Which motherboard for an E6700?

[DataMatrix]

At the end of this month I will be buying an E6700, I currently have an AMD X2 system, with no knowledge of current Intel systems.

I want to use the 680i SLi chipset so that narrows it down to: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...=485&OrderBy=4

Money is no object, I just want stability and performance. I was originally thinking of the Striker Extreme, but I heard a few bad things from people overclocking it, I also considered the Abit IN9 32X-MAX WiFi. Although reports of low performance changed my mind again.

I will be overclocking on this board, so that would also be a bonus of overclocking stability.

Thanks.

[BUFF]

If you're going to be overclocking then why not buy an E6600 instead & save the cash or put it towards improving something else?

You might want to look at the new DFi 680i LT.

[nvening]

Why do you want a 680i board - unless you want SLI then i would go with a P35 based board tbh.

[Clunk]

In his "my system" bit, it says soon to be 2 x 8800gts...

Do yourself a favour and get a single GTX. less chance of problems, more compatibility in games, less heat in your case.

That leaves you more of a choice of excellent overclocking, stable boards, rather than the problematic 680i ones.

[DataMatrix]

@BUFF: Is the E6600 better for overclocking?

@nvening: I do want SLi... Dual 8800GTS.

[DataMatrix]

In his "my system" bit, it says soon to be 2 x 8800gts...

Do yourself a favour and get a single GTX. less chance of problems, more compatibility in games, less heat in your case.

That leaves you more of a choice of excellent overclocking, stable boards, rather than the problematic 680i ones.

Thing is, I already have 2 7950GTs, so I could get them both reduced in price. I have seen that 2 8800GTS have higher performance than a single GTX.

PS: Would you recommend a nForce 650 board rather than a 680i? Does the 650 provide good performance/stability?

I must go to work now, but I'll check back from time-to-time.

[Clunk]

I wouldnt recommend any nvidia chipset for c2d, too many unfixed problems.

if you are selling the 7950s anyway, it doesnt matter does it?

[DataMatrix]

I'm stepping them up, which could get me more off the 8800s. Are the NVIDIA chips really that bad? I don't know what to do now :/

[redddraggon]

They aren't that bad, they ain't great at overclocking though.

[Clunk]

Depends, you said you wanted overclocking stability, well, I found the 680i board I had to be quite flakey on the memory side of things, it also overvolted the ram by quite a lot.

Some people run them fine with a mild overclock and SLI, but then theres the SLI driver problems as well.

[digit]

Why waste all the money on SLI when to be honest as what has already been said you could get a single GTX? You could even just buy an ultra if performance really is much of an issue? I just think its a bit of waste of money really..

[BUFF]

@BUFF: Is the E6600 better for overclocking?

just as good & cheaper but it has 1 less multiplier (9x instead of 10x).

I'm not a fan of the nF6xx chipset either.

[DataMatrix]

Do you guys think I should wait a while to see what the new AMD processors are like?

Shall I get this processor with an Intel chipset (if so, which one?)?

Shall I get a single GTX and sell these 7950s on ebay? Or get 2 GTS (or even 1 GTX) and use them on my current board until the new AMD processors are out?

I'm not bothered about bottlenecking the 8800s as they will still provide a boost over 7950s.

What do you suggest I do?

[zephod]

honestly, I think the 680i is a bit of a waste unless you have silly amounts of cash and are going for the ultimate system. Better to spend the money on the single 8800GTX and be done with it. As for the intel chipset, it might be worth trying the p35 now they are out. very good results although the verdict remains out for overclocking...its always risky trying something new. As for tried and tested, there are plenty of 965/975 motherboards out there that overclock c2ds brilliantly for £80-£120 and thats probably a better buy. Suggest:-

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=434311

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/produ...oductID=605121

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/produ...oductID=605120


The E6600 and E6700 are effectively the same processor apart from the multiplier. Seeing as this is locked at the upper limit, the E6700 will theoretically be able to reach a higher overclock if the fsb limit in your system is memory/mobo limited. However, if your system is good, its likely that after fiddling you will achieve similar results so its probably a better financial bet to go with the E6600.

[DataMatrix]

Okay so, with the Intel chipsets do they have similar functions such as onboard RAID, etc like the NVIDIA chipsets?

[DataMatrix]

I have decided to go with the following config:

LN15050
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700, Socket 775, 2.67 GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 4MB Cache, Retail £165.99 £195.04

LN18821
768MB MSI 8800 Ultra, Overclocked, PCI-E(x16), Mem 2300MHz, GPU 660MHz, Dual Link DVI/HDTV £440.72 £517.85

LN15717
Abit AW9D-Max i975X, S775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX £96.89 £113.85

LN18575
4Gb (2x2Gb) CorsairTwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800), 240 Pins, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5-5-5-18, EPP £139.64 £164.08



Does this sound ok? I'm a real n00b when it comes to Intel stuff since the last Intel processor I had was an Intel Pentium 133MHz