Hi all -
I've gone thru the reviews posted on the main site on the various Core2Duo chipset options and, unfortunately, the more I read the more confused I become. Here's what I've been thinking:
Core2Duo E6400
ATI X1950 Pro 512M PCI-E (probably won't ever go Crossfire)
4 SATA HDD's, 2 in a RAID-0 array
2 P-ATA Optical drives (1 DVD-ROM, 1 DVD-RW)
I'd been thinking about the MSI P965 Platinum...the board I'm currently using is another MSI (The Neo4 Platinum) and Tom's has steered me well in the past....only one problem: from what I'm reading on NewEgg's feedback, the 965 Chipset is not the one for you if you're doing optical drives on P-ATA...according to the folks there, J-micron IDE controller limits you to using PIO mode with optical drives and, as a result, you lose performance when using the Optical drives. Probably not what I want with my DVD-RW. That and all the squawks I've heard over the J-micron to begin with made me a little concerned.
975X seems a waste, since I'll likely never go to Crossfire. 680i? Naw...I'm not an overclocker. The performance of the ATI chipset didn't exactly get me hot 'n' bothered and the pricepoint isn't exactly inspired... I'd really prefer to keep the price on the mobo ~$150.
So, yes, we've established I'm basically a picky bastage...the only question remaining is whether anyone has any suggestions on a direction for said picky bastage??
I've gone thru the reviews posted on the main site on the various Core2Duo chipset options and, unfortunately, the more I read the more confused I become. Here's what I've been thinking:
Core2Duo E6400
ATI X1950 Pro 512M PCI-E (probably won't ever go Crossfire)
4 SATA HDD's, 2 in a RAID-0 array
2 P-ATA Optical drives (1 DVD-ROM, 1 DVD-RW)
I'd been thinking about the MSI P965 Platinum...the board I'm currently using is another MSI (The Neo4 Platinum) and Tom's has steered me well in the past....only one problem: from what I'm reading on NewEgg's feedback, the 965 Chipset is not the one for you if you're doing optical drives on P-ATA...according to the folks there, J-micron IDE controller limits you to using PIO mode with optical drives and, as a result, you lose performance when using the Optical drives. Probably not what I want with my DVD-RW. That and all the squawks I've heard over the J-micron to begin with made me a little concerned.
975X seems a waste, since I'll likely never go to Crossfire. 680i? Naw...I'm not an overclocker. The performance of the ATI chipset didn't exactly get me hot 'n' bothered and the pricepoint isn't exactly inspired... I'd really prefer to keep the price on the mobo ~$150.
So, yes, we've established I'm basically a picky bastage...the only question remaining is whether anyone has any suggestions on a direction for said picky bastage??