C2D+ATI video=Confused!

mjmcmahon

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Feb 28, 2007
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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?? :D
 

BUFF

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the JMicron can be fun - on the other hand a SATA DVD-R/RW is only £20/$30 :twisted:
or you could look at the nVidia 650i chipset boards - abit, Asus & MSI all have them out now.
 

mjmcmahon

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Feb 28, 2007
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the JMicron can be fun - on the other hand a SATA DVD-R/RW is only £20/$30 :twisted:
or you could look at the nVidia 650i chipset boards - abit, Asus & MSI all have them out now.

Buff -

thanks for the quick reply....dare I ask what you mean by "the JMicron can be fun"?? Do you mean "fun" as in "different" or "fun" as in "annoyingly troublesome"?? :)
 

ZozZoz

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my Jmicron seems to work just fine. Proper UDMA. I tested the drive by ripping a double layer DVD and it got up to 16x specified speed (almost).
 

specter

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Hear's the deal. the optical drives work just fine if you install the SATA Raid driver. Mine was running in PIO mode until I installed that driver, after that it worked just fine but I am will surely buy a SATA or USB Optical Drive because I still have some problems and I am almost sure it's because of that Jmicron controller. Since I installed that driver my HDD which is a Seagate 7200.10 320GB works even when the PC is on idle, it is very annoying, and works much louder also, I can't understand why, so that is why I will change my Optical Drive and hope I will get rid of the problems. You can buy a motherboard with the 965 chipset but I reccommend you not to use PATA Optical Drives, or you can buy something with another chipset if you still want to use those drives.
 

mjmcmahon

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Feb 28, 2007
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Just noticed that I never came back and closed this one out. I went ahead with the MSI P965 Platinum board and the two PATA Optical drives. Much to my satisfaction, I never had a problem with the JMicron controller. No RAID Driver to install, no nothing...it just worked, as all good hardware should.

Thanks to all that took the time to give the advice, it was sincerely appreciated!