Advice on these motherboards...

JohnJSal · 02-17-2008, 11:24 PM

The mobo is pretty much the only decision I have left (aside from the monitor). Here are my options:

X38:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131219
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128080

P35:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813127030
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128083
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128082

That last one catches my eye because it supports both DDR2 and DDR3 memory, so it seems good for future upgrades.

My big question is, how much of a difference does it make to have the FSB at 1600/1333MHz as opposed to 1333/1066MHz? Because that seems to be the main difference between the two chipsets. Everything else seems to be just a matter of how many ports are available, and if it supports dual GPUs, which isn't a priority for me since I plan to use nVidia anyway.

Thanks.

EDIT: Oh yeah, I plan to get the new Wolfdale CPU, so if some of these don't support it, my decision just got a little easier.

ramodkk · 02-18-2008, 11:34 PM

Hey! well about the memory, don't worry about it too much since DDR3 is just starting to appear and I don't think it will be worth it until later. So in other words, don't overlook DDR2 mobos. And about the FSB, the X38's will support CPU's with either 1600MHz or 1333MHz, while the P35' only support up to 1333MHz. And yes, another difference between them is that on the X38 you can Crossfire dual cards at full 16x speed so that's a plues unless you don't want to run dual cards.

And I don't know if you can drop one of the new Wolfdales into this mobo, but it seems like the best bang for the buck if you don't want to go dual gpus'
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...9&Tpk=p35-ds3l

Hope that helped!

JohnJSal · 02-18-2008, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ramodkk

Hey! well about the memory, don't worry about it too much since DDR3 is just starting to appear and I don't think it will be worth it until later. So in other words, don't overlook DDR2 mobos. And about the FSB, the X38's will support CPU's with either 1600MHz or 1333MHz, while the P35' only support up to 1333MHz. And yes, another difference between them is that on the X38 you can Crossfire dual cards at full 16x speed so that's a plues unless you don't want to run dual cards.

And I don't know if you can drop one of the new Wolfdales into this mobo, but it seems like the best bang for the buck if you don't want to go dual gpus'
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...9&Tpk=p35-ds3l

Hope that helped!

That one definitely has an excellent price, but the south bridge isn't quite as new as some others, and it has no firewire. Probably neither of these things matter to me, but I can't help but notice them.

As far as FSB, what exactly does it affect? Does it mean that the CPUs will run even faster if it's 1600 instead of 1333?

JohnJSal · 02-18-2008, 11:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnJSal

That one definitely has an excellent price, but the south bridge isn't quite as new as some others, and it has no firewire. Probably neither of these things matter to me, but I can't help but notice them.

As far as FSB, what exactly does it affect? Does it mean that the CPUs will run even faster if it's 1600 instead of 1333?

Nevermind. I just realized that the CPU I want (E8400) has an FSB of 1333 anyway, so the 1600 doesn't even matter!

That makes things easier!

**mep916** · 02-18-2008, 11:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnJSal

X38:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128080

^ I like that one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnJSal

Nevermind. I just realized that the CPU I want (E8400) has an FSB of 1333 anyway, so the 1600 doesn't even matter!

That makes things easier!

Exactly.

JohnJSal · 02-18-2008, 11:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mep916

^ I like that one.

Exactly.

Another thing I just realized is that the P35 boards don't have PCIe 2.0, and the graphics card I want (8800GTS(G92)) is compatible with 2.0. I'm sure it's backward compatible with the older PCIe slots as well, but will it run better on an X38 board?

**mep916** · 02-19-2008, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnJSal

Another thing I just realized is that the P35 boards don't have PCIe 2.0, and the graphics card I want (8800GTS(G92)) is compatible with 2.0. I'm sure it's backward compatible with the older PCIe slots as well, but will it run better on an X38 board?

Technically it would be better for you to run that card on a PCI-E 2.0 compatible board. But, yes, it is backward compatible.

JohnJSal · 02-19-2008, 12:07 AM

Well, I'm pretty much down to these five. They're pretty much identical in all specs, so I don't know how to choose from this point. The prices are also close enough that I'll probably just go with the X38, to be all cutting-edge about it.

Maybe the Gigabyte that you suggested above.

P35:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131225
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128083
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128064

X38:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128080
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131219

ramodkk · 02-19-2008, 12:20 AM

GIGABYTE makes awesome cards so I would narrow it down to GIGABYTE's. Also I'm not sure but if the E8400 works with the P35-DS3L why not get it? is cheaper so you can save and pur the extra money on another component. Also yeah right now, it doesn't matter all that much about which version of PCI-e slot you have so I'd say you're good with 1.0.

**mep916** · 02-19-2008, 12:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnJSal

The prices are also close enough that I'll probably just go with the X38, to be all cutting-edge about it.

Maybe the Gigabyte that you suggested above.

I'd narrow it down to the two X38 boards.

The P35 boards you're looking at are overpriced for that chipset. The P35 board Ramodkk suggested would be a good P35 board.

02-17-2008, 11:24 PM	#1 (permalink)
JohnJSal Platinum Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Hoboken, NJ Age: 28 Posts: 527	Advice on these motherboards... The mobo is pretty much the only decision I have left (aside from the monitor). Here are my options: X38: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131219 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128080 P35: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813127030 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128083 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128082 That last one catches my eye because it supports both DDR2 and DDR3 memory, so it seems good for future upgrades. My big question is, how much of a difference does it make to have the FSB at 1600/1333MHz as opposed to 1333/1066MHz? Because that seems to be the main difference between the two chipsets. Everything else seems to be just a matter of how many ports are available, and if it supports dual GPUs, which isn't a priority for me since I plan to use nVidia anyway. Thanks. EDIT: Oh yeah, I plan to get the new Wolfdale CPU, so if some of these don't support it, my decision just got a little easier. Last edited by JohnJSal; 02-17-2008 at 11:27 PM.

02-18-2008, 11:34 PM	#2 (permalink)
ramodkk Diamond Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: There > Age: 16 Posts: 4,872	Hey! well about the memory, don't worry about it too much since DDR3 is just starting to appear and I don't think it will be worth it until later. So in other words, don't overlook DDR2 mobos. And about the FSB, the X38's will support CPU's with either 1600MHz or 1333MHz, while the P35' only support up to 1333MHz. And yes, another difference between them is that on the X38 you can Crossfire dual cards at full 16x speed so that's a plues unless you don't want to run dual cards. And I don't know if you can drop one of the new Wolfdales into this mobo, but it seems like the best bang for the buck if you don't want to go dual gpus' http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...9&Tpk=p35-ds3l Hope that helped! __________________ E2160 w/AC Freezer 7 Pro Gigabyte P35-DS3L 2GB BallistiX Tracers PC2-6400 Sapphire HD3870 Rosewill RD500 500W Antec Three Hundred (Modded)

02-19-2008, 12:20 AM	#9 (permalink)
ramodkk Diamond Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: There > Age: 16 Posts: 4,872	GIGABYTE makes awesome cards so I would narrow it down to GIGABYTE's. Also I'm not sure but if the E8400 works with the P35-DS3L why not get it? is cheaper so you can save and pur the extra money on another component. Also yeah right now, it doesn't matter all that much about which version of PCI-e slot you have so I'd say you're good with 1.0. __________________ E2160 w/AC Freezer 7 Pro Gigabyte P35-DS3L 2GB BallistiX Tracers PC2-6400 Sapphire HD3870 Rosewill RD500 500W Antec Three Hundred (Modded)

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02-19-2008, 12:07 AM	#8 (permalink)
JohnJSal Platinum Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Hoboken, NJ Age: 28 Posts: 527	Well, I'm pretty much down to these five. They're pretty much identical in all specs, so I don't know how to choose from this point. The prices are also close enough that I'll probably just go with the X38, to be all cutting-edge about it. Maybe the Gigabyte that you suggested above. P35: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131225 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128083 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128064 X38: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128080 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131219