Motherboard Chipset Differences

[Blitzen]

Hi All,
The plunge is happening this week but the chipsets on the new boards are a little confusing. Hopefully some of you can shed light on it for me.

OK
AW9D-Max = 975X chipset
Abit AB9 QuadGT = 965 Chipset

Whats the main differences between the two?
I have looked but cant understand the difference betwwen 975 and 965

Also, does the ABIT board support a E6300 unitl i upgrade to a Quad core at Christmas?

All help is much appreciated.

If you wanted to spend the cash which of these two boards ONLY would you take on?

[staffsMike]

975x are ATi Crossfire compatable..

[Blitzen]

975x are ATi Crossfire compatable..

Is that the only difference?
Basically, i dont want to use ATi cards (X-Fire right?).

I just looks, becaue of the lower numbers (965 to 975) that the 965 is inferior.

If its not then QuadGT here i come.

[kalniel]

975 is the top range of an older technology.

965 is the mid range of a newer technology.

965 uses some new techniques that supposedly allow for faster memory access etc. However the general quality and speed of 975 chipsets is sometimes better.

You tend to get more high end features on 975 boards as well, so it's up to you whether you want to pay extra for those or not.

[Blitzen]

975 is the top range of an older technology.

965 is the mid range of a newer technology.

965 uses some new techniques that supposedly allow for faster memory access etc. However the general quality and speed of 975 chipsets is sometimes better.

You tend to get more high end features on 975 boards as well, so it's up to you whether you want to pay extra for those or not.

This sounds a stupid question then but....... what is top of the range of the newer technology then?

Im going to spend up to £500 on mobo, ram and cpu and dont want to get the older stuff if i can stretch to the newer stuff.

[staffsMike]

the nforce 680i is the top of the range..

SLi..unlinked overclocking.. Cheapest is about £150 for an ASUS one. I went for the EVGA which run about £175 now

For £500 you would get a 680i an E6600 cpu and 2gb of pc6400 RAM

[kalniel]

This sounds a stupid question then but....... what is top of the range of the newer technology then?

Im going to spend up to £500 on mobo, ram and cpu and dont want to get the older stuff if i can stretch to the newer stuff.

There is always going to be newer stuff, and it's not like anythings going to work with the 965 that won't work with the 975.

Basically there isn't really one yet - intel just souped up the motherboards that use 975 (so you have the bad axe two for example) to keep the 975 as the top choice, even if it's technically older.

Nvidia use a completely different chipset (680), which IMO is inferior when you take into account cooling/noise etc. But it's pretty fast if you're into raw performance or need SLI.

[staffsMike]

with a quiet fan mounted in the side panel and a good overall aiflow you can do away with the cooler on the 680i as long as its not too overclocked..

saying that i barely notice mine over the general sound of airflow my pc makes.

[Blitzen]

So, taking account of all the opinions (thanks for that), would you say that the Abit QuadGT is a good choice if i coupled it with an EVGA Superclocked 8800GTS?
Will the E6300 also run with this board as some specs just say Quad Core and some say Core2Duo.

This is what i have in mind.

[staffsMike]

Yeah the e6300 will be fine...im guessing its a stop gap cpu?

I think the ABIT looks to be the best of the 680i bunch to be honest..good reviews etc..

That gfx card is fine too...

[GSte]

The 965 is also supposed to allow better OC's than the 975, so if you're going for an extreme overclock then.....

[shaithis]

The 965 is also supposed to allow better OC's than the 975, so if you're going for an extreme overclock then.....

Yes, the 965 boards generally reach much higher FSBs.

The downside is that there are a few quirks with regards to memory being overclocked if you drop the CPUs multiplier.

[Blitzen]

Yeah the e6300 will be fine...im guessing its a stop gap cpu?

I think the ABIT looks to be the best of the 680i bunch to be honest..good reviews etc..

That gfx card is fine too...

Yep...just a stop gap.
Im going to use it until a Quad Core becomes viable.

Thanks for your advice

[Clunk]

Unless you really want an SLI board and all the problems that come with them, you are probably better off with a 965 board, I would recommend the P5B deluxe wifi - Overclocks like a mentalist and is rock solid.

[Blitzen]

Unless you really want an SLI board and all the problems that come with them, you are probably better off with a 965 board, I would recommend the P5B deluxe wifi - Overclocks like a mentalist and is rock solid.

But the AB9 has alot more features doesnt it?
Also it can be used for Quad Core aswell?

Doesnt it make sense to go for this one?

[Clunk]

I havent used the AB9 (you on about the quad GT?) mate, but I have used the P5B for a few months now (2 of them) and it is by far the best, most stable c2d board that I personally have used. The P5B also supports quad core.

Buff has a guad GT, he will be able to advise further on that