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Which Motherboard Is The Right One For Me?

L

LiquidFlame

Member
I?m planning on building a new system with a C2D E6600 and an eVGA 8800 GTX. I had my heart set on the 680i eVGA motherboard, but when I heard about all the problems I was reluctant to buy it. Then I got to thinking that the 680i might not be the best board for me. My system is going to be used for gaming, but right now I have no plans to over clock, but I would like to have that option in the future, same with SLI, I don?t plan on it now, but would like to have the option. I want to get my money?s worth and I would like to have the best motherboard that takes full advantage of the C2D E6600 and the 8800 GTX card. So I?m asking what you guys think is my best option, the 680i, the P965, or the 975x. I?ve read/heard the P965 is better then the 975x and the Asus P5B Deluxe is the best 965 board. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks in advanced.
 
I started out with the Asus P5N32-E SLI board, thinking that I would use SLI at some point (C2D E6600 and an eVGA 8800 GTS). But the board fried up on me after a couple of weeks and I had to RMA it back to NewEgg. Since the board wasn't in stock at the time, NewEgg refunded my money.

So, I rethought the SLI thing and decided that although it would be nice to have, I probably am not going to use. If I really am going to use it, then I might was well get another video card. But I didn't want shell out more money for another card, so I opted to get the P5B Deluxe board (which arrived yesterday).

Note - the single 8800 GTS card is more than adequate for what I need it for 🙂
 
If you want SLI you can choose either 650i SLI or the 680i. The Intel chipsets only officially support Crossfire. Depending on your budget, you can choose between the 650 and 680 and if you need the few extra features the 680i offers.

Maybe what 3NF was getting at above was, do you really want/need SLI and are you really going to use it? An 8800GTX is going to run pretty much everything you want at great performance. However, if you have some huge display setup you may need it...what resolutions are you going to be running?

EDIT: Here's what I was thinking of...check the conclusion and see if it applies to you
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/421/8/

Also, what is your budget for this system?
 
Originally posted by: moosey

Maybe what 3NF was getting at above was, do you really want/need SLI and are you really going to use it? An 8800GTX is going to run pretty much everything you want at great performance. However, if you have some huge display setup you may need it...what resolutions are you going to be running?
Click to expand...

Right 🙂 I'd say get an SLI board (680i/650i) if you know you're going to use it, rather than thinking you might use it.

 
I would advise you to obtain 965 mainboard. P5B Deluxe is not the best 965 board. Currently the first two placer are held by MSI 965P Platinium and the GigaByte GA-965-DQ6.

It is always better to use single more expensive video card than to use two cards in SLI. And since you plan to buy 8800GTX i doubt that you will ever need SLI. 680i technology is still way immature to be purchased and taken for granted.

The 975X is somehow outdated (eventhough it is the flagship of Intel chipsets). It was not specifically designed for Core 2 Duo so i doubt i would use the full potential of it.

That's why i suggest The MSI 965 Platinium, Gigabyte 965-Dq6 or DS4 and Asus P5B-Deluxe. Put the 8800GTX and kick some AI ass.
 
Thanks for all of the information, it was very helpful and made me think even more. I agree that I will probably not use SLI, but I'm still curious, what will use the full potential of the 8800 GTX, and the C2D, the 600 series or the 965 because if the 600 series will work better with the 8800 and C2D, I don?t mind spending a couple extra bucks to get my money?s worth. Also I haven't read a lot about the 650i. I've heard that it?s more stable then the 680i, but what is the main difference between the two. As to my budget, I was hoping to spend no more then $1500, but since I have to buy memory and a power supply I had to increase it, so I?m hoping not to spend more then $1700.
 
the msi gets great reviews at stock speeds, but i almost bought this board until i found out it is absolutely terrible at oc'ing. sinc eyou dont know if you will or not, it may be for you.
 
Not to throw any more confusion your way but:

1) If you don't really plan to overclock (even if you might in the future)

2) You want proven performance and stability out of the box

3) SLI isn't a main concern (e.g. will use an 8800GTX now but may want higher resolutions for games later)

Then a 975X board may fit you better (unless you really prefer Nvidia over ATI/AMD).

My reasoning:

1. The 975 chipset boards , while some consider them "long in the tooth" have proven overclockability and performance. The "newcomers" like 680i, 650i, RD600 are, as of yet, not "handily spanking" the Intel chipset boards enough to warrant the problems that users are having (serious problems as well, not just irritating ones).

2. If you aren't in the "product loyal" camp both ATI and Nvidia will have much cheaper DX10 parts in the next year, while SLI vs. Crossfire can be debated all day and (without modified drivers) Intel chipsets don't support SLI (and probably never will) they DO support Crossfire quite nicely. ATI has introduced, with the X1950Pro, "Native Crossfire" which alleviates all of that "Dongle" mess and I'm sure R600 will be native.

Certainly the cost of the graphics solution is much greater than the cost of a new mobo at this stage of the game.

IMHO go with a 975 board (Bad Axe 2, P5W DH) unless you absolutely want the possibility of only SLI (vs. Crossfire) in the future.
 
Originally posted by: LiquidFlame
Thanks for all of the information, it was very helpful and made me think even more. I agree that I will probably not use SLI, but I'm still curious, what will use the full potential of the 8800 GTX, and the C2D, the 600 series or the 965 because if the 600 series will work better with the 8800 and C2D, I don?t mind spending a couple extra bucks to get my money?s worth. Also I haven't read a lot about the 650i. I've heard that it?s more stable then the 680i, but what is the main difference between the two. As to my budget, I was hoping to spend no more then $1500, but since I have to buy memory and a power supply I had to increase it, so I?m hoping not to spend more then $1700.
Click to expand...

Be sure that your CPU and mobo will not be the bottlenecks.

C2D and All chipsets (965,975,650,680....) will use the full potential of your 8800.

Difference between 680i and 650i is when you run two cards in SLI. 680i has 2 x 16x PCI-e slots while 650 has 2 x 8x PCI-e slots. But this occurs only when you run two cards in SLI. If you run a single card there is no difference in performance AT ALL.

So since you will run only one card, nothing makes a difference to you.
Only that the 965 and the 6xxi are specifically designed for C2D and they have better memory controllers which is important for gaming. The 965 is cheaper, cooler, consumes less power and is more mature technology than the nVidia i600 series.

i vote for the 965
 
Originally posted by: AstroGuardian
Originally posted by: LiquidFlame
Thanks for all of the information, it was very helpful and made me think even more. I agree that I will probably not use SLI, but I'm still curious, what will use the full potential of the 8800 GTX, and the C2D, the 600 series or the 965 because if the 600 series will work better with the 8800 and C2D, I don?t mind spending a couple extra bucks to get my money?s worth. Also I haven't read a lot about the 650i. I've heard that it?s more stable then the 680i, but what is the main difference between the two. As to my budget, I was hoping to spend no more then $1500, but since I have to buy memory and a power supply I had to increase it, so I?m hoping not to spend more then $1700.
Click to expand...

Be sure that your CPU and mobo will not be the bottlenecks.

C2D and All chipsets (965,975,650,680....) will use the full potential of your 8800.

Difference between 680i and 650i is when you run two cards in SLI. 680i has 2 x 16x PCI-e slots while 650 has 2 x 8x PCI-e slots. But this occurs only when you run two cards in SLI. If you run a single card there is no difference in performance AT ALL.

So since you will run only one card, nothing makes a difference to you.
Only that the 965 and the 6xxi are specifically designed for C2D and they have better memory controllers which is important for gaming. The 965 is cheaper, cooler, consumes less power and is more mature technology than the nVidia i600 series.

i vote for the 965
Click to expand...

:thumbsup:

From someone who started out with a 680i board, I agree 🙂
 
The 965 does sound good, but I was really interested in the ASUS 650i because it did have 2 IDE connectors. I do have a SATA drive, but I also have some big IDE drives that I don't want to give up. I know I could buy a card that would allow me to hook up my IDE drives, but I don't really want to do that because of space. Are there any 965 boards that have 2 IDE connectors?
 
I think you'd have to get a card going with the 965 chipset. Intel didn't build in support for PATA on that chipset and board makers have to put a separate controller on for the IDE. Otherwise, you should be fine going 650i, I would not do 680i as it seems it'll just be a waste.
Check this out, if you haven't already http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2894
Personally, I'd buy a 965 board for myself (as I don't have the PATA needs you do), but either way you go (965 or 650i) you'll be fine. Just get what suits your needs best
down to $140
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131142


 
abit IB9 is a 965 mobo with 2 IDE channels.
It's designed as a mainstream mobo so it's not an overclocking champ but Gary Key says it will go to ~400 fsb & it should be ~$100.
 
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