Core 2 & AM2 Motherboards - Recommendations

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renethx

Golden Member
Apr 28, 2005
1,161
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The 1st and 2nd generation 8-phase power design is very bad. P5B Deluxe, P5K Deluxe, P5K-E consume much more power than other P965/P35 mbs. P5K PRO (and X38 mbs) is equipped with the 3rd generation 8-phase power and looks very promising. Unfortunately it is not available in US yet (maybe never available?; it's available in Japan since November 13, 2007). Once available, perhaps it will be in the recommendation list instead of P5K-E.
 
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pcgamer321

Member
Jan 22, 2008
179
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0
what is the best AMD motherboard that uses the 790 chipset?

Upgrading the AMD build of my brother, and didn't feel the need to make a new thread.

Btw, nice list, if a little outdated, but none the less an extremely useful resource.
 
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MikeSp

Member
May 3, 2004
31
0
0
Originally posted by: falkengeist
I posted the following on several forums with little or no response. Any comment?
I narrowed my search for a motherboard to Intel DG965WH or DG965RY for use with a Core 2 Duo E6750. I went to Newegg's site to look at the reviews and found a fair amount of negatives for both. I then started looking at other boards and found almost everything had a fair amount of negatives. Can this be attributed to people that don't know what they're doing or talking about, or are these boards really bad. Like everyone else, I certainly don't like the headaches involved in using problem parts, but now I'm not sure what to use. This is just a system for small business, and the boards listed provide features that I need at a good price. The currently recommended chipset (P35) doesn't offer me many advantages since tweaking, etc. is not part of the game plan. In fact one of the boards I listed was a previous recommendation in the mid-price ATX category. Important is a serial port for a 3Com Courier, RAID, upward flexibility (CPU), memory), and imbedded audio, video and LAN are pluses. The 2 boards listed cover all the bases, and I've had little trouble with Intel boards in the past. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

I am starting a new computer build with the last one accomplished 4 years ago and am bewildered by the same thing as in boldface above -- when I looked at NewEgg user comments at what I suspected would have been the top end boards such as Asus' Maximus Formula and P5E WS Pro or Gigabyte's best X38 boards, there were so many negative comments that I have stepped back to reconsider which board I am willing to gamble with a Wolfdale E8400 or Q6600 and appropriate memory.

My needs are not for OC'ing but stability and speed (although I would not mind tinkering with OC'ing in spare time just for benchmark testing). I would want the computer tuned to run at full FSB and CPU speeds.

Suggestions are needed for the best (AKA most dependable, stable, durable and fast with 6 SATA) X38 board right out of the box when used with appropriate memory and a Penryn or Conroe processor with lots of available air cooling -- I want to build for a lasting computer and one that does not need periodic BIOS adjustments during various uses. My current computer has a P4C800ED and it has been ROCK SOLID and gets passed on to one of my kids.

[After reading that it is iffy when using DIMMs in all four sockets, can I assume that using two 2GB Dimms would be the best way to achieve 4 GB of memory?]

Thoughts/suggestions??

Thanks,

MikeSp

 
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woofersus

Golden Member
Jun 5, 2006
1,080
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76
www.eaststreetaudio.com
I won't pretend to know which x38 board is the most stable since I don't have any experience with any of them yet, but I will say that when researching mobos for a build you have to take those reviews with a grain of salt. Look for recurring issues that may constitute design flaws and such, but I worked in a computer repair shop for a few years and I've seen TONS of builds gone wrong at the hands of the owner, and most of those parts were bought places like newegg. I once had a lady bring in a computer that her son had built and when trying to do some linnux driver updates he hosed it and couldn't get it up and running again. She noted that the cpu fan ("that big main fan there") intermittently made a lot of noise. We were assuring her that we could put a new fan on it when she volunteered "and you know that thing don't run worth a darn without it or we'd just leave it off." Yeah. It was cooked. (athlon xp) Didn't even post anymore.

Anyhow, the point is those aren't expert reviews. You'll find a lot of doa reports and early failure reports with motherboards, cpu's, video cards, and for some reason Keyboards and mice. (never had a set last less than a couple of years personally) It's extremely unlikely that the averages you could extrapolate from those would represent an accurate failure rate. It's even less likely that you're dealing with a crowd that really knows much about overclocking.
 
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renethx

Golden Member
Apr 28, 2005
1,161
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0
MikeSp

First of all, do you really need X38? What are you going to do with the second PCIe slot, RAID or CrossFire? What features do you want? PCIe 2.0 is just useless for the current video cards (but are you a serious gamer?). Do you really need to spend more than $200 just on a motherboard? A higher price has nothing to do with reliability and stability.

- ASUS P5E
- GIGABYTE GA-X38-DS4

are good motherboards with reasonable price. I prefer GIGABYTE to ASUS from my experience in regards to reliability and stability. You should also consider P35 motherboards that may satisfy your needs at a lower cost.

- GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS4

BTW X38 is soon discontinued and replaced by X48 in March:

Intel X48 Chipset Delayed To March

X48 was supposed to be released a long time ago. The only reason for the delay is that ASUS still holds a large volume of X38 chipset inventory and has negotiated with Intel to delay the launch of its X48 chipset!
 
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Raama

Junior Member
Feb 5, 2008
3
0
0
I am starting to build my new desktop computer. I am stuck at selecting the motherboard. I am going with
intel Q6600 Quad,
Antec p182 ,
Corsair 4 (2 x 2 GB) DDR 2 800 cas-5

I am not a serious gamer. I want to use my pc for running hign end applications(software), HTPC ( Hi-Def editing).
I would probably OC to 3.0

Initially i was thinking of Asus P5k Deluxe. Does it worth the extra $ in my scenerio.
Thanks


 
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imported_ramu

Junior Member
Feb 5, 2008
19
0
0
:roll:

first of all, thanks a lot for your patience and sharing the knowledge
i am noob in this field, but am determined to make my own desktop for use (video editing and memory based java applications)


went to frys today morning and purchasd E6550 & ECS 945GCT-M/1333

got it for 162 (incl taxes)

let me know if it makes sense to retain or return motherboard

 
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renethx

Golden Member
Apr 28, 2005
1,161
0
0
Originally posted by: Raama
I am starting to build my new desktop computer. I am stuck at selecting the motherboard. I am going with
intel Q6600 Quad,
Antec p182 ,
Corsair 4 (2 x 2 GB) DDR 2 800 cas-5

I am not a serious gamer. I want to use my pc for running hign end applications(software), HTPC ( Hi-Def editing).
I would probably OC to 3.0

Initially i was thinking of Asus P5k Deluxe. Does it worth the extra $ in my scenerio.
Thanks
Click to expand...
No, unless you need dual Gb LAN or want to pay more electric bill. What are "high-end" applications? Do you mean editing 1080p contents by "Hi-Def editing"?
 
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renethx

Golden Member
Apr 28, 2005
1,161
0
0
Originally posted by: ramu
:roll:

first of all, thanks a lot for your patience and sharing the knowledge
i am noob in this field, but am determined to make my own desktop for use (video editing and memory based java applications)


went to frys today morning and purchasd E6550 & ECS 945GCT-M/1333

got it for 162 (incl taxes)

let me know if it makes sense to retain or return motherboard
Click to expand...
The motherboard is not particularly good, but keep them. The processor is good and its retail price is > $162.
 
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imported_ramu

Junior Member
Feb 5, 2008
19
0
0
Thanks renethx

by retaining mobo, do you mean use the cpu and the motherboard, or buy a new motherboard.

also is it true, by using the motherboard, bcos of fsb, cpu clocks a lower speed ?
 
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renethx

Golden Member
Apr 28, 2005
1,161
0
0
OK, I looked into the mb closely. 945GC supports only FSB 1066 processors. So the support for FSB 1333 processors is in overclocking mode. This could cause a couple of problems, in particular PCI Express bus is also overclocked resulting instability of a PCI Express device. Anyway if ECS assured FSB 333MHz, the board should run fine at FSB 333MHz. Test yourself. If the mb does not work well, you'd better buy a new mb (P35/G33 chipset).
 
dawp

dawp

Lifer
Jul 2, 2005
11,347
2,710
136
i'm just curious as to when SB700 will show up on boards other than rs780 boards.
I'd like to have either a 790x or fx.
 
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Impeach Bush

Junior Member
Feb 4, 2008
1
0
0
I have only built a couple AMD systems. I need another system for office tasks, video & audio disk burning, downloading files - NO games & NO overclocking. I would like to build a Core2Duo that I might someday stick some TV tuners into and turn into a PVR or media center. I decided to go Intel this time to keep the system SILENT via easy passive cooling, except for the power supply. An article on Tom's Hardware convinced me that looking at max wattage does not tell the story, because the tested Intel system completed tasks faster and used less power overall, thus generating less heat while providing a better computing experience.

Also, I have never worked with a micro-ATX board, so I might enjoy the challenge and the system might fit just a tad better next to my TV in the future (I am a bachelor, so I can get away with the indecency of a quiet Antec Sonata or Solo case in the living room). If there was an appropriate home theater shaped case that would even be better.

Although nothing is a strict deal-breaker, eSATA would be nice, ideally 2 ethernet ports, onboard video that works terrific when I eventually put in a high def DVD burner or a 24" monitor @ 1920x1080, perhaps HDCP compliant. 3-4 Slots for a sound card, 2 TV cards and a network card (if there is only one on the motherboard). I don't know if an unused PCI-E 16 slot can be used for anything other than video.

Your thoughts and recommendations would be much appreciated.
 
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renethx

Golden Member
Apr 28, 2005
1,161
0
0
Originally posted by: Impeach Bush
I have only built a couple AMD systems. I need another system for office tasks, video & audio disk burning, downloading files - NO games & NO overclocking. I would like to build a Core2Duo that I might someday stick some TV tuners into and turn into a PVR or media center. I decided to go Intel this time to keep the system SILENT via easy passive cooling, except for the power supply. An article on Tom's Hardware convinced me that looking at max wattage does not tell the story, because the tested Intel system completed tasks faster and used less power overall, thus generating less heat while providing a better computing experience.

Also, I have never worked with a micro-ATX board, so I might enjoy the challenge and the system might fit just a tad better next to my TV in the future (I am a bachelor, so I can get away with the indecency of a quiet Antec Sonata or Solo case in the living room). If there was an appropriate home theater shaped case that would even be better.

Although nothing is a strict deal-breaker, eSATA would be nice, ideally 2 ethernet ports, onboard video that works terrific when I eventually put in a high def DVD burner or a 24" monitor @ 1920x1080, perhaps HDCP compliant. 3-4 Slots for a sound card, 2 TV cards and a network card (if there is only one on the motherboard). I don't know if an unused PCI-E 16 slot can be used for anything other than video.

Your thoughts and recommendations would be much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Guide to Building a HD HTPC will be a good place to start.
 
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renethx

Golden Member
Apr 28, 2005
1,161
0
0
Originally posted by: dawp
i'm just curious as to when SB700 will show up on boards other than rs780 boards.
I'd like to have either a 790x or fx.
Click to expand...
I haven't heard of 790X/790FX with SB700. However 790GX (Radeon HD 3300 integrated graphics and CrossFire x8) with SB700/710/750 will be released in Q2.
 
dawp

dawp

Lifer
Jul 2, 2005
11,347
2,710
136
Originally posted by: renethx
Originally posted by: dawp
i'm just curious as to when SB700 will show up on boards other than rs780 boards.
I'd like to have either a 790x or fx.
Click to expand...
I haven't heard of 790X/790FX with SB700. However 790GX (Radeon HD 3300 integrated graphics and CrossFire x8) with SB700/710/750 will be released in Q2.
Click to expand...

Cool, so that may mean we might see others about the same time frame.but i wont get my hope up too much.
 
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