Confused as to what mobo to purchase

[mrblotto]

Good day all,

I am considering replacing my ASUS P5N32-SLI Premium Mobo with something that is more OC friendly. I will also be replacing the CPU with either:

-Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Mod BX80562Q6600
or
-Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 Kentsfield 2.66GHz LGA 775 Processor Mod BX80562Q6700

I would like to use my existing components as well:

-(2) EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16
-4G CORSAIR XMS2 (4 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel
-Creative X-Fi PCI
-2 Western Digital Raptor WD740ADFD 74GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive ( Set up as RAID 0 )
-Watercooling setup

One of the criteria I would like is that there are 2 PCI-Express slots that BOTH run at x16.
Thusly, I have possibly narrowed down the choices to:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...1153%2CN82E16813127020

This is a strictly gaming machine. Do y'all have any thoughts on which board would be 'better' based on OC'ing experiences and overall performance? Thank you all for your input!

 

[drakore]

Hmmm i would look at getting an e6750 or e6850... if u are dead set on a quad core then Q6600, try to get a g0 stepping one (SLACR)

as for a mobo i would grab the ASUS 680i one... that or the abit i guess...

 

[jkresh]

mrblotto, supposedly there will be a 680i quad core roundup this week, so I would wait for that before buying a board, as some 680i boards (at least iwth early bio's/revisions) had a lot of trouble overclocking quads (though they did very well with core 2's).

 

[Ozoneman]

If you want two PCI-E slots at X16, I'd suggest the Gigabyte 680i version 2 board. However, you may not find it as OC friendly as you would like. If you want to OC then look at a P35 board, but then you don't have the two PCI-E at X16. I have the Gigabyte P35-DQ6 and I like it so far.

As far as getting quad or not, future games will use the quad cores and the future will be here before you know it.

 

[mrblotto]

Originally posted by: jkresh
mrblotto, supposedly there will be a 680i quad core roundup this week, so I would wait for that before buying a board, as some 680i boards (at least iwth early bio's/revisions) had a lot of trouble overclocking quads (though they did very well with core 2's).

Thanx for the heads up jkresh. I look forward to a 680i 'shootout' if you will, in the near future.

Edit: Thank you ALL for your suggestions too!

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: drakore
Hmmm i would look at getting an e6750 or e6850... if u are dead set on a quad core then Q6600, try to get a g0 stepping one (SLACR)

as for a mobo i would grab the ASUS 680i one... that or the abit i guess...

some people actually WANT to have 4 cores. You don't necessarily need a G0, they will just go higher on air than the other ones. Not necessary to play the game of waiting/hoping/praying to get a G0 really. Any Quad will do at least 3.2Ghz and even more with the right setup.

If you don't need SLI go with an Intel based P35 board from any of the major manufacturers. They're all rock solid. I have the Abit IP35 Pro and have no issues with it to speak of in my time using it.

 

[mrblotto]

Alas cmdrdredd, I already have 2 8800GTX's, so I will def. be going the SLI route.

My current board apparently is either incapable of OC'ing, or VERY unfriendly towards it (P5N32 SLI Preminum nForce590), at least according to the very informative and well-written 'HOWTO: Overclock C2Q (Quads) and C2D (Duals)' thread:

"**nForce590/570 Intel Edition based motherboard will not work with this guide nor recommended for overclocking**"

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: mrblotto
Alas cmdrdredd, I already have 2 8800GTX's, so I will def. be going the SLI route.

My current board apparently is either incapable of OC'ing, or VERY unfriendly towards it (P5N32 SLI Preminum nForce590), at least according to the very informative and well-written 'HOWTO: Overclock C2Q (Quads) and C2D (Duals)' thread:

"**nForce590/570 Intel Edition based motherboard will not work with this guide nor recommended for overclocking**"

just FYI: some 680i boards do not overclock for crap with Quad CPUs. Not all, there are only like 2 or 3 models that have this issue and if you search you can find out which. One is the EVGA 680i SE.

Also, 680i and 650i boards take a ton of power so keep that in mind too. Need good cooling (IMO the solution from EVGA on the refrence board is not sufficient, but that's my opinion).

I'd have a hard time recommending any Nvidia board for Intel CPUs right now. At least until we know if the x38 will support SLI officially which it might. Although you would need new memory (DDR3 only).

I'd stick with Asus, Abit, DFI, or Gigabyte personally if I were to look at a board using 650i or 680i.

 

[Ichigo]

Well you kind of have to recommend an Nvidia board for SLI, don't you? Especially since you don't know if X38 will support it, it is the only option for him.

 

[mrblotto]

I did a little more research and came across this:

http://www.digital-daily.com/m...sus_p5n32_sli_premium/

pretty much lays a lot of it out step by step........I did the generic noob method and just clicked 'OC by 20% in the BIOS' and bumped the FSB from stock 2400 to 2877 with just a click of a button. so far so good. I'll monkey with the more intricate details soon.....

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: Ichigo
Well you kind of have to recommend an Nvidia board for SLI, don't you? Especially since you don't know if X38 will support it, it is the only option for him.

The Abit AW9D Max could do SLI with edited drivers *shrug*

but yes you're right...I just do not like Nvidia based solutions for Intel platforms. My opinion only.