New build. Which Motherboard to choose? Please help

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tornado16

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May 18, 2007
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Guys I've decided to invest in a new system and this is what I've decided to spend on :

Processor: Intel E6300 (overclocked to 2.8-3.2)
RAM: Geil PC6400 2GB CL4
Cooler: Artic Freezer 7
Case: Antec 900
PSU: Hiper 530 W Type M
Hard Drive: 250GB Western Digital 16MB cache
Graphics: nVidia 320MB 8800GTS

The problem is that I can't decide which motherboard to choose from the following list:

Gigabyte GA_P35C_DS3R DDR2 + DDR3 support.
(Link: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-086-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=913)

Gigabyte GA_P35_DS3P DDR2 only
(lINK: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-085-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=913)

Gigabyte GA_P35_DS4 DDR2 only
(Link: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-084-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=913)

GIGABYTE GA-N650SLI-DS4 DDR2 Sli
(Link: http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4CNS&CategorySelectedId=11143&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11143,405070000,50509)

In some 6-8 months time I intend to upgrade to the quad core (penyrn based?) processors and hopefully overclock them. I'm not sure which motherboard out of the above list is going to be a good investment therefore I need some advice into which motherboard should I choose.

Any help will be greately appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
I am going to go with a very similar build, and am trying to figure out which P35 board to buy as well, so I'll be following this thread.

I noticed that the Gigabyte GA_P35C_DS3R DDR2 + DDR3 support only has 2 DDR3 DIMM slots, so you might want to keep that in mind.

Are you considering the Asus P5K board?
 
Yes since you have mentioned I have also just looked into the Asus P5K board but I'm still totally confused into which board to select :?

I hope some one is able to tell me which board to select since I don't have a clue
 
Yes since you have mentioned I have also just looked into the Asus P5K board but I'm still totally confused into which board to select :?

I hope some one is able to tell me which board to select since I don't have a clue
Click to expand...

Mate, I think no one at this time has a clue. Didn't hear about any comparative revews between boards based on P35.

I am myself in a dillema since have to decide by tomorrow due to my current work conditions - I won't be able to purchase later and find time to build (so must decide on Gigabyte - the only P35 available [anywhere?] now).

Well, I don;t know if it'll help, but maybe you saw these reviews?:

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4

Gigabyte-P35-DS3R
same GA-P35-DS3R

Gigabyte GA-P35-DQ6

Btw, careful, none seem to suport crossfire (well, I would doubt it with 1x16 and another 1x4 PCIe).
 
After doing some extensive research I've went ahead and placed the order on Gigabyte GA_P35C_DS3R DDR2 + DDR3 Motherboard. Now I'm just waiting fot it to be delivered to me hopefully in the next 5-6 days. I'll let you guys know what the mobo is like when I get it and also hopefully post the pictures up of my new rig once I've finished building it.

Freelance let me know which motherboard you buy because I might be building another computer after this one so it will be worthwhile if you could share your experiance.

Btw I have one question, does anyone know if it is worthwhile to upgrade to 4GB of DDR2 ram or is 2GB going to be enough? I will be mostly be using my computer for Gaming, watching Movies, Downloading stuff and some photoshop work.

Thanks guys.

Tornado
 
tornado16 I think I'll take a P35-DS4 tomorrow +E4300 - I'll stick to a more "budget" solution for now. My goal is to go for a relatively moderate OC @2,6 or max 2,8Ghz, which should be more than enough for me/us, since the rig is for the whole family use (Net, Office, games for my son, and ... for ME 😀 ).

2Gb of DDR2 seem fine to me; only Photoshop bothers me a bit... can't say anything definite. btw it seems Vista only recognises max 3gb really, don't have one for the moment, so just speculating.
 
I went for the GA-P35-DS4 and E4300, OCZ 1066mhz 2G kit, NoctuaNH-U12F, Antec P180 (PSU Corsair 620W). Other stuff later. Unfortunately, I am moving (another apartment is not far, but the hussle...) and I don't have any idea when I'll actually build and test the rigggg 🙁 :evil:
 
I went for the GA-P35-DS4 and E4300, OCZ 1066mhz 2G kit, NoctuaNH-U12F, Antec P180 (PSU Corsair 620W). Other stuff later. Unfortunately, I am moving (another apartment is not far, but the hussle...) and I don't have any idea when I'll actually build and test the rigggg 🙁 :evil:
Click to expand...

Hm, quoting myself. This is something new!

Well, just wanted to warn you guys aout the so-called compatibility between NoctuaNH-U12F and GA-P35-DS4. Despite the high NB passive cooling (horizontal fins), Noctua claims these two should fit fine and they somehow do, or sort of... Basically, when I tried to install the Noctua it just could not stick to the CPU, because one side was already sitting on the very high NB cooler, just a little bit, but there nonetheless.

So, when I tried to tighten the Noctua in place, I had encountered (of course) some resistance from the NB fins and could not feel when I should stop tightening the cooler. That is not right! Now the first few fins on the NB are sticking to eachother and I have no idea if I over-tightened the cooler to CPU or not :evil:

Didn't finish with the rest yet.
 
tornado16 - just to give you some sort of a feedback about the results of my build on the P35-DS4 - here is a quickly done overview with the E4300@2,8Ghz(9multi - as I said, that's was maximum target OC I wanted) + NoctuaNH-U12F (one fan only, on the RAM side - impossible to set up push-pull when cooler facing rear) + OCZ 2Gb Kit DDR2-1066Mhz(5-5-5-14/2t - native is 5-5-5-15/2t, not a big change :? ) + case actually happened to be P182 (not P180 as reported before - the box was P180, but I found inside the P182; heard people had same experiences...) + PSU Corsair 620W. Well, with VGA... I had to cut again since had an irrezistible offer to get a 8600GT for a quarter less price - so, 8600GT (since its a family rig, wtf, its enough).

Upgraded at once to BIOS F4. PCI @ Auto (tried and can work with higher speed, above 100). BIOS @ Auto suggests cpu voltage 1,3250v. I saw on legionhardware that their P35-DS4 BIOS was suggesting 1,25v voltage as Auto - that is a discrepancy between Gigabyte test board and the one that I bouhgt/was on regular sale. Anyway, I gave 1,25v a try and it decreased the temps well enough without affecting stability.

So, my temps in this P182, 3fans @ low + one more fan added in front @1000r, under TAT @ 100% (1,25v Vcore, VDIMM auto [which is 1,8v, while OCZ specs are actually 2,3v]), ran stable 50min, are:
- TAT - 61C/61C;
- Core Temp 0.95 - 62C/62C
- SpeedFan 4.32 (Core0/Core1) - 47C/47C.
Btw latest CPU-Z shows that Vcore is 1,216v, latest speedfan 1,22v, latest CoreTemp 1,3250v.

With Orthos blend stress CPU and Ram for 1hrs10min:
- TAT - 54C/54C;
- Core Temp 0.95 - 56C/56C
- SpeedFan 4.32 (Core0/Core1) - 42C/41C.
CPU-Z shows that Vcore is 1,2v, speedfan the same, while CoreTemp 1,3250v.

All was fine, played a bit and it was ok. One concern - I am curious if the Vcore (set by me to 1,25v in BIOS at the time of the test) reported by CPU-Z and SpeedFan in both cases are vdroop or software misreading? From variations under Orthos and TAT it might seem it is a real vdroop of 0,016 up to 0,05?

Now I lowered the FSB and the Vcore even more and have:
- CPU E4300@2,6Ghz(9x),
- Vcore 1,2475V (I think; well the next one under 1,25v),
- VDIMM on Auto-1,8v (5-5-5-14/2t),
- PCI @ Auto
And again all is fine. FPS in smaller res smooth, no problems whatsoever.

Very good board for me and my purpose IMO.

Cheers ppl.
 
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