Is This The Right Motherboard For Me?

[LiquidFlame]

I’ve been going back and forth for a while now on deciding what motherboard to choose. I’ve been looking at the P965, 975X, 650i, and the 680i. Here’s a little background on what I’ll be using my computer for and what I’ll have in it. I’ll mostly be using my computer for gaming. I plan to get a C2D E6600, eVGA 8800GTX, and 2GB of DDR2 800 RAM. As of right now I won’t be doing SLI, but maybe in the future and I am not into over clocking, but I would like to have the option in the future if I decide to.

As for the motherboards I know the P965 is great for over clocking, but it doesn’t support SLI, the 975X works very well with the C2D, the 680i is supposed to be the best for over clocking right now, but there are tons of BIOS problems with it. As for the 650i it seems to be the best choice for me because from reviews that I have read it performs as well and sometimes even better then the 680i, supports SLI, pretty good at over clocking and even has two IDE connectors which helps since I still have some big IDE hard drives. I know that the 650i can run hot, but does that really matter for me since I will not be over clocking? Basically I want to get the best motherboard that I can get for my money and one that will work well with my components and really use the C2D and the 8800GTX to its full potential.

From your guy’s opinion, do you agree with me or do you think a different motherboard is better for me, and if so please explain why you think so. Below are some of the articles that I have read about the 650i. Thanks in advanced for your opinions.

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2894
http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTI0OSwxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==

 

[LiquidFlame]

Does anyone have any suggestions or opinions? Please give me some information because I really want to build my rig soon, but I don’t want to regret buying this motherboard if there is something else better out there for me.

 

[AdamBomb42]

I agree with you assessment of the 650i, it seems to fit what you are looking for.

 

[ak47is1337]

I agree with you assessment of the 650i, it seems to fit what you are looking for.

Nvidia has some series issues with RAID on many of the 6 series chipsets, and the performance isn't going to make that big of a difference in reality. Unless you want to overclock, go with a cheap but feature packed P965 board. If you want really good overclocking and DO want SLi, wait for RAID issues to be resolved. But yeah, if you want to overclock I would actually go for a really nice ASUS 965 over the 680i.

 

[pottymonster]

the 680i is only gonna be useful to you if you plan on overclocking like a pro, or if you really do plan on going sli.

in my opinion, after having bought my 680i, it really isnt necessary. i doubt ill go sli because the performance increase isnt enough to merit the cost. as for the overclocking, ive never done it before, and when i do finally get around to doing it im only going to be looking to get a moderate boost into the 3.2ghz area anyway.

so, unless you're a pro overclocking or you are absolutely certain that you want to go sli, i wouldnt bother with an sli capable board. if i had to buy again, id definitely get a cheaper board. the p965 is probably your best bet if you feel the same way as me, otherwise by all means go all out and get the 680i.

 

[LiquidFlame]

Thanks for the info, but I'm not planning on getting the 680i, I was asking if you guys think that the 650i from ASUS is the best fit for me. Oh and as for the chipset running hot, would that really affect me if I'm not over clocking?

 

[f1nal_0men]

Thanks for the info, but I'm not planning on getting the 680i, I was asking if you guys think that the 650i from ASUS is the best fit for me. Oh and as for the chipset running hot, would that really affect me if I'm not over clocking?

As long as you don't overclock, the 'hot' 650i northbridge wont be a problem, if you do, just slap on a better northbridge cooler, they usually run 20-25$. Also, I would wait until Gigabyte released their 650i board, as it uses all solid capacitors, and they might deal with the extra heat that northbridge puts out. And at least you can make a better comparison considering Asus P5N-E is the first and only 650i chipset board out right now.

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/News/Motherboard/News_List.aspx?NewsID=1303

According to there website, these motherboard should of been out 4 weeks ago... so they should be here any day, I hope...

http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4CNS&CategorySelectedId=11143&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11143,13

On the website above, it says they will be in stock in 5-7 days, but I wouldn't call that a reliable source for a release date.

 

[lca806]

I don't deny that I have read elsewhere that the p965 is not SLI compatible, but some of the Mobos come with 2 PCI-E slots... *Example*

Is it just for physx cards??? Crossfire???


To get at your question... I would be happy with any one of those chips... and for your requirements, I would lean towards the 965 or the 650i. From what I have read, unless you are overclocking seriously from the get go, the 650i is plenty for what you will need it for.

 

[f1nal_0men]

I don't deny that I have read elsewhere that the p965 is not SLI compatible, but some of the Mobos come with 2 PCI-E slots... *Example*

Is it just for physx cards??? Crossfire???


To get at your question... I would be happy with any one of those chips... and for your requirements, I would lean towards the 965 or the 650i. From what I have read, unless you are overclocking seriously from the get go, the 650i is plenty for what you will need it for.

Some of Intel motherboards support Crossfire. Only Nvidia chipset motherboards support Nvidia SLI.