# Choosing Intel Motherboard/Processor



## Chicken Patty (Aug 13, 2008)

Hello everyone,

I have been for a while wanting a intel powered rig.  However I had already started my Spider based AMD rig which is pretty much done now.  I am very satisfied with it, and its very solid.  However I still would like to try out an intel machine for a change.  Locally friends of mine have been using the ABIT IX38 Quad GT LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard, as their choice for motherboards, and honestly it works great for them.  However, I see a lot of other strong and tempting ones as well, like the Asus Rampage formula.

I basically turn here for advise on what motherboard I should buy for the intel rig, and what processor.  I have my eyes set on the Q6600, however maybe you guys can lead me to something out there that can be as good and be a better buy.

For those that wonder, once built and running, I will keep my AMD mobo and CPU, in case (highly doubt) I am not satisfied with the intel machine, I can just revert back to my AMD one.  If decide to stay with the intel then I can just sell my AMD components.  

Thank you guys in advance, and hopefully you can head me in the right direction!!!


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## Kursah (Aug 13, 2008)

Budget? Or is that an issue here? 

There's a lot of options, I recommend you start doing some research just on things familiar to you from TPU and your friends, read about the competitor's stuff too...I love my DFI board, but if you don't like a BIOS with a ton of options, it may not be suggestable to ya! Most of the extra settings are memory timings...there's gotta be like 25+ different memory options lol!

I love my Q6600, it runs great at 3.6 (see sys specs, on air), I've been thinking of getting a newer e8xxx series dual core when they get even cheaper for a 4.0-4.5 OC on air. I've seen 4.0 done a bunch, some 4.5's have been done...but really even 3.6 is more than I need!

P35's are great OC'ers for the budget...I'd get an X38 if I wanted X-Fire capability and still have P35-ish OC-ability...I don't want dual cards so that wasn't a big deal for me, saved some money that way too. A DFI Blood Iron is a small downgrade from my board, great OC-er, can OC quads pretty well too!

Lot's of options man, we'll getcha sorted!


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## pepsi71ocean (Aug 13, 2008)

If you want a Q6600, i would suggest a DFI Blood Iron board. My blood iron board is 3.6Stable under air cooling.


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## Chicken Patty (Aug 13, 2008)

Kursah said:


> Budget? Or is that an issue here?
> 
> There's a lot of options, I recommend you start doing some research just on things familiar to you from TPU and your friends, read about the competitor's stuff too...I love my DFI board, but if you don't like a BIOS with a ton of options, it may not be suggestable to ya! Most of the extra settings are memory timings...there's gotta be like 25+ different memory options lol!
> 
> ...



Budget is not really a problem, but I don't think its needed to get the best available.  It'll be my everyday rig, not just a bench station rig or anything.  I just said the abit x38 because I have experience with it and its working great for everyone I know who has one.  Yes however I do want crossfire capabilities.


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## Chicken Patty (Aug 13, 2008)

pepsi71ocean said:


> If you want a Q6600, i would suggest a DFI Blood Iron board. My blood iron board is 3.6Stable under air cooling.



Is this the one you are talking about?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136038R


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## Kursah (Aug 13, 2008)

Well research it and see what the downsides of it are, you may have good experiences with it, and may know the downsides, every component has a downside...if you like it, get it. Abit's a good brand IMO, I've had a couple Abit boards in the past, they worked quite well!

I don't know what your goal is as-far-as OC-ing or anything like that, my rig is my OC rig, Gaming rig, and everyday rig...it works great and has been very stable and treated me well during my trial and error oc-ing.

I'd say for now do some research on CPU's in a price range you're willing to deal with..quad and dual, I have a quad, I don't need a quad and may end up going back to dual in the future...maybe I'll wait out and snag a 45nm quad capable of 4.0+ for cheap after Nehalems come out! Who knows! I am content atm though...really nothing I need or really want to change...I just want to get a new chip to OC the snot out of...good thing I don't have a budget to play with atm!


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## Kursah (Aug 13, 2008)

Chicken Patty said:


> Is this the one you are talking about?
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136038R



That's the one...mine, the DFI LP P35 DK is pretty much the same board, but larger, black PCB, orange slots, a couple more heatsinks and a better layout (imo), but is usually a bit more expensive. It has an 8-pin CPU power plug compared to the 4-pin on the Blood Iron, but as proven many times, those BI's can OC quads just fine!


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## Chicken Patty (Aug 13, 2008)

Kursah said:


> Well research it and see what the downsides of it are, you may have good experiences with it, and may know the downsides, every component has a downside...if you like it, get it. Abit's a good brand IMO, I've had a couple Abit boards in the past, they worked quite well!
> 
> I don't know what your goal is as-far-as OC-ing or anything like that, my rig is my OC rig, Gaming rig, and everyday rig...it works great and has been very stable and treated me well during my trial and error oc-ing.
> 
> I'd say for now do some research on CPU's in a price range you're willing to deal with..quad and dual, I have a quad, I don't need a quad and may end up going back to dual in the future...maybe I'll wait out and snag a 45nm quad capable of 4.0+ for cheap after Nehalems come out! Who knows! I am content atm though...really nothing I need or really want to change...I just want to get a new chip to OC the snot out of...good thing I don't have a budget to play with atm!



The thing with Intel is, I have seen those dual cores clock really good, and they are fast as hell.  However though I do want to stick to a Quad Core.  For now I think the best choice on that side is the Q6600.

Motherboard wise, I will definetely do my research, and keep the BI in mind.  I still got some reading to do, but the more info thrown at me the better.  I really appreciate it guys.

Anybody else wanna pitch in some info????


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## pepsi71ocean (Aug 13, 2008)

Chicken Patty said:


> Is this the one you are talking about?
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136038R




yes, but i would recommend the non open box one. I never go open box.




Kursah said:


> That's the one...mine, the DFI LP P35 DK is pretty much the same board, but larger, black PCB, orange slots, a couple more heatsinks and a better layout (imo), but is usually a bit more expensive. It has an 8-pin CPU power plug compared to the 4-pin on the Blood Iron, but as proven many times, those BI's can OC quads just fine!



I'm not going to say you are lying, but the T2rl has an 8pin cpu power supply. otherwise my quad wouldn't run on it.


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## Chicken Patty (Aug 13, 2008)

pepsi71ocean said:


> yes, but i would recommend the non open box one. I never go open box.



It was just for reference, to make sure we are on the same page


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## pepsi71ocean (Aug 13, 2008)

Chicken Patty said:


> It was just for reference, to make sure we are on the same page




oh ok, i edited my last post as well.


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## Chicken Patty (Aug 13, 2008)

Kursah,

How does your DFI scale with Crossifre??  Does it support crossfire?


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## Kursah (Aug 13, 2008)

Don't keep the Q6700 out of the game either...some say it goes a little further, I never really looked into them much due to being out of my price range...the Q6600 is a great chip even if you get a crap OC-er, you're generally guarenteed 3.0-3.2 from it. I do recommend the Xig 1383 cooler for it, works great for me! Ever experienced the 775 cooler push-pins? I've had great luck with them, but many despise em!


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## Kursah (Aug 13, 2008)

Chicken Patty said:


> Kursah,
> 
> How does your DFI scale with Crossifre??  Does it support crossfire?



It's got a signle PCI-e slot, no X-Fire...part of why I chose it actually. If it's not there I won't use it! I'm not a dual card fan, well dual GPU fan...too much hastle and money imo, I get great performance on one card.

In that exchange I get PCI-e lan, the board is pretty good overall, I dig it! Great OC-er, also if you go BI/DK or any DFI, I have a great utility CD that the guys at DFI Forums made, has many utilities, and 100's of bioses for different DFI Boards...plus it flashes for ya, it's bootable of course..I have a copy I keep just for the memtests, hd scans and such.


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## pepsi71ocean (Aug 13, 2008)

I use a Xigmatec S1284 with the back plate conversion. I also lapped it as well. My temps are good enough to get me 3.6 Stable with room to go. 450x8=3.6


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## Kursah (Aug 13, 2008)

What voltage does that thing need for 3.6? What VID?

Mines a 1.30 VID, takes 1.42v for 3.6, +200mv in BIOS.


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## pepsi71ocean (Aug 13, 2008)

Kursah said:


> What voltage does that thing need for 3.6? What VID?
> 
> Mines a 1.30 VID, takes 1.42v for 3.6, +200mv in BIOS.




my Blood Iron needs 1.45v on the NB, 1.30 Cpu voltage, and +.17x(not sure)mv on the special add. Dram needs to be around 2.25v, but then again its because i was running 1103MHz on the ram.


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## Chicken Patty (Aug 13, 2008)

Kursah said:


> It's got a signle PCI-e slot, no X-Fire...part of why I chose it actually. If it's not there I won't use it! I'm not a dual card fan, well dual GPU fan...too much hastle and money imo, I get great performance on one card.
> 
> In that exchange I get PCI-e lan, the board is pretty good overall, I dig it! Great OC-er, also if you go BI/DK or any DFI, I have a great utility CD that the guys at DFI Forums made, has many utilities, and 100's of bioses for different DFI Boards...plus it flashes for ya, it's bootable of course..I have a copy I keep just for the memtests, hd scans and such.



great info on the board.

However, the thing with the CPU's is, that anything other than a Q6600 is sooooo much more expensive.  Don't know if its worth the extra money.

Also, about coolers, I am on water, so that shouldn't be a problem.


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## Kursah (Aug 13, 2008)

pepsi71ocean said:


> my Blood Iron needs 1.45v on the NB, 1.30 Cpu voltage, and +.17x(not sure)mv on the special add. Dram needs to be around 2.25v, but then again its because i was running 1103MHz on the ram.



I run 400FSB, so I can get away with 1.33v on NB, I'm +200mv on Special Add for CPU (for 1.42v under load, 1.37v idle w/c1e and eist on at 2.4), 2x2gb G.Skill kit @ 1000 55515 2.0v (not performance, but is very stable and solid perfoming for $80 memory).

I might try to get my memory up to 1100, I've read many times it can be done...they're running .1v less than their rating for CL5 1000 speed anyways...we'll have to see.

So is that 1.30 voltage what you're using for 3.6 or your VID (RealTemp/CoreTemp show it).



P.S. Sorry for the hijack!

EDIT: Chicken Patty, Well if you're on water you should be good! You may search the B/S/T section of the forums, might be some sales here and there, I check Hardforum's B/S/T section too, lots of guys sell stuff at good prices...there was a Q6600 floating on there a few days ago, don't recall the price...but they are pretty cheap new anyways...I want an older one that can hit higher clocks tho! I guess the trick is finding a low 1.2x VID Q6600...


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## a_ump (Aug 13, 2008)

well this seems like a good thread to ask a question taht's been bugging me. if u look at my specs, i have a q6600, and i thk its one of the poorer chips out a its batch, cause i can't keep it stable at 3.4Ghz even at 1.38GHz according to OCCT. plus temps were too high for my comfort. but i want to know what u people thk between the oc'ing potention or difference of a P45 compared to a P35. cause i plan on buyin a P45 this thursday, but if there's not that much of a difference i'm getting a P35. oc'ing is important. i'm content with the 3Ghz my crappy 680i LT has allowed me but in future i also want to upgrade to a HD 4870 since my current GT is dying. so want to bottleneck the least i can and want cpu fast as possible when i get it(probly xmas). so P35 or P45, which has better oc'ing abilities or are they equal?

also, my vid says 1.275 whats that mean for me? not meaning to hijack the thread


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## Wile E (Aug 13, 2008)

You can't really go wrong with a Q6600, but if you can afford it, the Q9550 or Q9650(not the QX) may also be worth looking into. They are supposed to clock quite well.

I can happily recommend the Asus Maximus/Rampage Formula boards. Very solid for me so far, and good clockers.


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## Wile E (Aug 13, 2008)

a_ump said:


> well this seems like a good thread to ask a question taht's been bugging me. if u look at my specs, i have a q6600, and i thk its one of the poorer chips out a its batch, cause i can't keep it stable at 3.4Ghz even at 1.38GHz according to OCCT. plus temps were too high for my comfort. but i want to know what u people thk between the oc'ing potention or difference of a P45 compared to a P35. cause i plan on buyin a P45 this thursday, but if there's not that much of a difference i'm getting a P35. oc'ing is important. i'm content with the 3Ghz my crappy 680i LT has allowed me but in future i also want to upgrade to a HD 4870 since my current GT is dying. so want to bottleneck the least i can and want cpu fast as possible when i get it(probly xmas). so P35 or P45, which has better oc'ing abilities or are they equal?
> 
> also, my vid says 1.275 whats that mean for me? not meaning to hijack the thread



I'd say go for P45, they OC roughly equally, but the P45 has the better PCIe configuration.


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## Damian^ (Aug 13, 2008)

Wile E said:


> I'd say go for P45, they OC roughly equally, but the P45 has the better PCIe configuration.



Would like to add that the P45's also have a higher FSB wall, id say about 600 to 720FSB range. 
As for the OP some great boards to go with a Q6600 are the Biostar TPower IP45 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138118

Many TPU users like the Asus P5Q pro as well, also ket has a niffy modded BIOS for it
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131299

But still the DFI BLooiron is a good board so its up to you


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## pepsi71ocean (Aug 13, 2008)

Kursah said:


> I run 400FSB, so I can get away with 1.33v on NB, I'm +200mv on Special Add for CPU (for 1.42v under load, 1.37v idle w/c1e and eist on at 2.4), 2x2gb G.Skill kit @ 1000 55515 2.0v (not performance, but is very stable and solid perfoming for $80 memory).
> 
> I might try to get my memory up to 1100, I've read many times it can be done...they're running .1v less than their rating for CL5 1000 speed anyways...we'll have to see.
> 
> ...



I look like a fool, i was totally sleeping on that post, im running 8x450 with 1.33v on the CPU Vid, and the +187mV on the special add, ram is 2.20 volts running at 1081MHz. my VID in Coretemp says 1.2250 but that is wrong. i believe that if you use a higher core voltage that you need a lower special add, but thats just IMO. My NM is at 1.50v.


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## Chicken Patty (Aug 13, 2008)

Thanks for everything guys, I'm really starting to get this all together now.

ANybody else????


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## BarbaricSoul (Aug 13, 2008)

CPU wise, for a quad, you can't go wrong with the q6600. But if you can afford it, I recommend getting one of the newer quads, atleast a q9450. Also, keep in mind, nahalem is suppose to be released next month. The 1st nahalem chip to be released is gonna be a $300-350 2.66 gig quad that is suppose to be about 20% faster than the $1500 qx9770. Definently worth waiting for IMHO. Even if you don't buy a nahalem chip, prices on all current chips are gonna drop like rocks when nahalem is released.

As for a motherboard(and this is if your not waiting for nahalem), I've always been a fan of nvidia chipsets. Currently I'm using a EVGA 750ftw motherboard. Great board IMHO. Same performance as the 780 chip set board, just has less SATA and USB connections basically. I do have to mention though that some people have a issue with the 7xx chipsets and watching videos. Personally, I have experienced this issue a total of 2 times in the almost 6 months I've had this board, so it really isn't a concern for me. I do watch alot of videos and movies on my computer(youtube,tvlinks,DVD's, and ebaumsworld). If you want to go with a SLI board, this is my recommendation http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188026

If you want to go with ATI video cards and have the option to go cross-fire, the Asus P5 motherboards are a favorite on these forums. Solid board with great performance. Just pick one that fits your budget and performance needs. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2000200280+50001315+107172615&name=ASUS


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## Chicken Patty (Aug 13, 2008)

BarbaricSoul said:


> CPU wise, for a quad, you can't go wrong with the q6600. But if you can afford it, I recommend getting one of the newer quads, atleast a q9450. Also, keep in mind, nahalem is suppose to be released next month. The 1st nahalem chip to be released is gonna be a $300-350 2.66 gig quad that is suppose to be about 20% faster than the $1500 qx9770. Definently worth waiting for IMHO. Even if you don't buy a nahalem chip, prices on all current chips are gonna drop like rocks when nahalem is released.
> 
> As for a motherboard(and this is if your not waiting for nahalem), I've always been a fan of nvidia chipsets. Currently I'm using a EVGA 750ftw motherboard. Great board IMHO. Same performance as the 780 chip set board, just has less SATA and USB connections basically. I do have to mention though that some people have a issue with the 7xx chipsets and watching videos. Personally, I have experienced this issue a total of 2 times in the almost 6 months I've had this board, so it really isn't a concern for me. I do watch alot of videos and movies on my computer(youtube,tvlinks,DVD's, and ebaumsworld). If you want to go with a SLI board, this is my recommendation http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188026
> 
> If you want to go with ATI video cards and have the option to go cross-fire, the Asus P5 motherboards are a favorite on these forums. Solid board with great performance. Just pick one that fits your budget and performance needs. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2000200280+50001315+107172615&name=ASUS



So basically I notice what you guys telling me are to go for the newer quads.  I'm assuming the newer quads are the 45nm ones with the FSB of 1333mhz, that compared to the Q6600 which is 65nm and 1066mhz???  I'm assuming the 45nm overclock way better, corret?

Also as far as motherboards, I currently have an ASUS and I love it, I just don't know if for the Intel field there are better choices out there.


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## Chicken Patty (Aug 13, 2008)

BarbaricSoul said:


> CPU wise, for a quad, you can't go wrong with the q6600. But if you can afford it, I recommend getting one of the newer quads, atleast a q9450. Also, keep in mind, nahalem is suppose to be released next month. The 1st nahalem chip to be released is gonna be a $300-350 2.66 gig quad that is suppose to be about 20% faster than the $1500 qx9770. Definently worth waiting for IMHO. Even if you don't buy a nahalem chip, prices on all current chips are gonna drop like rocks when nahalem is released.
> 
> As for a motherboard(and this is if your not waiting for nahalem), I've always been a fan of nvidia chipsets. Currently I'm using a EVGA 750ftw motherboard. Great board IMHO. Same performance as the 780 chip set board, just has less SATA and USB connections basically. I do have to mention though that some people have a issue with the 7xx chipsets and watching videos. Personally, I have experienced this issue a total of 2 times in the almost 6 months I've had this board, so it really isn't a concern for me. I do watch alot of videos and movies on my computer(youtube,tvlinks,DVD's, and ebaumsworld). If you want to go with a SLI board, this is my recommendation http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188026
> 
> If you want to go with ATI video cards and have the option to go cross-fire, the Asus P5 motherboards are a favorite on these forums. Solid board with great performance. Just pick one that fits your budget and performance needs. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2000200280+50001315+107172615&name=ASUS



I will not be ready to order by the time Nehalem comes out, still got some research to do and have to save up some money for this.  HOwever, is the Nehalem going to be socket LGA 775 as well?


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## Chicken Patty (Aug 13, 2008)

ALright guys off to work, be back later, keep it coming, I want to have some homework to do when I get back


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## BarbaricSoul (Aug 13, 2008)

Chicken Patty said:


> So basically I notice what you guys telling me are to go for the newer quads.  I'm assuming the newer quads are the 45nm ones with the FSB of 1333mhz, that compared to the Q6600 which is 65nm and 1066mhz???  I'm assuming the 45nm overclock way better, corret?
> 
> Also as far as motherboards, I currently have an ASUS and I love it, I just don't know if for the Intel field there are better choices out there.




Yes, we mean the 45nm ones. Thier OC'ing is alittle better than the 65nm cpus, but the main perk to the 45nm cpus is less heat generated and less power consumption. BTW, stay away from the q9300 cpu, it's OC'ability is shit compared to the other because of it's very low multiplier


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## BarbaricSoul (Aug 13, 2008)

Chicken Patty said:


> I will not be ready to order by the time Nehalem comes out, still got some research to do and have to save up some money for this.  HOwever, is the Nehalem going to be socket LGA 775 as well?



The change to nahalem is gonna be hugh, just like the change from the pentium cpus to the core2 cpus.

No, with Nahalem, a new socket and chipset is being released for it. LGA775 socket is on it's way out.


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## p_o_s_pc (Aug 13, 2008)

another board that might be good is the DFI lanparty DK P45
supports crossfire and almost every DFI board i a clocker with control for about everything in the BIOS.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136050


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## Chicken Patty (Aug 13, 2008)

BarbaricSoul said:


> The change to nahalem is gonna be hugh, just like the change from the pentium cpus to the core2 cpus.
> 
> No, with Nahalem, a new socket and chipset is being released for it. LGA775 socket is on it's way out.



that sucks.  So there basically is no upgrade path to the nehalem, from the LGA 775???


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## Chicken Patty (Aug 13, 2008)

BarbaricSoul said:


> Yes, we mean the 45nm ones. Thier OC'ing is alittle better than the 65nm cpus, but the main perk to the 45nm cpus is less heat generated and less power consumption. BTW, stay away from the q9300 cpu, it's OC'ability is shit compared to the other because of it's very low multiplier



got it


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## Chicken Patty (Aug 13, 2008)

p_o_s_pc said:


> another board that might be good is the DFI lanparty DK P45
> supports crossfire and almost every DFI board i a clocker with control for about everything in the BIOS.
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136050



That DFI is looking very nice.  Definetely on my mind.


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## pepsi71ocean (Aug 14, 2008)

Its just IMO but,I would stay away from any nvida board for now. I went through a boat load of 680i boards before i finally switched over to a non nvida chip set. every one had the c1 error, either that or 1d, either case it would make for a RMA, and i'm still fighting evga for a refund.

I went with he DFI Blood Iron board because the P35 Chipset IMO overclocks and handles higher FSB's speeds than the P45 does. And with my Quad i needed all the head room i can get.


Check the reviews for that DFI your looking at, from what i read it seems like a disappointment.


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## Chicken Patty (Aug 14, 2008)

pepsi71ocean said:


> Its just IMO but,I would stay away from any nvida board for now. I went through a boat load of 680i boards before i finally switched over to a non nvida chip set. every one had the c1 error, either that or 1d, either case it would make for a RMA, and i'm still fighting evga for a refund.
> 
> I went with he DFI Blood Iron board because the P35 Chipset IMO overclocks and handles higher FSB's speeds than the P45 does. And with my Quad i needed all the head room i can get.
> 
> ...



I haven't been seen great things about the nvidia boards lately either.


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## Wile E (Aug 14, 2008)

nVidia has never really made good Intel chipsets. They've always just been OK. They are much better at making AMD chipsets. I say go with an Intel chipset all the way.


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## Chicken Patty (Aug 24, 2008)

Got a question for you guys, I might be purchasing the board this friday when I get paid and I want to make the right choice.  Can you guys please explain the difference between x38 and x48, please???  Thanks in advance.


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## Wile E (Aug 24, 2008)

Chicken Patty said:


> Got a question for you guys, I might be purchasing the board this friday when I get paid and I want to make the right choice.  Can you guys please explain the difference between x38 and x48, please???  Thanks in advance.



x48 is supposed to be a higher binned X38 basically. I don't think it's that much different at all. I flashed the Rampage X48 bios onto my Maximus X38 board, and my results are basically the same, although I did gain some tweaking options.


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## Chicken Patty (Aug 24, 2008)

Wile E said:


> x48 is supposed to be a higher binned X38 basically. I don't think it's that much different at all. I flashed the Rampage X48 bios onto my Maximus X38 board, and my results are basically the same, although I did gain some tweaking options.



Now let me ask you, I was looking into the Q9450 or the Q9550.  I see some reviews from customers on newegg say that the multi is locked.  Wouldn't that make it hard to overclock???

Anyhow, you can always mess with the divider to keep the RAM in check.

I was really looking into a DFI Lanparty board.  They got an X38 for $179, and from what I know DFI's are really good boards.  What do ya think?


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## Wile E (Aug 24, 2008)

Chicken Patty said:


> Now let me ask you, I was looking into the Q9450 or the Q9550.  I see some reviews from customers on newegg say that the multi is locked.  Wouldn't that make it hard to overclock???
> 
> Anyhow, you can always mess with the divider to keep the RAM in check.
> 
> I was really looking into a DFI Lanparty board.  They got an X38 for $179, and from what I know DFI's are really good boards.  What do ya think?



The multi is locked on those 2 chips, although you can lower it. That just means raising the fsb is the only way to OC them, so if you can afford it, you want the chip with the higher stock multi.

My experiences with DFI boards have been good, but you would do good to look into some reviews on it to see how well it clocks with quads.


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## Chicken Patty (Aug 24, 2008)

Wile E said:


> The multi is locked on those 2 chips, although you can lower it. That just means raising the fsb is the only way to OC them, so if you can afford it, you want the chip with the higher stock multi.
> 
> My experiences with DFI boards have been good, but you would do good to look into some reviews on it to see how well it clocks with quads.



Gotcha.  However I believe there was a few people in this thread that said they had Q6600's and they overclocked well with the DFI boards.  However, I know ASUS is very good as well.  But the rampage, and the maximus boards are all $299+


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## Chicken Patty (Aug 24, 2008)

What do you think of this mobo?  Its got a lot of reviews and most are good.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131219


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## Wile E (Aug 24, 2008)

Chicken Patty said:


> What do you think of this mobo?  Its got a lot of reviews and most are good.
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131219



It's just a Maximus Formula with a few missing features. Generally clocks just as well.


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## Woody112 (Aug 24, 2008)

pepsi71ocean said:


> yes, but i would recommend the non open box one. I never go open box.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I'd just like to reiderate to stay away from open box items. Your usually inheriting someone elses problems. Not to mention their usually missing items.:shadedshu


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## Whilhelm (Aug 24, 2008)

I would highly recommend a Maximus formula but it is fairly difficult to get them new anymore. It is really easy to flash it to a Rampage Formula and that is probably the reason that they are not available as they are essentially the same board. 

So it is hard to recommend a Rampage formula because in my eyes it is way overpriced considering I payed 269 for my Maximus new 8 months ago and it tells me it is a Rampage when it posts. The average price I have seen for the rampage is around 330. 

So if you can find a good deal on a Maximus then I suggest you jump on it, otherwise I would save your money and avoid the overpriced Rampage.

Oh and by the way the P5E can be flashed to a Rampage as well but you have to disable the temp sensors and second Ethernet port in the bios because the P5E doesn't have them.


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## Fitseries3 (Aug 24, 2008)

i've been trying to sell my maximus for a while now. no one wants it


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## Chicken Patty (Aug 24, 2008)

Wile E said:


> It's just a Maximus Formula with a few missing features. Generally clocks just as well.



So this board would be a good buy then, I would think?


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## Chicken Patty (Aug 24, 2008)

Whilhelm said:


> I would highly recommend a Maximus formula but it is fairly difficult to get them new anymore. It is really easy to flash it to a Rampage Formula and that is probably the reason that they are not available as they are essentially the same board.
> 
> So it is hard to recommend a Rampage formula because in my eyes it is way overpriced considering I payed 269 for my Maximus new 8 months ago and it tells me it is a Rampage when it posts. The average price I have seen for the rampage is around 330.
> 
> ...



So let me ask you, how does this bios flash work?  What are the benefits of it?


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## Wile E (Aug 24, 2008)

Chicken Patty said:


> So this board would be a good buy then, I would think?



Yeah, it's a fine buy.


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## Chicken Patty (Aug 24, 2008)

Wile E said:


> Yeah, it's a fine buy.



Hmm, I just don't know if it's worth it to save up the extra money and get like a rampage or something.


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## Whilhelm (Aug 24, 2008)

Buy Fits Maximus then flash it to a Rampage. Hell I bet he would do it for you if you asked him nice enough. 

http://www.xtremesystems.org/Forums/showthread.php?t=179580

That thread has more details about flashing the board. I have flashed mine and my friends Maximus and I can say that it worked flawlessly both times.







That is a Maximus and CPUz reports it as a Rampage after I flashed it.


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## Wile E (Aug 24, 2008)

Chicken Patty said:


> Hmm, I just don't know if it's worth it to save up the extra money and get like a rampage or something.



Not really. Not unless you really want that extra LAN port and some extra sensors and stuff. Flash it with the Rampage BIOS (you'll have to dig around, I forget where I got all the stuff from), and you have a board just as capable as the Rampage.


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## Chicken Patty (Aug 24, 2008)

Wile E said:


> Not really. Not unless you really want that extra LAN port and some extra sensors and stuff. Flash it with the Rampage BIOS (you'll have to dig around, I forget where I got all the stuff from), and you have a board just as capable as the Rampage.



cool,


Man I new the Nehalem was going to be awesome, but just read that article on hexus with some benches.  Man it puts the core 2 extremes to shame in mostly most tests.  Damn, now I've got a hard decision to make


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## Hayder_Master (Aug 24, 2008)

take asus p5q


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## Wile E (Aug 24, 2008)

Chicken Patty said:


> cool,
> 
> 
> Man I new the Nehalem was going to be awesome, but just read that article on hexus with some benches.  Man it puts the core 2 extremes to shame in mostly most tests.  Damn, now I've got a hard decision to make


Well, upon launch, the cheapest cpu is gonna be in the $500 range, iirc. The boards aren't going to be cheap either. 775 will hold for a while longer. Not only that, but unless you are a bench junky, the current crop of quads is more than enough for most users.


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## Chicken Patty (Aug 24, 2008)

Wile E said:


> Well, upon launch, the cheapest cpu is gonna be in the $500 range, iirc. The boards aren't going to be cheap either. 775 will hold for a while longer. Not only that, but unless you are a bench junky, the current crop of quads is more than enough for most users.



I love benches, but my machine is not only for benches.

My Spider Rig now can run anything.  The only thing I cant run on full details is crysis, but i'm sure with even a 4850 I can crank it up all the way.  My 2900xt is showing its age against crysis.  I mean I can play it with full details but it gets a bit sluggish from time to time, so I rather just bring the details down to high and have a smooth game play.

However the reason I am looking forward to building an intel rig is that I want something that can clock higher and at the same time be faster.  So thats why I was looking into this.  

For now I think I'm going with the Asus P5E x38 and the Q9550.


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