Which motherboard?

VicP712 · 05-14-2008, 10:27 PM

Ok I am getting back into desktop computers after using a laptop for 4 years. I am planning a build but I am torn on which motherboard to invest it. Should I go with a Geforce 650i,750i, or go with an intel board like the P35 or X38? My main concern is reliability and expandability in the future. I want to keep cost under $200. From what I have read the P35 mobo does not support the 8800gt because it is not pci express 2.0, is this true? Also from what I have read, people rate the geforce boards pretty crappy compared to intel, what is the evidence? Any suggestions on what brand or specific mobo will be reliable?

royalmarine · 05-15-2008, 12:06 AM

p35 does support the 8800gt.

id reccommend the x48. newest board available. filled with features and wont see you break the bank.

911aaron · 05-15-2008, 12:27 AM

From my extent of knowledge, the P35 can use a 8800GT even though the 8800GT is a PCI-E 2.0. However since the mobo is a PCI-E 1.0, it can not use the 8800GT to its maximum potential. You should still be able to good frame rates out of it though.

As for the nForce motherboards, I read that all the 7x0i series have a Video Lock-up and video corruption problem that NVIDIA is aware of and trying to fix (no solution yet as far as I know). If it weren't for that problem, I think they would be nice motherboards. If you plan to get a 6x0i series though, don't get 650i. Instead get the 680i. The 680i's are not bad and here are some people's responses to this motherboard (they all are from this forum).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cleric7x9

is it the brand or the chipset difference that you are considering? or both?

i personally have the evga 680i, but i have lots of experince with the gigabyte p35. if you arent using SLI, definitely go for the gigabyte, if only because it will save you so much money.

Quote:

Originally Posted by theasian100

from a scale from 1 - 10 i'd give it an 8

only problem i've had with this board is that both my ram sticks from OCZ won't work when their both on but when only one stick is in it's fine so i'd suggest getting Crosair ram

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nvidia4life

I have had no problems with mine. I've only ever gotten intel boards in the past, but I decided to get an Nvidia. I hadn't heard of XFX before actually, but heard it was good. I've had mine for a few months. I like using it for overclocking too. It's easy to use.
As long as you don't mind having to hit F1 everytime you boot up, to get past the settings screen, it's fine. I didn't have to do that with intel boards, but i don't mind it. It lets me know that everything's working fine and makes it easier to get into the bios when I want to make a change.

If I am mistaken about anything, please feel free to correct me. I myself am still learning.

VicP712 · 05-15-2008, 03:03 AM

Yea, this is definatly a continuous learning process for me. I am probably going to go with a 680i or an X48. Any other opinions?

ramodkk · 05-15-2008, 03:07 AM

GIGABYTE makes one of if not the best motherboards along with ASUS. You can get the GA-P35-DS3L which is a Gigabyte board with the P35 Intel chipset. Intel motherboards are expensive and in my opinion look ugly

. In other words, a mobo from GIGABYTE or ASUS with the P35 or X38/X48 chipsets would be the best choice. They all support the 8800GT and all other PCI-E video cards and are beasts at overclocking.

680i, 750i... are basically to have SLi configurations which means running 2 equal video cards in two separate PCI-E slots. But, SLi does not give you double the performance so I wouldn't bother to pay double the price for 2 x video cards. In other words, I'd stick with a single video card. Which therefore means, I would scratch the 680i and 750i chipsets off the board.

911aaron · 05-15-2008, 03:39 AM

well if you got $200 to spend on a mobo, might as well get x48

VicP712 · 05-15-2008, 05:06 AM

i would love to get the X48 but it doesnt fit my budget. I am looking at this Mobo from Gigabyte.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128059
Anything better, i can go up to 150-175 for a mobo.
My main concern in for gaming and media use. I have no idea how to overclock so it will not be a priority. Its going to be paired with a 2.4 quadcore.

911aaron · 05-15-2008, 07:35 AM

From the reviews I've read, it is a good motherboard. I believe i read a review from somewhere about a guy who said he was getting 200 FPS on WOW max settings with that motherboard and a quad core. I think he OC'ed though. But still, stock settings should give amazingly good FPS as well. From the research that I've done on this motherboard, it seems great for the price, thus the reason why I'm probably getting one for myself soon

. I'd recommend it. I also heard its a good overclocker. I know you dont know how to overclock and neither do I, however in the future If you feel like you need a little more juice, you can always learn and have the option to OC.

EDIT: If anyone knows a good motherboard with PCI-E 2.0 for intel quad cores, please let us know so that I may reconsider buying that motherboard instead of the p35.

EDIT: Oh! Also on newegg, (if your buying it from there) they are doing a combo deal for the q6600 and the P35, giving you a $25 discount! Be sure to check it out if you haven't bought the Q6600 or the P35 yet.

VicP712 · 05-15-2008, 08:06 AM

Wow this forum has already saved my ass on my future build. I am gonna invest in the gigabyte

cohen · 05-15-2008, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VicP712

Wow this forum has already saved my ass on my future build. I am gonna invest in the gigabyte

Stick around and there are plenty of people willing to help anyone build a computer / recommend parts.. that is what the forum is here for.

05-14-2008, 10:27 PM	#1 (permalink)
VicP712 New Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 19	Which motherboard? Ok I am getting back into desktop computers after using a laptop for 4 years. I am planning a build but I am torn on which motherboard to invest it. Should I go with a Geforce 650i,750i, or go with an intel board like the P35 or X38? My main concern is reliability and expandability in the future. I want to keep cost under $200. From what I have read the P35 mobo does not support the 8800gt because it is not pci express 2.0, is this true? Also from what I have read, people rate the geforce boards pretty crappy compared to intel, what is the evidence? Any suggestions on what brand or specific mobo will be reliable?

05-15-2008, 12:06 AM	#2 (permalink)
royalmarine Gold Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 374	p35 does support the 8800gt. id reccommend the x48. newest board available. filled with features and wont see you break the bank. __________________ want to download your favourite movies and tv shows and so much more? come join our forum and get them all for free! http://www.rapidfind.org/upload/regi...errerid=100905

05-15-2008, 03:07 AM	#5 (permalink)
ramodkk Diamond Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: There > Age: 16 Posts: 3,839	GIGABYTE makes one of if not the best motherboards along with ASUS. You can get the GA-P35-DS3L which is a Gigabyte board with the P35 Intel chipset. Intel motherboards are expensive and in my opinion look ugly . In other words, a mobo from GIGABYTE or ASUS with the P35 or X38/X48 chipsets would be the best choice. They all support the 8800GT and all other PCI-E video cards and are beasts at overclocking. 680i, 750i... are basically to have SLi configurations which means running 2 equal video cards in two separate PCI-E slots. But, SLi does not give you double the performance so I wouldn't bother to pay double the price for 2 x video cards. In other words, I'd stick with a single video card. Which therefore means, I would scratch the 680i and 750i chipsets off the board. __________________ "If at first you don't succeed, you're not Chuck Norris" E2160 @ 2.7GHz AC Freezer 7 Pro Gigabyte P35-DS3L 2GB BallistiX Tracers DDR2-1000 Sapphire HD3870 Rosewill RD500 500W Rosewill Modded Case 3DMark06: 10,017 Winner of Photo Tourny: What were they thinking? & Grass Last edited by ramodkk; 05-15-2008 at 03:10 AM.

05-15-2008, 03:39 AM	#6 (permalink)
911aaron Silver Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Inside your computer as a virus Posts: 195	well if you got $200 to spend on a mobo, might as well get x48 __________________ * Processor: Intel core 2 Quad Q6600 * Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L * RAM: G. Skill 2GB F2-6400CL5d-2GBNQ * Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s * VGA: EVGA 256-P2-N751-TR GeForce 8600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 * PSU: Ultra X-Finity 500-Watt * OS: Windows XP Home Edition 32-bit * Monitor: Samsung 906BW LCD 2 ms response time 2000:1 Contrast *CPU cooler: Arctic Cooler 7

05-15-2008, 05:06 AM	#7 (permalink)
VicP712 New Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 19	i would love to get the X48 but it doesnt fit my budget. I am looking at this Mobo from Gigabyte. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128059 Anything better, i can go up to 150-175 for a mobo. My main concern in for gaming and media use. I have no idea how to overclock so it will not be a priority. Its going to be paired with a 2.4 quadcore. Last edited by VicP712; 05-15-2008 at 05:26 AM.

05-15-2008, 03:03 AM	#4 (permalink)
VicP712 New Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 19	Yea, this is definatly a continuous learning process for me. I am probably going to go with a 680i or an X48. Any other opinions?

05-15-2008, 07:35 AM	#8 (permalink)
911aaron Silver Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Inside your computer as a virus Posts: 195	From the reviews I've read, it is a good motherboard. I believe i read a review from somewhere about a guy who said he was getting 200 FPS on WOW max settings with that motherboard and a quad core. I think he OC'ed though. But still, stock settings should give amazingly good FPS as well. From the research that I've done on this motherboard, it seems great for the price, thus the reason why I'm probably getting one for myself soon . I'd recommend it. I also heard its a good overclocker. I know you dont know how to overclock and neither do I, however in the future If you feel like you need a little more juice, you can always learn and have the option to OC. EDIT: If anyone knows a good motherboard with PCI-E 2.0 for intel quad cores, please let us know so that I may reconsider buying that motherboard instead of the p35. EDIT: Oh! Also on newegg, (if your buying it from there) they are doing a combo deal for the q6600 and the P35, giving you a $25 discount! Be sure to check it out if you haven't bought the Q6600 or the P35 yet. Last edited by 911aaron; 05-15-2008 at 08:51 AM.

05-15-2008, 08:06 AM	#9 (permalink)
VicP712 New Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 19	Wow this forum has already saved my ass on my future build. I am gonna invest in the gigabyte

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