Vista ultimate and Ubuntu

I have all components except Mboard and Processor, which I plan on buying today. I'm set on the e8400, but I haven't made up my mind on the Mboard. I just need something for close to (and preferably less than) 100$, I dont have that much to spend right now.

I also looked at the ASUS P5KC, and I may end up going with that board because its cheaper.

 

[houstonserenity]

P35 is the way to go.

 

[cisco]

Some items I may consider as an open box, a motherboard would not be one of them.

There are advantages to both. If you want to run 2 cards the 750i is the only way to go. If you may want to keep your board for a while and upgrade the processor, you'll probably have less issues with the P35. I am building a system for my friend right now and we doesn't care about SLI so I'm using the Gigabyte P35 DS3L. I have Nvidia boards in two of my computers the EVGA 680i and 650i Ultra. Both have been good boards. In short if you even think you might some day want to run SLI then get the 750i. If you know you only want one card then go for the P35. If your a hard core overclocker, the P35 would probably be better. The average overclocker could probably get their OC needs filled with the 750i. The measurable difference between the 2 would only show up in a benchmark and it would be doubtful if you noticed anything in real life.

 

[homerdog]

Some items I may consider as an open box, a motherboard would not be one of them.

There are advantages to both. If you want to run 2 cards the 750i is the only way to go. If you may want to keep your board for a while and upgrade the processor, you'll probably have less issues with the P35. I am building a system for my friend right now and we doesn't care about SLI so I'm using the Gigabyte P35 DS3L. I have Nvidia boards in two of my computers the EVGA 680i and 650i Ultra. Both have been good boards. In short if you even think you might some day want to run SLI then get the 750i. If you know you only want one card then go for the P35. If your a hard core overclocker, the P35 would probably be better. The average overclocker could probably get their OC needs filled with the 750i. The measurable difference between the 2 would only show up in a benchmark and it would be doubtful if you noticed anything in real life.

Actually both chipsets are a dead end as far as future processor support goes; Intel's next line of CPUs will be on a different socket. I have a DS3L and I love it to death, but had the 750i been available when I made my purchase I probably would have gone that route instead.

 

[HyperBladeST]

I used a P5K-E with my E6550 and I have no problem with it so far (including overclocking).

 

[sportsfanboy]

1st choice: asus p5k

2nd choice but cheaper: ds3l

both will do a great job, the asus may overclock a little better with average cooling because of the load line calibation setting. That setting allows you to run lower voltages at load, resulting in slightly lower temperatures.