Best 975 mobo for e6600 and gaming?

[Damn Dirty Ape]

Was looking at the Asus p5w dh, is there such thing as an agreed-upon 975 that stands above the rest in reliability and all that? Oh, not the Striker by asus, too rich for me

Should be able to work with ddr2-667 also.

 

[nickfd]

Just an FYI for ya, the striker is nvidia 680i chipset

If you're in the market for the asus p5w dh (what I have), you may want to take a look at this thread: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=1947628 .. It's proven absolutely essential if you've had issues or concerns regarding certain overclocks. Of course, follow the guides here on anandtech and tom's hardware forums to get your basic settings down, then if you have issues with the higher clocks, post away. Many of the users of this board have been able to hit 400x9 without much of a problem, however it really depends on the week of your cpu. My week 27 can't do more than ~3500mhz (385x9 or 432x8) stable.

Best of luck!

 

[jose]

From reading on the xtremesystems forums , they are call the Striker the "Strike Out" ...

I myself am getting ready to get a e6600 but I'm not sure which board to get...

I'm looking real hard at the "Asus Comando", but it's not available in the US yet..

Regards,
Jose

 

[GarfieldtheCat]

Intel Bad Axe 2 and the DFI Lanparty (with new BIOS) seem to be OC-ing motherboards, at least according to some posters at XS.

 

[lopri]

BadAxe 2, P5W-DH, DFI Infinity 975X

Just compare the features and layout and pick whatever the best suit you. They are all great boards.

 

[Damn Dirty Ape]

oh I forgot to mention, I generally won't be oc'ing.

 

[jose]

Almost forgot to mention the Asus P5WDG2 WS Pro.

http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=1289&l1=3&l2=11&l3=0

Regards,
Jose

 

[Twitch22]

Originally posted by: Hellspawn
oh I forgot to mention, I generally won't be oc'ing.

If you're not planning to OC, then I'd go for the Bad Axe or Bad Axe 2. They are super stable and very fast straight out of the box with very minimal fussiness during set-up. Me? I personally use the P5 DH Deluxe, which is also extremely fast at stock settings, but it took me a good bit of work during set-up to get it all right due to the board's many options and features. I have a mild OC on my E6600 (I'm at 3.0 GHz) and the Asus board OC's very well, but even this mild OC should be done easily with the Bad Axes.

Would I take back my p5 DH Deluxe? No...not now because it's all set-up! But if I was building from scratch with no 975X experience? Those Bad Axes would be just fine!

Good luck with your build...

Twitch

 

[moosey]

Originally posted by: Hellspawn
oh I forgot to mention, I generally won't be oc'ing.

BadAxe2 for sure then

 

[orion23]

BadAxe 2 and you'll still be able to overclock later on....

 

[Damn Dirty Ape]

Bad Axe and Bad Axe 2 differ howso? The description I found read word for word..

Originally posted by: Twitch22

Originally posted by: Hellspawn
oh I forgot to mention, I generally won't be oc'ing.

If you're not planning to OC, then I'd go for the Bad Axe or Bad Axe 2. They are super stable and very fast straight out of the box with very minimal fussiness during set-up. Me? I personally use the P5 DH Deluxe, which is also extremely fast at stock settings, but it took me a good bit of work during set-up to get it all right due to the board's many options and features. I have a mild OC on my E6600 (I'm at 3.0 GHz) and the Asus board OC's very well, but even this mild OC should be done easily with the Bad Axes.

Would I take back my p5 DH Deluxe? No...not now because it's all set-up! But if I was building from scratch with no 975X experience? Those Bad Axes would be just fine!

Good luck with your build...

Twitch

 

[Twitch22]

Originally posted by: Hellspawn
Bad Axe and Bad Axe 2 differ howso? The description I found read word for word...

You know, I really don't think there's much between the two. Obviously, the Bad Axe 2 is the newer version, but from what I can gather, the real big deal about it is that it has full Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad support on-board, where as the original Bad Axe did not support C2D in its earlier revisions (had to be Revision 3011 or greater, I believe?)and C2D Quad support was only possible via BIOS updates. Also, Bad Axe 2 has a more OC "friendly" BIOS shipping with it. But, essentially, they are very much the same.

Not that it makes much difference anymore since most retailers don't have the original Bad Axe in stock anymore.

Oh well...good luck with your build!

Twitch

 

[Skott]

I would say between the P5W DH and BA2 just go with the one you can get the cheapest if OCing isnt important. The difference between the BA and the BA2 is the BA2 is a revised improved version. OCs better and is far more stable. Its the one Intel should have made in the first place.

 

[Elfear]

Bad Axe 2 FTW. Seems like the overwhelming majority of guys over at XS seem to prefer the Bad Axe 2. I have had nothing but good things to report about mine. I was using an MSI 975X Platinum before that ran pretty hard (stable at 440MHz fsb) but had weird restarting problems at anything over 330MHz, vdroop issues, etc. My E6600 took 1.43V (1.375V actual) to be Orthos stable at 400x9 on the MSI, with my Bad Axe 2 I only need 1.3825V (1.35V actual). The board doesn't hang when I oc and has been very nice to use.

 

[Skott]

One of the main reason people at XS are switching from the P5W to the BadAxe2 is because the BA2 overclocks higher now out of the box with the newer BIOSes. Then there is also the Vmoding that pushes it even higher ontop of that.

 

[Trashman]

Elfear, if i may hit ya up on question, and OP doesn't mind me jumpin in here,
with that Bad Axe 2 Intel board, what forum are you refering to, i was considering gettin a P965 Asus board P5B-deluxe, but was unsure about stability, or for that matter overclocking.
That Intel board is a tad high, price-wise, but i'd be willin to get, looks like a nice board overall and with all the features i'm lookin for.
Would this be a decent setup?
BadAxe2 board, E6600 cpu and Crucial Ballistix 2GB kit DDR2-800
if i could get a 3.2Ghz oc I'd be very happy....aftermarket coolin as well i assume?

Thanx for your time... :thumbsup:

 

[Beelziboss]

I'm also looking at mobo's for a e6600...but I have to rule out Intel boards because Nvidia doesnt allow them to support SLI. Might also be something to consider, if you plan to stick in 2 GF8800 GTX's..or uhh other

Ive been doing alot of research the last few weeks. So far I'm leaning towards the Asus P5N-E SLI with the 650i chipset. I'm also not a big overclocker, but want the stabilty and the option for SLI.

 

[miniMUNCH]

I'm going to build a new system here pretty soon...at the end of month.

I'm going to go with the P965 Asus P5B deluxe... to me this a good combo of stock performance, OC'ing capability, and feature set.

Of course, I'm open to suggestions...

 

[Corporate Thug]

badaxe II is the best 975 board, OC or not

 

[Elfear]

Originally posted by: Trashman
Elfear, if i may hit ya up on question, and OP doesn't mind me jumpin in here,
with that Bad Axe 2 Intel board, what forum are you refering to, i was considering gettin a P965 Asus board P5B-deluxe, but was unsure about stability, or for that matter overclocking.
That Intel board is a tad high, price-wise, but i'd be willin to get, looks like a nice board overall and with all the features i'm lookin for.
Would this be a decent setup?
BadAxe2 board, E6600 cpu and Crucial Ballistix 2GB kit DDR2-800
if i could get a 3.2Ghz oc I'd be very happy....aftermarket coolin as well i assume?

Thanx for your time... :thumbsup:

Xtremesystems.org/forums is where you want to look. Specifically under the Intel section. The p5B-Deluxe is also a very good board. The 975X series is faster clock for clock so unless you're going to use a chip with a x7 or x8 multi than I suggest going with the Bad Axe 2. Here is a thread that has some good discussion about different boards.

Your setup looks like it would work well. 3.2Ghz should be pretty easy with an E6600. I suggest using a Scythe Ninja as they are relatively cheap (~$35 at Jabtech) and perform very well.

 

[lopri]

3.20GHz is real easy with E6600 as Elfear says. 975X is the fastest (clock-for-clock) and most stable, therefore safest choice. The only reason I ditched mine was because there wasn't much to do after the initial setup. (I have an AMD rig for work so Intel rig is for 'play')

9x400 with DDR2-800 (1:1) or DDR2-1000 (4:5) if you don't mind voltages. That's just about it. Quick, easy, stable, and fast. BUT BORING.

 

[theprodigalrebel]

The general consensus at XtremeSystems.org appears to be:

1) Intel Bad Axe 2: Proclaimed to be the best and most reliable. Doesn't clock insane FSBs but then again, you don't need them with an E6600 (Intel 975X)
2) DFI ICFX3200: Only if you like tweaking endlessly to get a few ms improvements in SuperPi. Or you like the idea of asynch FSB & DRAM overclocking (AMD RD600)
3) Evga 680i: Only and Only if you want/need SLI. The heat, power and headaches are not worth it if you just want to run a single GPU. (NV 680i)

Everyone seems to suggest P965 only for the lower multiplier CPUs or for budget reasons.

 

[Trashman]

Hey guys, I really do appreciate all comments, you guys sold me on the Intel board.
Thanx Elfear, for link and i'll definetly check out that Scythe Ninja.

To Hellspawn, thanx for lettin me squeeze in here and get some info, i hope it helped you as well, meanwhile i'm off to newegg and gettin me a badaxe2 board. :beer:

 

[DaddyRabbit]

Originally posted by: Trashman
Hey guys, I really do appreciate all comments, you guys sold me on the Intel board.
Thanx Elfear, for link and i'll definetly check out that Scythe Ninja.

To Hellspawn, thanx for lettin me squeeze in here and get some info, i hope it helped you as well, meanwhile i'm off to newegg and gettin me a badaxe2 board. :beer:

They're $199 USD for the boxed version at TigerDirect (I am usually an "Egg" head but I saved a chunk on this) I got my GPU and MB together and shipping was fine although the Egg is hard to beat in that area... Luck

EDIT - Also my BX2 is stable as the proverbial rock with minor overclocking (haven't pushed it yet) the only problem is that with the secondary Marvel RAID controller disabled the HDD LED stays on all the time (supposed to be an upcoming BIOS fix). As I read through the 680i forums at EVGA and others I have grown to love my little always on HDD LED "nightlight" I was Thiiiis close to pulling the trigger on a 680i (Rabbit holds up thumb and index finger a miniscule distance apart) but now I am glad I opted for the Bad Axe 2...

 

[Trashman]

DaddyRabbit
Thanx for the heads up....
but there are 2 versions of that board:

D975XBX2LKR @tigerdirect

D975XBX2KR @egg

according to intels website that model @ tigerdirect doesn't have some of the features as the other model @ newegg...thats wierd...not sure if i trust tigerdirect, sounds misleading to me.