Which Mobo for E6400?

[redsky009]

Hi

I have been looking at building a new system, I have almost everything except the mobo figured out, I want to get an Intel Core Duo E6400 and an XFX 9750 GT 512Mb GFX card so I need a mobo with SLI compatibility, preferably that can handle 667 or 800 Mhz RAM. Wifi would be nice, but not essential.

What mobo would you recommend? I was looking at the Asus P5N32-SLI Deluxe but that has the old nForce4 chipset so wont be as good as something with N570 or 590 will it?

Please help, I am almost there!!

[redsky009]

In case you are interested, this is the rest of the setup I am looking at getting -

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 775, 2.13 GHz, 1066MHz FSB, Allendale Core, 2MB

2Gb (2X1Gb) Corsair Value Select, DDR2 PC5300 (CAS 5-5-5-15)

512MB XFX 7950GT XT

320Gb (IBM/Hitachi) Deskstar T7K500, SATA300, 7200 rpm, 16MB

NEC ND-5170A-0B Black x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer DVD-Writer

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS

580W HiperPower Type-R Modular Black PSU Quiet Dbl Fan

AKASA Zen case - Black Silent Cool Midi-ATX Computing case

Comes to just under £1000 from Scan

[redsky009]

Actually, scratch the Value select, I think its worth getting this instead: 2Gb (2X1Gb) CorsairTwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC6400 (800), 240 Pins, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 4-4-4-12, EPP

[philyau]

In case you are interested, this is the rest of the setup I am looking at getting -

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 775, 2.13 GHz, 1066MHz FSB, Allendale Core, 2MB

2Gb (2X1Gb) Corsair Value Select, DDR2 PC5300 (CAS 5-5-5-15)

512MB XFX 7950GT XT

320Gb (IBM/Hitachi) Deskstar T7K500, SATA300, 7200 rpm, 16MB

NEC ND-5170A-0B Black x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer DVD-Writer

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS

580W HiperPower Type-R Modular Black PSU Quiet Dbl Fan

AKASA Zen case - Black Silent Cool Midi-ATX Computing case

Comes to just under £1000 from Scan

err you still need a mobo and the OP wanted to know which mobo for 6400.

I would look into the gigabyte ds4/6 ones.

phil

[redsky009]

err you still need a mobo and the OP wanted to know which mobo for 6400.

I would look into the gigabyte ds4/6 ones.

phil

Hi - thanks for the suggestion (btw, i am the OP, i was just posting what the rest of my system is/will be), those look like good boards but they don't have multi-GPU support do they? Definately not SLI and as far as I can see not Crossfire either... while this isn't terrible, I would like to have the option of adding another 7950 later on...

[manne_29]

Well let me be the first to suggest the Asus P5B DH Deluxe i975 Wifi board that supports crossfire. But It would mean that you would have to change your graphics choice. Sli chipsets have been known to cause problems in C2D. I'm not at all saying not don't get it. My personal opinion is that I would look at an intel chipset, which currently at this time don't support SLI dual cards at the moment. But are due out next year I think. I guess you don't mind that direct10x is due out shortly as you are looking for a hefty VGA card. That being said go with X1900XTX and add another later in crossfire. Or just wait on the santioned Sli boards with intel chipsets that are coming.

[redsky009]

Thanks, that looks like it could be the mobo, not too expensive either.

I could wait for the PowerColor Radeon X1950 Pro (wont let me post the link, but its powercolor.com/global/main_product_detail.asp?id=133) which is RRP about £100 less than the XTX and doesn't need a Crossfire master card. Hopefully that will be out fairly soon!

which do you think is better 2 gb of PC8500 and a E6300, or PC6400 and an E6400? looking at the prices, I think the first option is actually a better one...

[manne_29]

Thanks, that looks like it could be the mobo, not too expensive either.

I could wait for the PowerColor Radeon X1950 Pro (wont let me post the link, but its powercolor.com/global/main_product_detail.asp?id=133) which is RRP about £100 less than the XTX and doesn't need a Crossfire master card. Hopefully that will be out fairly soon!

which do you think is better 2 gb of PC8500 and a E6300, or PC6400 and an E6400? looking at the prices, I think the first option is actually a better one...

First of all let's tackle the vidoe card. Direct10X cards are due out and once they are, most games starting probably by late 2007 will go to this new application. Meaning none of the current cards will be able to play them. If you worried about that then get something less expensive lets say (X850XT) if you don't have a gigantic monitor and deal with that for awhile while you save up for the Direct10X cards due out next year, just to tide you over. If your not worried about that then by allmeans go for the X1950pro.
I would go for the PC-6400 and E6400 combo. Just becuase you can squezz a little more performance out of the E6400. I think that the PC-8500 ram is overkill and would be wasted unless you are going to bump up to E6600.

[BUFF]

I would go E6400 & PC6400.
Btw, the Gigabyte DS4 & DQ6 do support multi GPU with oficial Crossfire support & SLI with hacked drivers (currently 80 series only afaik though).
However, on the 965 chipset the 2nd GPU will run at x4 which loses about 5-7% performance iirc (check Anandtech for a review).
The 975 chipset allows dual x8 but again it's official Crossfire support & SLI with hacked drivers.

The current nVidia chipset boards (so full SLI support) for Intel don't overclock very well - supposedly the new nVidia chipset (due Nov.) is an improvement.

[manne_29]

I feel that Nvidia drivers are sub-par when it comes to C2D and overclocking so let's just throw that out the window from the beginning. Make sure you are getting the Asus P5B DH Deluxe i975 chipset(supports crossfire) and not the 965 chipset( does not support crossfire)." Yes there are other great Mobos out there but this board layout is the best. Take a look and see how the PCI-express slots don't hinder the PCI slots. There is room for sound card firewire(optional) and TV tuner.You can't say the same for Abit's, Intel's, or Gigabytes( which doesn't even have a i975 option).

[BUFF]

Make sure you are getting the Asus P5B DH Deluxe i975 chipset(supports crossfire) and not the 965 chipset( does not support crossfire)."

P5B Deluxe uses 965, P5WH is 975 ....

& the 965 chipset does support Crossfire.

[manne_29]

P5B Deluxe/WiFi-AP

Adjust speed as you wish!
- Intel LGA775 Platform
- Intel® Quad-core CPU Ready
- Intel® Core™2 Extreme / Core™2 Duo Ready
- Intel® Pentium® Extreme / Pentium® D / Pentium® 4 / Celeron® D Ready
- Dual-channel DDR2 800/667/533
- AI NOS™ / AI Gear / AI Nap
- 8 Phase Power Design
- Fanless Design - Heat Pipe & Stack Cool 2
- Array Mic / Noise Filter
- WiFi-AP Solo
Specification

Genuine Windows is authentic Windows software that is properly licensed and legally installed. Learn more about the special benefits reserved for genuine Windows customers by visiting www.microsoft.com/Genuine CPU Intel® Quad-core CPU Ready
LGA775 socket for Intel® Core™2 Extreme / Core™2 Duo / Pentium® Extreme / Pentium® D / Pentium® 4 / Celeron® D Processors
Compatible with Intel® 05B/05A/06B processors
Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology ready
* Refer to www.asus.com for Intel CPU support list
* Please update the latest BIOS to support Intel Quad-core CPU
Chipset Intel® P965 / ICH8R with Intel® Fast Memory Access Technology

Front Side Bus 1066 / 800 / 533 MHz
Memory 4 x DIMM, max. 8GB, DDR2 800 / 667 / 533 MHz, non-ECC, un-buffered memory
Dual channel memory architecture
* Refer to www.asus.com or user manual for Memory QVL (Qualify Vendor List)

Expansion Slots 2 x PCI-E x16 (blue @ x16 mode, black @ x2 or x4 mode)
1 x PCI-E x1 (x1 or diabled mode)
3 x PCI 2.2

CrossFire Supports ATI CrossFire graphics cards (blue @ x16 mode and black @ x4 mode)


I stand corrected!! thank you Buff for allowing me not to make a fool of my self and giving out incorrect information.Redsky009 I almost had you paying out for more than you needed.

[redsky009]

Thanks for all the info guys! Going to have a proper look at the P5B and the P5WH and see what the price diff vs performance is, but those look like just the mobo I was looking for...

Going to go for the PC6400 and E6400 combo...

about the graphics card, the x850 is about the same price as the nVidia 9750 GT so if I'm waiting for DX10 then I could go for nVidia in the meantime (I have a 20" 1600x1400 monitor). Late 2007 is still a while away though! Lots of things might change by then and DX10 cards will be top dollar for a while so out of my price range (will probably still be paying off this rig!)
I'm still holding out for the PC X1950 Pro 512 which should be out soon and should be decently priced - not too much of a headache to replace come DX10..

[BUFF]

look at the Gigabyte DS4 as well as the Asus, it's probably the 965 board that I would buy.

[manne_29]

look at the Gigabyte DS4 as well as the Asus, it's probably the 965 board that I would buy.

I agree. How is the PCI vs. PCI-express layout of the DS4?

[redsky009]

The DS4 does look like really good value for money...