P55 Motherboard for A Low Tech Level Guy Doing No Overclocking

[Medicius]

Hi folks,

I've been searching the different topics that look like they're about the P55 Boards or more specifically a board for the I7-860 CPU. Based on the review done here, I'm opting towards the I7-860 as I will do no overclocking and the review made me think that it's a good chip for the price.

So that being said, I'm hoping to get some feedback on my different thoughts/questions. Thank you in advance to any who can help.

Questions:
mATX: Will this board type work with a GTX275, bc it looks like the Memory will interfere with the GPU placement. I read the review of the two mATX boards and the pics in both make it seem unlikely that the GPU will fit. But, as this is only my second build, I could be way off base.

SATAII: Is sata 3.0 the same thing as SATAII? When I look at SSD drives they reference needing sataII. But I don't see any specifications listing sataII on the motherboards.

Memory Voltage: How do i know what voltage a particular motherboard can utilize regarding ram?

PSU: I read a review on Newegg that stated one of the MOBO's needed ATX2.9 vs 2.1. Was the reviewer wrong, or is there something I need to look at when shopping for my power supply after deciding on a board?

Again, thank you for any help.

Medicius

 

[lopri]

1) mATX boards has no inherent incompatibility with large video cards like GTX 275. You see, take an ATX board and chop off the bottom 2.5" and you have an mATX board. As long as there is a PCIe x16 slot, it will fit fine. Usually the problem with fitting is related to the size of a case.

2) SATAII = SATA 3.0 Gbps. All P55 boards support this standard since it's a feature supported by the P55 chipset.

3) You can read reviews such as this. Most boards have much wider range of voltage support for RAM. You want to stick to 1.50~1.65V.

4) The reviewer is wrong. There is no ATX 2.9 specification. Current standard is ATX 2.1/2.2.

Welcome to AnandTech Forums.

 

[Medicius]

Thank you lopri.

Regarding the memory voltage, is that listed in the first page of the review for the Gigabyte P55 board? is it the DRAM Voltage?

Also, in one review of a motherboard on newegg, someone stated that the only way to utilize DDR3 2200 was to Overclock the ram? I guess I thought that RAM came out of the box set to work at a specific voltage (my current intel board requires 1.9v memory and I've only found one that lists 1.9v on the packaging)? Or is it bios-based where you can set memory to run at a specific speed, but you need to match the voltage to the speed setting and some bios' update that automatically for you?

More specific questions I have regarding two specific boards.

GA-P55-UD3R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128401
- The information says it supports CrossFireX. Does that mean i won't be able to (eventually) use SLI - or that an nVidia GPU won't work in it at all? I like the layout of this board. While I don't think I'll ever need to buy an IDE drive again, see the plug for one(?) on the board is nice. Also, I like the layout of this board. When I think about how it will fit in with my other components in my preferred case (Antec 1200) I think it'll work nicely.

EVGA P55 FTW
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813188056
- This had the review regarding the ATX2.91 PSU (which I'll post below). I know this will sound silly, but I like the aesthetically pleasing look of this board a lot more than the one above. Plus, if I remember correctly, a post on Anandtech stated that Physx compatible meant I could utilize another nVidia GPU to act as a PhysX card? I like that added functionality. On the flip side, I'm not excited about the sata connections facing the back of the board horizontally, rather than vertically. Also, there were some Concerns regarding the on-board audio I think. I don't intend to use the on-board audio so I don't think it'll be an issue, but a loss of sound during a game is disconcerting.

ATX2.91 Post:
powerful mobo
Reviewed By: Jieddo on 10/4/2009 Tech Level: average - Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
This user purchased this item from Newegg
Pros: lots of overclocking features and an external PCB with power, reset, and Vcore adjustments. has a CMOS reset button on the back panel near the audio jacks and the board has plenty of case fan jumper pins. There is an included flexible SLI bridge and the USB and FireWire pins are easily accessible when running two large video cards unlike older Nvidia reference boards.
Cons: ATX 2.91 means I have to upgrade my power supply which was ATX 2.1. I tried to run this board on my old power supply and the power supply blew out and died with a plume of smoke one start-up. It was a 800 watt BFG. I ended up splicing some of the connectors from the BFG to an ATX 2.0 500 watt power supply I had lying around and finally got the thing to start up. It ran fine for about 3 hours then that power supply crapped out on me too. I am running Core i7 860, 4GB PC1600 @ 1.8v, Swiftech Water Cooling, GTX 280 SLI (only 1 card running because of limited power supply), Blu-Ray ROM, WD Raptor, WD Green Power 1TB.
Other Thoughts: This board ran great on my Core i7 machine with SLI when I got my FrankenPower supply running. I ran RE 5 DX10 with the i7 860 and 1x GTX 280 all at stock clocks and I noticed significant improvements mostly with more stable framerates over my old 870i board with Q6700 @ 3.5Ghz. Also I'd like to mention this board has survived one PSU that overvolted and blew out and another FrankenPSU that wasnt even the right ATX spec and the board still works.


Thanks again,

Medicius

 

[lopri]

Originally posted by: Medicius
Also, in one review of a motherboard on newegg, someone stated that the only way to utilize DDR3 2200 was to Overclock the ram?

This is correct. Officially supported (max) memory frequency for Lynnfield processors is DDR3-1333. Any higher memory speed is technically achieved by overclocking. Typically, this is done by 1) changing ratios, or 2) raising bus speed.

What happens is that when you first boot your system, the board will read your memory's SPD (it's kind of like pre-programmed settings for your memory) and try to set the appropriate ratio. Even if memory sticks are advertised as DDR3-2000, they should contain SPDs for standard configurations.

Thus what you will likely see in the BIOS is DDR3-1066 (2:8) or DDR3-1333 (2:10), which are official specs Lynnfield processors call for. Depending on processors and boards, you may have different ratios available but realistically what you'll be using are:

DDR3-800 (2:6)
DDR3-1066 (2:8)
DDR3-1333 (2:10)
DDR3-1600 (2:12)

So at stock speed, DDR3-1600 is achieved by changing the ratio from 2:8 or 2:10 to 2:12.
Or, if you so desire, you can overclock the bus speed which will proportionally overclock memory frequency. Or, you can even do both.

If you look at the bottom of this page,

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3652

i7 860 processor's default bus clock is 133 MHz, and the CPU is highly overclocked at bus speed 200 MHz. If you compare the memory tabs, you will see different memory frequencies at the same bus speed. It's because different ratios are selected in the BIOS. If your hardware is capable of 2:12 ratio at this high bus clock (200), you'll achieve DDR3-2400.

Originally posted by: Medicius
I guess I thought that RAM came out of the box set to work at a specific voltage (my current intel board requires 1.9v memory and I've only found one that lists 1.9v on the packaging)?

1.9V for DDR3 is, I'm afraid, unusable with i7 processors. You'll end up with a fried CPU. If your sticks can run at lower voltages (1.65V max), then yes you can use them at those voltages, but not at 1.9V. Pre-Nehalem chipsets did handle high memory voltages, but now that memory controller resides in CPU itself, you can literally electrocute your CPU by high memory voltages. It's a definite no-no.

Originally posted by: Medicius
The information says it supports CrossFireX. Does that mean i won't be able to (eventually) use SLI - or that an nVidia GPU won't work in it at all?

The situation is somewhat murky when it comes to SLI support. For now, if the board doesn't say specifically I'd consider it as 'not supported'. Vendors have to pay for SLI certification, and if they did they'll certainly advertise it as a feature. However, it doesn't mean NVIDIA cards won't work. They will work. They just won't work in tandem.

Originally posted by: Medicius
Physx compatible meant I could utilize another nVidia GPU to act as a PhysX card?

Yes.

I'm with you that everything being equal, aesthetics matter. If aesthetics isn't the only difference, then you will have to weigh the aesthetics against pros/cons of each product.

I'd disregard the NewEgg review regarding ATX 2.91. As I noted previously, such spec doesn't exist. It reads like either a user error or a faulty PSU. Which PSU do you plan to use with your new build?

 

[tcsenter]

Originally posted by: Medicius
PSU: I read a review on Newegg that stated one of the MOBO's needed ATX2.9 vs 2.1. Was the reviewer wrong, or is there something I need to look at when shopping for my power supply after deciding on a board?

He was probably referring (mistakenly) to EPS12V 2.9x.

 

[Medicius]

Originally posted by: lopri

Originally posted by: Medicius
The information says it supports CrossFireX. Does that mean i won't be able to (eventually) use SLI - or that an nVidia GPU won't work in it at all?

The situation is somewhat murky when it comes to SLI support. For now, if the board doesn't say specifically I'd consider it as 'not supported'. Vendors have to pay for SLI certification, and if they did they'll certainly advertise it as a feature. However, it doesn't mean NVIDIA cards won't work. They will work. They just won't work in tandem.

While I don't think I'll ever utilize 2 GPU's in tandem, I don't want to shoot myself in the foot by limiting my options. This, combined with the aesthetic nature of the EVGA board, may outweigh the strange orientation for the sata plugs.

Originally posted by: lopri
Which PSU do you plan to use with your new build?

My current machine is using an Antec PSU. I've had good results with that one so the first part of my search will focus on newer antec psu's. However, my goal is to get a modular design that routes enough power to both my proposed moderate build, and to any future upgrades I make to it, before replacing it fully in 2-3 years (or sooner, if gaming standards change and make my build near-obsolete). The other portion of my search is going to be focused on finding one that will fit well enough into an Antec 1200 Case. Also, I'd like it to either have no light or a blue light.

I currently am using the original 900 and like the overall design to the point where having the larger, newer, version next to it makes sense.

So, in other words, I'm not sure what PSU to use. Do you have some advice based on:
- Modular design
- Fits a Full Size case
- Easily powers an nVidia EVGA GTX 275 FTW (and maybe power's two in the future)
- Either no light or a blue light
?

Thanks!

Medicius

 

[lopri]

Antec makes some good PSU's with modular cables. I like modular cables, too, and have been quite complaint-free with Corsair PSU's. Their cables are flat which helps cable management, but Corsair PSU's tend to command higher prices than competitions.

I'd think a good quality 450W PSU will handle a single GTX 275, and a 600W one for dual. For a specific model and maker, you may want to ask in this forum regarding your concern.

 

[Medicius]

Thank you for all the answers and information lopri. I'll move my questions to the psu forum.

Patrick