MOBO for 8400 with Antec 900 (PSU at bottom of case)?

[Dunadan]

I've begun making the purchases and plans for my new rig.

I've already picked up an Antec Nine Hundred and 4GB of Corsair Dominator DDR2 1066 RAM.

I know I'm going with an 8400 and most likely an Nvidia 8800 of some flavor. I'm not planning to go SLI and don't need more than 4 SATA ports, so I'm looking for a P35 MOBO to keep the cost down.

I'm wondering if the location of the power hook-up should come into play. I see a lot of MOBO where the review specifically states the location works very well for cases with a PSU on top.

Are there any MOBOs where the location is designed for PSUs located at the bottom of the case (as it is with the Antec 900)?

Or should I not worry about it and just pick a good P35?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Dunadan]

bump...no thoughts?

 

[krnmastersgt]

Well if you were to pick up the PSU first and know for a fact that the length for the 8 and 20/24 pin connectors were long enough to reach the top of the motherboard it'd just come down to the pure board. People will likely suggest the DS3R or DS3Ls for P35 boards that keep costs down. As for boards with the power connectors at the bottom, I don't know of any :/

 

[BlueWeasel]

I've got a IP-35E, a CM 690 case (PSU at the bottom), and a Antec NeoHE PSU. The 4-pin power on the IP-35 series is in the worst possible place upper left corner) for a bottom-mounted PSU, but have no issues with my PSU reaching it.

 

[lopri]

Your question is somewhat ambiguous and that's why we're confused. Desktop boards are the same shape (ATX) and draws insignificantly differing amounts of power, and pretty much every P35 boards and onwards handle E8400. So basically there isn't anything specific about your desire. (4GB is the closest thing probably, but that's still too generic) Are you intending to overclcok? Do you plan to use on-board RAID? (Don't discount Intel/NV's on-board RAID. They're often faster than dedicated processors - albeit with a little more CPU usage) What kind of add-in cards do you ave?

We need more information on your preference and plan.

 

[Dunadan]

I'm planning to overclock my processor a bit, since it sounds like a decent overclock is a given with this card. I'm after the easy gains though, and not looking to squeeze every bit I can out of it. My main purpose is gaming, and general use, so I'll take any low hanging fruit I can (i.e. easy OC of CPU).

I'm not planning to use RAID, though I had considered RAID 1 at one point.

The only add-in cards (other than an 8800 XX) I think I'll be needing are a Wireless Card and a Sound Card.

I guess the question came from seeing reviews where it was pointed out that the power connectors were in a "great spot" for cases with PSUs at the top. That made me wonder if some MOBOs have good power connector locations for bottom PSUs.

I'm pretty sure any MOBO will work, I just thought I'd take into consideration if there are any MOBOs designed with bottom PSUs in mind.

Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[MadScientist]

I also have an Antec 900 case and an Abit IP35-E with a Corsair HX620 PSU. The 8 pin power connector being on the top left corner of the board is really not that much of a problem. I may dremel 2 holes in the MB panel when I get a chance and run the cable under the MB panel.
Pic

The IP35-E is currently $59.99 AR + shipping at the Egg. Link

 

[lopri]

Here is an AT review of a system and the system enclosure = Antec 900

They have an EVGA 680i in there, but the truth is you can use ANY board to your taste. I have an Antec 900 myself, which previously housed a 680i rig and is now serving a Bad Axe 2.

Edit: Forgot link. lol.

http://www.anandtech.com/systems/showdoc.aspx?i=3223

 

[Dunadan]

Thanks all.

lopri - that pic helped. I guess it's really not all that long a reach when you consider how far the PSU sticks in.

I'd jump all over that Abit P35-E, except it only supports DDR800. My going with DDR1066 essentially rules that out. I'm looking at the Asus P5K-E at this point.

 

[SirSnipe]

Dunadan it officially supports DDR2-800 but I have no problem running my OCZ PC8500 at 1100mhz and beyond, something my Asus P5KC would never POST at with DDR2 at all.

If you got good sticks you should be fine, the board OC's quite well

 

[lopri]

A couple pics from my previous 680i rig.

http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/3053/900aub6.jpg
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/6720/900bsg8.jpg

I used an extender for the 8-pin CPU power and I think that's really the way to go for cable management.