best Q6600 mobo for non overclock

[niggles]

:thumbsup: So I've been out of the scene for a while and don't really know where to start looking. I want to build a new machine based on a Q6600 for gaming. I currently have 2 8800 GTS OC cards so I'm fine on that count, but I need to figure out what to build it all around. I don't intend to overclock my machine, can someone suggest a good board? I have to date always bought Asus, and may like to stay on that path, but I'm not married to it if there's something better. I'm really looking for stability first, features second, and price third. Any leads that you could provide for my investigation would be great.

Cheers!

 

[Ozoneman]

Since you will be going Sli, you will want to go with a 680i mobo. My son's mobo is a Gigabyte 680i and has worked very well from the beginning. He also has the Q6600.

You will also need some DDR2 ram. The ram we are using in his system above is Partriot PC6400. I also think a lot of the ram in my sig.

 

[niggles]

Thanks for the info ozoneman. Is everyone else in agreement? Would a 680i be a good bet?

 

[JAG87]

you dont really have any other choice.

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: JAG87
you dont really have any other choice.

Actually, you have 680i LT and 650i SLI also. Asus has a hybrid "650i" board as well that combines the 650i northbridge with the 680i southbridge, making it cheaper than the 680i boards while still supporting SLI 16x.

 

[niggles]

Originally posted by: nitromullet

Originally posted by: JAG87
you dont really have any other choice.

Actually, you have 680i LT and 650i SLI also. Asus has a hybrid "650i" board as well that combines the 650i northbridge with the 680i southbridge, making it cheaper than the 680i boards while still supporting SLI 16x.

So do you think that the 650i is the best way to go? I was looking at the ECS PN2 as it had great reviews and I can still find it. Still, if there's a cheaper solution with solid stability and features then I'm all in.

 

[niggles]

ok, so after looking around on the subject it looks like the MSI P6N is the way to go, would people agree?

 

[nitromullet]

Oh, I didn't say that 650i was the best way to go, I was just pointing out that there were more options than just 680i...

I think that keysplayer2001 has the Asus P5N-E SLI 650i board, and I believe he's quite happy with it. The drawback to 650i is that that boards generally aren't as feature rich as 680i boards, and SLI is 8x/8x instead of 16x/16x. On the flipside, I talked to a guy at Fry's recently (who actually seemed to know what he was talking about), and he said that the return rate for the Asus P5N-E SLI was much, much lower than the return rate for the EVGA 680i SLI board.

I personally had one of the BFGTech 680i boards (reference design like the EVGA) last fall, and I returned it because I couldn't get XP to install without encountering a BSOD. Apparently, the reference boards no longer have the issue that caused the issue I experienced, but after spending $300 (at the time) on a board with issues I decided to give 680i a miss. At that time, I just choose to run my Core2Duo at stock speeds and stick with my nForce4 SLI 16x Asus P5N SLI SE Deluxe, which was a super board at stock speeds. It doesn't support quad core, or I would highly recommend one for your setup.

If I was in your shoes, I would continue to run your AMD rig until the 9-series cards are launched to see if NVIDIA also launches a new chipset. 680i is getting a bit 'old', and I can't image that NVIDIA is going to launch the PCIe 2.0 9-series cards and not also introduce a new PCIe 2.0 SLI chipset. Also, Barcelona benchmarks should be out and about soonish, which will give us some sort of indication of how well AMD's new Phenom processors will perform. Intel quad-core may not be the fastest chip on the block for too much longer... Then again, maybe it will... Either way you slice it, now is not the best time to build an SLI rig IMO.

If you absolutely have to get a Q6600 and an SLI mobo, I'd suggest getting a relatively inexpensive 650i SLI board with the intention of replacing it with a new SLI chipset board in a few months. My wife is going to inherit my P35/C2D rig (overclock and all), and I'm going to probably build a 9-series SLI/quad core rig when the new stuff becomes available. I'm undecided as to what platform and/or chipset I'm going to opt for though. If Phenom performs close or better to Core2 Quad, I'll opt for whichever platform has better SLI support. Likewise, if on the off chance the new Intel X38 chipset ends up with SLI support, it will definitely be up for consideration. It's just a bit tough to say at the moment what is going to be the best way to go.

 

[niggles]

Interesting points and good to know, although a time line on when to check is going to be the tough part for me. I've been getting frustrated that I have all thhis GPU power and my CPU is holding me back. Still there's nothing like rushing to get something for the sake of getting it and then ending up like those poor iPhone schmucks overpaying for good technology only to find out that the price has just dropped.
thanks. I guess I'll wait, but seeing Crysis in a couple of months is going to kill me.

 

[SniperDaws]

ive been reading a about the 650i and its being said that its slightly faster for gaming than the more expensive 680i chipset, have a read around especially if gaming is what your intrested in. ( considering you want SLi then id say you want it for gaming )

 

[niggles]

yes, gaming is my main interest. I can't find anything along those lines. Do you recall what site you may of read that on?

 

[SniperDaws]

Sorry for not replying, ill have a dig around and see what i can find and link it to you ok mate.

ok heres some direct comparisons and benchmarks competing the 680 and 650 against each other.

http://www.techspot.com/review...vs-680i-sli/page2.html

 

[PCTC2]

The Asus P5N32-E Plus is the 650i Hybrid chipset that supports 2x16x SLI similar to 680i performance.

Otherwise, the eVGA NF68-A1 680i SLI is a good deal for ~$200. Make sure it's the A1 revision as the AR has stability problems. However, both eVGA 680i boards, despite the fact I love them for their performance, have/had massive vDroop problems.

 

[Rage3kMoiz]

SLI 8x+8x has no real performance difference compared to SLI 16x+16x. The A8N32-SLI Deluxe had an nForce 4 chipset supporting 16x+16x SLI and was released a while back. So it's just a marketing gimmick. The MSI P6N should be your ultimate choice.