which setup would you go for?

[inspectorgadget]

1. A. ASUS P5N32-E SLI Plus 200$
B. intel e6600 225$
C. evga evga7900 145$

2. A. ASUS P5N32-E SLI Plus 200$
B. intel e 6420 200$
C. evga 7900 145$

3. A. ASUS P5N32-E SLI Plus 200$
B. intel e 4300 125$
C. EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP 259$ after rebate newegg

Is there a compromise somewhere in between? I am planning on overclocking. Already have 2gb corsair epp sli pc6400 ram. I like that ASUS board because it uses the fanless cooling. I want the PC to be pretty quiet and am going to use an ANTEC p180B case, probably going for the antec 7 freezer pro cooler.

 

[enforcerfx]

If you overclock, then it is down to B and C. If not, A is the solution. The E6420 - 2.0ghz, 4MB Cache and has 1066mhz FSB. Also, you want to use a 7900GS. In C. You use a E4300 with a 8800GTS. Now regarding that I believe the E4300 still has the higher multiplier, you could gain a nice overclock out of that and still have good graphics card performance. If you want the 4mb cache though, then the E6420. You could still overclock it too, but I don't think as high as the E4300.

Your call man. Decisions, decisions.


Good luck.

 

[skyguy]

Oh WOW, # 3 in half a heartbeat, no question whatsoever. This is assuming you'll be doing some good gaming though......


Here's the quick math that'll clear it up:

-Great CPU + average GPU = average gaming

-Decent CPU + Great GPU = great gaming


4300/8800 will kick A$$ for gaming. 6600/7900.....meh.

 

[inspectorgadget]

I am pretty sure i am going to do the 4300. How useful is the extra 2MB cache? I do a lot of multi tasking. I just cant seem to justify the steep increase in price to go for the e6420. What about the e6320? With the corsair epp sli 4-4-4-12 ram pc 6400, and a hiper 580 w psu, along with antec freezer pro 7 and thermal paste should i be all set to OC?
thanks

 

[skyguy]

Go with either the 4300 or the 6320. No need to jump up to the 6420. The extra cache won't make much difference, maybe 3-5% or so. Multitasking will rely on your RAM, so make sure you have 2 gigs.

 

[inspectorgadget]

can you beat the arctic freezer pro 7 for 25 shipped?

 

[alcattle]

That is a very good price on the ASF7. If you like the newer hard core games go with the 8800, it will make up for any small difference in CPU

 

[wilcoxon]

Personally, I'd go with #4:

4. A. Gigabyte DS3 $120
B. Intel E6600 $225
C. EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB $259

Very good overclocking setup, very good cpu, very good gpu. The only thing you lose is SLI. If you plan to SLI, you want the 8800GTS 640MB anyway (from what I've read, the 320MB is memory-limited in SLI).

 

[skyguy]

Are you in Canuckland? Direct Canada has the ACFP7 for $23 IIRC. Anywhere near that price, I'd jump on it. Does the job just fine.

 

[alcattle]

I know we all been saying that about the 320 being limited in SLI, but look at the newest chart on the dual set-ups.

 

[inspectorgadget]

I really like the fanless setup on the ASUS board and ive used asus in the past and they seem to get all the small things right, like instructions and CS. Is there anything that gigabyte board has that the asus p5n32-e sli is lacking?

 

[darksidedragon]

It's a well known overclocking board. Plus, the fanless Asus design will probably be pointless as you plan to overclock (more cooling needed = louder HSF). My current computer has an Asus board in it, and I recently found their website to be pretty crap. I've been trying to download new sound drivers so I can play Test Drive Unlimited, but the ones on the Asus site don't work...

 

[randomizer]

Get them from whoever makes the sound chip.

 

[darksidedragon]

I've downloaded a LOT of drivers, they all turn out to be for the ADI AD1988 chip. I need drivers for the ADI AD1888 chip. The sound chip people just link you to the people who make the motherboard i.e. Asus.

 

[purdueguy]

Wait 3 weeks until the HD2900XT comes out. Hopefully this will cause prices to drop and then take option #3.

But I agree with wilcoxon and DarksideDragon on the DS3 board from Gigabyte. I have that board and like it very much. Good overclocking capability. And since you mentioned overclocking ...

Unless you want an SLI motherboard, I'd get the DS3.

 

[inspectorgadget]

I guess the real question is how much more noise will the DS3 put out? I want the rig to be quiet. The pics of the board on newegg dont show a fan on the heatsinks on north and south bridges. Is that board considered "fanless". I am going to be using the arctic freezer pro 7 for cooling along with the 3 stock fans that come with the antec p180. I wasn't planning on using any more than that. Should i be concerned? Also, the ASUS board comes with on board audio, which i read was crap, but i would have to factor that into the price difference when comparing the DS3 and the ASUS p5n32-e sli.

 

[skyguy]

Check my sig.

I got the DS3, 8800GTS, P180......and my rig is QUIET, while highly overclocked. The DS3 makes no noise....there are passive heatsinks on it. In fact, I put a fanned heatsink on the northbridge to keep it cool for my overclock. Can't hear a thing. The P180 is da shiz for quiet.

Just make sure you have quiet case fans and a quiet PSU and you'll have no worries.

 

[wilcoxon]

I don't remember the DS3 having any fans on it (though I could be wrong). If you are overclocking much, you will want to put a real chipset cooler on the northbridge anyway.

That amount of cooling should be fine for at least moderate overclocking (assuming the arctic freezer pro 7 is decent (no experience with one and never really even came across it when doing research)).

Pretty much every mobo now comes with onboard audio and ethernet. I can't think of anything the DS3 has that the p5n32-e doesn't but, on the other hand, I can't think of anything the ASUS has that the DS3 doesn't beyond SLI.

 

[skyguy]

I've used the ACFP7, and it's good. Not spectacular, but very good at keeping temps reasonable. The ONLY drawback is that it has a 92mm fan, not a 120mm......so that makes a difference in the overall noise. The 120's are quieter. The ACFP7 isn't loud, but it's not silent......certainly not compared to my Noctua or a Thermalright with a silent fan.

 

[inspectorgadget]

can you recommend a good northbridge cooler? Also, from what i've been reading as far as benchmarks go the only competitor to this board is the ASUS p5B-E. Any thoughts on that board?
thanks in advance

 

[wilcoxon]

If you doubt Skyguy, check my sig. My two priorities in designing a system were performance and quiet. As I did more and more research, my system started looking more and more like Skyguy's (except he was using a modified Zalman cooler until recently).

 

[wilcoxon]

Thermaltake Extreme Spirit II seems to be one of the best northbridge coolers you can get.

The difference in benchmarks between motherboards are extremely small. I would not recommend using benchmarks as a mobo guide. Go by features, overclockability, and price.

 

[skyguy]

Agreed and agreed, wholeheartedly.

 

[inspectorgadget]

Yea that noctuna is great, is there something in between the 2? The AFP7 costs 25 shipped and the Noctuna is 63$ I want the rig to be quiet, but doubling the cost doesn't seem worth it.

 

[skyguy]

Well, if you're ambitious.......get the ACF and then get an Antec Tri-Cool 92mm fan and swap it in for the stock. That'll reduce noise. I did that with my old Zalman 9500 and did the trick nicely.