Which chipset for my new build?

[shifter1]

Which chipset for my new build?

For several years up until my most recent PC I have been on an AMD processor/nVidia chipset/nVidia discrete GPU platform.

Due to Intel and ATi being way ahead of AMD and nVidia at the moment I want to change to a C2D processor with an ATi discrete GPU.

The exact parts I have been able to chose myself are the ATi 4870 1GB GPU(note1) and Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 CPU. As for RAM I have narrowed it down to a good quality ~1066MHz 2 x 2GB kit, this i can choose easily based on what some of my favourite e-tailers have at the time.

The budget for my new LGA775 motherboard is about $200. This is for my main home PC and it will do a bit of everything. Gaming, DVD editing, transcoding, Internet, watching movies, etc etc. i plan to build over the next few months, no hurry.

Can someone point me in the right direction as to the chipset differences please?

I saw on the Intel site that the X38 and X48 are the recent 'performance chipsets' and that there are several others in the mainstream, being P45, P43, P35, P31, G45, G43, G35, G33, G31, Q35, Q33.

While looking around a little i noticed that the P45 and P35 seem to be on the most boards with the high end X38 and X48 also being readily available.

Ive also noticed boards with the LGA775 socket and 790i, 780i chipsets (amongst others). I dont plan on using Crossfired GPU's but i still feel like i would be better off with an Intel chipset. Should I consider these at all?

Are there southbridge choices to avoid?

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My minimum requirements of the chipset would be enabling a board to have the following :

LGA775 socket
2 DDR2 1066 (natively, not OC). 4GB max is OK, 8 preferred
1 PCIe 16x
4 internal SATA300 ports
2 eSATA ports
6 USB (only 4 of them external is OK)

Onboard sound, LAN (10/100 is OK), and PS2 keyboard/mouse.

Bonuses but not essential
To NOT have Serial and Printer ports
Onboard graphics so the board is good for giving away or re-using.
mATX

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I dont plan on overclocking as such but i do appreciate and use a good BIOS for some refining.

So, i guess, my big question is how do i narrow down the field of boards? if i have a compelling reason to choice between only two chipset types it will make my choice a lot easier.
(note1) the 4870 choice is certain but i want to wait for non-reference coolers to become available and to read some reviews about the 1GB memory utilisation.

 

[Ratman6161]

Well, thats actually fairly easy.

Since you don't want crossfire, don't bother looking at the X38/x48 boards. The equivalent p35/p45 boards perform just as well if you aren't looking for crossfire.

The feature set you are looking for is also not that demanding. You can get everything you need for well under your $200 cap. Actually you could get it for closer to $100 - $175.

There is very little difference in performance between the older p35 and the new p45 but the p45 has pci express 2.0. PCI Express 2.0 which also hasnt been shown to perform all that much better so far, but if I were buying a new board, I'd get it just in case.

So, to me, the choice for you is pretty clear - I'd be looking at the P45 based systems. You didnt mention if you want RAID or not. If you do look for a board with the ICH10R (as opposed to ICH10) south bridge. Otherwise it doesnt matter. Since you dont overclock you can pretty much just compare the major brands based on price vs features.

 

[shifter1]

thanks for the input. i agree that P45 is probably the way to go. nice and new

i have some time to choose so i will be digging around and trying to get this P45 on an mATX board :/

looking at the chipset features i would probably end up with a more likely mATX from the P43. is this correct?

both P45 and P43 have one PCIe 2.0 16x and 6 PCIe 1x, the difference being the P45 allows for another two PCIe 8x slots. (which would obviously be for full ATX boards)


PS: i was wondering what the 'R' denoted in the southbridge name! i wont be using RAID...

 

[DSF]

I don't think you'll find a uATX P45 board. I believe G45 is supposed to come out fairly soon though, which should be uATX.

 

[shifter1]

hmm. yeah. i am not used to Intel chipset codes but i had noticed the P35 on an mATX. i thought at least the P43 if not the P45 would follow.

the only G35 board i have come across is...

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Pro...ec.aspx?ProductID=2877

searching for more (im kinda against gigabyte, been burnt a few times)

i am hoping that Intel will somewhat follow-suit with nVidia providing their 'mGPU' on many (all?) of their upcoming chipsets.

im almost certain ill go ahead and switch to an intel board for now but i do like the sound of HybridPower from nVidia. that would be a great option for me in summer (in australia), switch off the discrete card altogether. whee!

gah, i hate upgrade time when its changing my whole core system


EDIT: do intel (or AMD?) have a chipset option for shutting down the discrete unit and run from IGP?

 

[shifter1]

G45 seems to be even better for me than P45, P43 as it has IGP.

Ive decided I would really like another mATX (with or without IGP) and i have an inkling that it will be more likely to happen with the G45. (P35 on mATX is still rare!)

Ive thought that because of my limited feature needs that i may as well score IGP and a smaller board to go with it.

Thats what i ended up with for my main PC last time it was upgraded and i have no complaint. Once i upgrade it will have another life all over again when i give it away without the discrete gpu.

I cant seem to find more than a couple boards with this chipset that are mATX. Only Intels own board, i forget the model at the moment, is for sale in Australia.

Is it worth waiting/searching for boards with the G45??

 

[DSF]

You might consider looking at G31, G33 and G35.

 

[shifter1]

Originally posted by: DSF
You might consider looking at G31, G33 and G35.

I had eliminated them because of the reported gains of X4500/X4500HD over the X3500.

Im also suspecting it will be worthwhile in a year or two to have PCIe 2 over 1.1. I keep my boards that long but update the GPU, usually.

Sometime in the coming months, i have heard, there should be mATX crossfire boards available (without IGP i think). I would be more interested in that than any mATX with IGP.