Motherboard?

[richieuk]

Abit IP-35 Pro, iP35 Express, S 775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX
or
Asus P5Q PRO, iP45, S 775, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), DDR2 1200MHz, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX
edit...
or
Asus P5KC, iP35, S 775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2/DDR3 1066/1333/ 667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX

[Infinite]

The Asus P5Q Pro

[ezri]

I would agree with Infinite, I'd rather have the PQ5 Pro over the IP35 Pro (and I own the IP35 Pro). The Abit is a great board, the PQ5 Pro is newer and overall looks extremely good from reviews.

[richieuk]

I've added another motherboard for comparison

[ezri]

Still rather than the PQ5 Pro over the P5K3. It's newer technology... 8x Crossfire dual lanes rather than 16x/4x, it supports PCI-E 2.0, ICH10 instead of v9, faster DDR2 support. Also the product for P5KC says raid support - but I was under the impression this board doesn't not support raid (has a ICH9 S/B not ICH9R which means no raid). The only way I'd imagine it does is if the board has something like JMicron like some of the Gigabyte boards, but I've checked the board and it only has 4 sata ports on the ICH9.

The only thing the P5KC has going for it is that it supports DDR2 and DDR3, whereas the PQ5 Pro only supports DDR2.

[richieuk]

Still rather than the PQ5 Pro over the P5K3. It's newer technology... 8x Crossfire dual lanes rather than 16x/4x, it supports PCI-E 2.0, ICH10 instead of v9, faster DDR2 support. Also the product for P5KC says raid support - but I was under the impression this board doesn't not support raid (has a ICH9 S/B not ICH9R which means no raid). The only way I'd imagine it does is if the board has something like JMicron like some of the Gigabyte boards, but I've checked the board and it only has 4 sata ports on the ICH9.

The only thing the P5KC has going for it is that it supports DDR2 and DDR3, whereas the PQ5 Pro only supports DDR2.

lol you smart git If you could have any Skt775 motherboard then under £100, and had to overclock a Q6600 on it, which would you buy?

[ezri]

lol you smart git ;) If you could have any Skt775 motherboard then under £100, and had to overclock a Q6600 on it, which would you buy?

:)

I'd either go with:

Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R
Asus PQ5 Pro

I'd be hard pushed to pick one of those. Either of them will be exceptional when it comes to overclocking your Q6600. If it were me I'd *probably* go to the Gigabyte, but only because I've bought Gigabyte boards before and they are always great quality, whereas I've had 2 Asus boards and 1 was DOA - it's kinda personal preference, but in your case I would get whichever you fancy. Both have Crossfire support, Raid, Firewire, optical audio, 1600FSB, 1200 DDR2 - can't really go wrong with either.

[wzix]

I just got the P5Q-Pro last week, overall very good from my limited experience. But its a nice box and comes with handfuls of extras

[Zhaoman]

If you want some insane overclocks then the P5K series is still the best out there. The P5Q will hit a nice speed as well but not as high as the P5K boards.

[BUFF]

I like the conclusion on Tom's Hardware from their P45 review http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/intel-...-31074-26.html :
"Finally, our conclusion is simple: the P45 is a transitional product that makes limited sense. It is not worth purchasing a P45 platform system, unless you insist on PCI Express 2.0 and want to avoid forking out the money for an X48 motherboard or a platform based on Nvidia’s nForce 790i Ultra SLI. The P45 doesn’t deliver better performance, while it increases average power consumption. It offers some new features, but it cuts back on USB 2.0 and SATA throughput.

If you want to buy a new Intel system today, P35 will most likely be the best option, as real benefits such as USB 3.0 and architectural advances are still only on the horizon. If you already have a Core 2 system or a fast Athlon 64 X2 or Phenom, you shouldn’t rush now. It makes more sense to for wait for Intel’s Nehalem architecture with the X58 chipset, as well as AMD’s Socket AM3 platform. "

[inonefly]

i heard the DFI DK P35 is also very good for oc quad cores and it's cheap

[raverbaby]

so which motherboard would people say is the best for overclocking a q6600, all of the p5k series?