Trying to decide on a motherboard...

[imported_MGM]

Hey everyone, I've been doing some research to build a new pc at the end of this month. At the moment, I've already bought my video card (8800 GTX), power supply (Corsair HX620), case (Antec P182), and the hard drive and DVD burner. I've also bought the G15 keyboard and MX518 mouse. All that's left are the mobo, CPU, and memory.

For CPU, I plan on getting either the Q6600 or E6850 (not sure which one yet), so the motherboard I get has to support both dual core and quad core Intel's. The memory will depend on the motherboard I guess but I'm leaning towards these right now: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820145590

The motherboards I'm looking at right now are:

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16813128050)

MSI P6N SLI Platinum LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16813130081)

ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16813127030)

Now, price is kind of an issue, the IP35 is really reaching the limits of what I can spend. I also would really like to have a P35-based mobo. However, I'm not really all that great at choosing a good motherboard, so any suggestions? Should I go with the IP35? Or should I save some money and go with something cheaper? Is there an alternative similar in price to the IP35 that I should get instead?

Thanks for the help guys!

MGM out

 

[ultra laser]

Since it doesn't sound like you need RAID or dual PCIe slots, save some money and get a vanilla IP35: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813127029

Also, if you plan on overclocking, I would choose some better RAM. These look pretty attractive for price/performance: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231087

 

[imported_MGM]

Originally posted by: ultra laser
Since it doesn't sound like you need RAID or dual PCIe slots, save some money and get a vanilla IP35: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813127029

Also, if you plan on overclocking, I would choose some better RAM. These look pretty attractive for price/performance: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231087

What's the difference between that IP35 and the IP35-E?

I've never heard of G.Skill before... I usually stick to Corsair, are these any good: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820145034

MGM out

 

[renethx]

Originally posted by: MGM
What's the difference between that IP35 and the IP35-E?

The differences are:

• cooling solution (but the difference is minor)
• southbridge ICH9R vs. ICH9. ICH9 has only 4 SATA ports and does not support RAID.
• IP35 has both optical S/PDIF in and out, but IP35-E has only an out.
• IP35 has IEEE 1394, but IP35-E does not.

Other good P35 motherboards in your price range are

• GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3P
• GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R

 

[imported_MGM]

Originally posted by: renethx

Originally posted by: MGM
What's the difference between that IP35 and the IP35-E?

The differences are:

• cooling solution (but the difference is minor)
• southbridge ICH9R vs. ICH9. ICH9 has only 4 SATA ports and does not support RAID.
• IP35 has both optical S/PDIF in and out, but IP35-E has only an out.
• IP35 has IEEE 1394, but IP35-E does not.

Other good P35 motherboards in your price range are

• GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3P
• GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R

on Newegg, for the GA-P35-DS3P, it says this for memory standards: DDR2 667/800(1066OC)

What does it mean by 1066OC? Besides the extra PCI-E slot and IEEE port, is that the only difference between the DS3P and DS3R?

MGM out

 

[renethx]

Originally posted by: MGM
What does it mean by 1066OC?

The northbridge P35 officially supports up to DDR2-800. So supporting DDR2-1066 in every P35 motherboard means some kind of overclocking.

Originally posted by: MGM
Besides the extra PCI-E slot and IEEE port, is that the only difference between the DS3P and DS3R?

Yes, they are the only differences (apart from different chipset cooling).

 

[ultra laser]

Originally posted by: MGM

Originally posted by: renethx

Originally posted by: MGM
What's the difference between that IP35 and the IP35-E?

The differences are:

• cooling solution (but the difference is minor)
• southbridge ICH9R vs. ICH9. ICH9 has only 4 SATA ports and does not support RAID.
• IP35 has both optical S/PDIF in and out, but IP35-E has only an out.
• IP35 has IEEE 1394, but IP35-E does not.

Other good P35 motherboards in your price range are

• GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3P
• GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R

on Newegg, for the GA-P35-DS3P, it says this for memory standards: DDR2 667/800(1066OC)

What does it mean by 1066OC? Besides the extra PCI-E slot and IEEE port, is that the only difference between the DS3P and DS3R?

MGM out

I assume that (1066OC) means that it supports PC1066 RAM if you intend to overclock, since no current CPUs require it.

 

[Miramonti]

Originally posted by: ultra laser

Originally posted by: MGM

Originally posted by: renethx

Originally posted by: MGM
What's the difference between that IP35 and the IP35-E?

The differences are:

• cooling solution (but the difference is minor)
• southbridge ICH9R vs. ICH9. ICH9 has only 4 SATA ports and does not support RAID.
• IP35 has both optical S/PDIF in and out, but IP35-E has only an out.
• IP35 has IEEE 1394, but IP35-E does not.

Other good P35 motherboards in your price range are

• GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3P
• GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R

on Newegg, for the GA-P35-DS3P, it says this for memory standards: DDR2 667/800(1066OC)

What does it mean by 1066OC? Besides the extra PCI-E slot and IEEE port, is that the only difference between the DS3P and DS3R?

MGM out

I assume that (1066OC) means that it supports PC1066 RAM if you intend to overclock, since no current CPUs require it.

Only 2 more weeks until the new conroe 1066fsb cpu's are released, which many of us are waiting for because both their faster fsb, reported great o/c'ing ability, and not to mention intel's reported price drops at the same time.

 

[imported_MGM]

Alright, then between the IP35 (Regular edition ) and the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P, which one should I get? Which is the better mobo of the two?

Only 2 more weeks until the new conroe 1066fsb cpu's are released, which many of us are waiting for because both their faster fsb, reported great o/c'ing ability, and not to mention intel's reported price drops at the same time.

Is the E6850 one of the 1066fsb CPU's?

MGM out

 

[renethx]

Originally posted by: MGM
Alright, then between the IP35 (Regular edition ) and the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P, which one should I get? Which is the better mobo of the two?

GA-P35-DS3P is much better. An extra PCIe x16 slot, two extra SATA ports, an eSATA bracket, a faster PCIe Gb LAN, a better audio codec (SNR 106dB vs. 97 dB) etc.

Originally posted by: MGM
Is the E6850 one of the 1066fsb CPU's?

FSB 1333 (not 1066!) processors are released on July 22, including E6850 and E6750.

 

[imported_MGM]

Originally posted by: renethx

Originally posted by: MGM
Alright, then between the IP35 (Regular edition ) and the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P, which one should I get? Which is the better mobo of the two?

GA-P35-DS3P is much better. An extra PCIe x16 slot, two extra SATA ports, an eSATA bracket, a faster PCIe Gb LAN, a better audio codec (SNR 106dB vs. 97 dB) etc.

Originally posted by: MGM
Is the E6850 one of the 1066fsb CPU's?

FSB 1333 (not 1066!) processors are released on July 22, including E6850 and E6750.

I know this is getting kind of off topic, but between the E6850 and the Q6600, which is the better buy? They're both the same price. I'll be using my pc for both gaming and multi-tasking... And will the DS3P support both processors?

MGM out

 

[renethx]

Q6600, or get E6750. E6850 is overpriced for just two cores. DS3P supports either processor well.

 

[imported_MGM]

Originally posted by: renethx
Q6600, or get E6750. E6850 is overpriced for just two cores. DS3P supports either processor well.

I'm kind of torn between either the Q6600 or either the E6750/6850... not really sure which would be my best bet. Any reason why you chose the Q6600?

MGM out

 

[ScrapSilicon]

Originally posted by: MGM

Originally posted by: renethx
Q6600, or get E6750. E6850 is overpriced for just two cores. DS3P supports either processor well.

I'm kind of torn between either the Q6600 or either the E6750/6850... not really sure which would be my best bet. Any reason why you chose the Q6600?

MGM out

from here

Keep in mind the fundamental rules of FSB performance: clock speed, number of cores, memory bandwidth and microprocessor architecture all play important roles in the impact of a faster FSB. The clock speeds Intel is launching its 1333MHz FSB processors are basically the same ones that Intel first introduced the Core 2 at; we weren't FSB bottlenecked back then, thus there's no reason to expect a huge increase in performance by bumping the FSB today.

so...get what you want but right now idling @31c on an abit ip35pro w/ a used (thanks CKTurbo128 ) e6600 under an ac freezer 7 cpu-z showing 333mhz bus x6 (1998mhz or so ..eist enabled) my fsb is 1332.x mhz using a pr(2x1GB) of kvr ddr2 667mhz (1:1) .. I'm happy @the moment

 

[brencat]

Originally posted by: MGM
I'm kind of torn between either the Q6600 or either the E6750/6850... not really sure which would be my best bet. Any reason why you chose the Q6600?

The new G0 stepping Q6600s will supposedly overclock much better and run much cooler than the existing stock. And price-wise, they will be selling for $266 vs. $183 for the E6750. It's up to you...if your PC will be mostly for gaming, I'd go E6750 and overclock the snot out of it. If you do video encoding, etc plus gaming, I'd go quad core (and STILL overclock the snot out of it! )

 

[SerpentRoyal]

Originally posted by: renethx

Originally posted by: MGM
Alright, then between the IP35 (Regular edition ) and the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P, which one should I get? Which is the better mobo of the two?

GA-P35-DS3P is much better. An extra PCIe x16 slot, two extra SATA ports, an eSATA bracket, a faster PCIe Gb LAN, a better audio codec (SNR 106dB vs. 97 dB) etc.

Originally posted by: MGM
Is the E6850 one of the 1066fsb CPU's?

FSB 1333 (not 1066!) processors are released on July 22, including E6850 and E6750.

Minor clarification to your post:

1. Extra PCI-E is only useful if you want dual GPU. The Abit adds additional space at the GPU slot for better ventilation.

2. Two extra SATA ports is nice only if you need more than four ports. Optical drive will not benefit with SATA (topped out at DMA mode 2).

3. eSATA is a very nice option, but probably not needed for most PC users at this time.

4. The write speed of HDD is the bottleneck of LAN. Even the best system will max-out at 50MB/sec. That's well below the speed of any Gb LAN.

5. S/N ratio better than 70dB is virtually inaudible. Most high-end home receivers are good up to about 75dB. You'll need bionic hearing to differentiate between 106 and 97dB.

Abit has the best fan control in the business. You can select PWM or voltage control if you have a 2-pin/3-pin fan. The fan speed is adjustable between 50 and 100% of full speed with adjustable start/stop points and hysterisis. This feature will allow you to have a very quiet PC when it is not working at 100% CPU load.

Abit's northbridge runs warm. The Gygabyte product tends to run hotter (bigger NB heatsink). The IP35 board generally requires no voltage bump at northbridge, southbridge, and VTT to hit 450MHz FSB.

My $95 IP35-E (AR) is stable up to 488MHz. It could probably go higher with a better CPU.

 

[imported_MGM]

Originally posted by: brencat

Originally posted by: MGM
I'm kind of torn between either the Q6600 or either the E6750/6850... not really sure which would be my best bet. Any reason why you chose the Q6600?

The new G0 stepping Q6600s will supposedly overclock much better and run much cooler than the existing stock. And price-wise, they will be selling for $266 vs. $183 for the E6750. It's up to you...if your PC will be mostly for gaming, I'd go E6750 and overclock the snot out of it. If you do video encoding, etc plus gaming, I'd go quad core (and STILL overclock the snot out of it! )

New G0 setup? There's more than one version of the Q6600? Is this a different version releasing on July 22 or am I missing something? Excuse my ignorance on this subject

Originally posted by: SerpentRoyal

Originally posted by: renethx

Originally posted by: MGM
Alright, then between the IP35 (Regular edition ) and the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P, which one should I get? Which is the better mobo of the two?

GA-P35-DS3P is much better. An extra PCIe x16 slot, two extra SATA ports, an eSATA bracket, a faster PCIe Gb LAN, a better audio codec (SNR 106dB vs. 97 dB) etc.

Originally posted by: MGM
Is the E6850 one of the 1066fsb CPU's?

FSB 1333 (not 1066!) processors are released on July 22, including E6850 and E6750.

Minor clarification to your post:

1. Extra PCI-E is only useful if you want dual GPU. The Abit adds additional space at the GPU slot for better ventilation.

2. Two extra SATA ports is nice only if you need more than four ports. Optical drive will not benefit with SATA (topped out at DMA mode 2).

3. eSATA is a very nice option, but probably not needed for most PC users at this time.

4. The write speed of HDD is the bottleneck of LAN. Even the best system will max-out at 50MB/sec. That's well below the speed of any Gb LAN.

5. S/N ratio better than 70dB is virtually inaudible. Most high-end home receivers are good up to about 75dB. You'll need bionic hearing to differentiate between 106 and 97dB.

Abit has the best fan control in the business. You can select PWM or voltage control if you have a 2-pin/3-pin fan. The fan speed is adjustable between 50 and 100% of full speed with adjustable start/stop points and hysterisis. This feature will allow you to have a very quiet PC when it is not working at 100% CPU load.

Abit's northbridge runs warm. The Gygabyte product tends to run hotter (bigger NB heatsink). The IP35 board generally requires no voltage bump at northbridge, southbridge, and VTT to hit 450MHz FSB.

My $95 IP35-E (AR) is stable up to 488MHz. It could probably go higher with a better CPU.

So then... should I go with the IP35? Heat is an issue with me, maybe not right away but when I overclock it will be, so I'd rather have decent cooling now then to realize a little while down the line that I don't have a good enough cooling setup to overclock to where I want. An extra PCI-E slot would be nice to have, but not necessary. I'd like to have the option of having two GPU's in there but it isn't really necessary.

I like to have a lot of hard drives, and I do plan on expanding to more hard drives and possibly more DVD drives (or perhaps a Blu-Ray/HD-DVD drive in the future) so having a lot of SATA ports may come in handy later on... then again, I CAN expand my pc to have more SATA ports in the future somehow, right?

eSATA sounds interesting, and I can see this being very handy in the future, since I do plan on buying an external hard drive. I may end up waiting until an eSATA version is available (assuming they aren't atm).

MGM out

 

[SerpentRoyal]

If you need the extra SATA ports, then go with the IP35, non E. I use the Big Typhoon, so there is plenty of air to cool my northbridge, even at 488MHz FSB. Almost any PC with two 120mm fans (intake/exhaust) will have sufficient air flow to cool the passive NB heat sink at extreme overclock speed.

 

[renethx]

According to the power consumption test by The Tech Report,

• GA-P35-DQ6: idle 101.3W, load 158.4W
• IP35 Pro: idle 102.8W, load 153.5W

In my eyes the difference is negligible...

The number of SATA ports is, IP35: six, DS3P: eight. There is no reason for choosing IP35 over DS3P.

 

[Heidfirst]

Originally posted by: renethx

The number of SATA ports is, IP35: six, DS3P: eight. There is no reason for choosing IP35 over DS3P.

yes, but 2 SATA are on the JMicron which I'm not a fan of.
& the abit's hardware monitoring/fan control imo is superior.
Ultimately both are good.

 

[imported_MGM]

Alright, then either the IP35 regular edition or the DS3P should be fine? Thanks for all the help guys!

MGM out