How do I choose a motherboard?

[DireStrike]

Hey everybody. I built my last computer like... um, a while ago. I'm not really up on things anymore, haha.

I'm looking to build a gaming rig. The processor is probably gonna be a Core 2 Duo E6600. How do I tell which motherboards are fully compatible with this?

Also, um... What else do I need to look for in a mobo? It seems that AGP for graphics cards has fallen by the wayside... right? What else do I need to watch for? Anything new and really desirable?

I'm also a bit worried about high temperatures in this crappy apartment, so I want to put in a strong cooling system. That's another topic in itself I guess, but I need the board to support something that'll get the job done.

Thanks!

 

[deadhead_matt]

The E6600 is LGA 775 Socket. So you want to look for a motherboard with that Socket.

Here is a list of Mb's that support e6600 there are a lot more this is just to get you started.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010200280+1070509908+1070625638&name=Quad-core+%2f+Core+2+Extreme+%2f+Core+2+Duo+%2f+Pentium

Also the new MB's are out
http://www.directron.com/p35chipset.html

also Intel price cuts on July 22

video cards
All the new video cards are PCI Express x16 slot.

Well if you want the biggest badest boy on the block that would be the 8800 cards. (the 640mb cards)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048+106791921+1068314597&name=640MB

the 320mb cards
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048+106791921+1068327613&name=320MB

the 768mb cards (I wouln't buy one but)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048+106791921+1068324927&name=768MB

With all theys cards you need a power supply with a combined 12V current rating of 28A or more.

 

[deadhead_matt]

Things to think about (and google)

Do you want to SLI (2 video cards on 1 MB)?

Cooling do you want to air cool or Liquid cool?

If I get an 8800 card what power supply to get (the power supply is the most over looked part of a build)?

Which OS are you going to use?

Also it would help a lot if you could tell us what you are going to do with this computer (other then gaming)?

How much $$$ are you willing to spend?

 

[DireStrike]

I don't see any info on the E6600 in this price break. It seems that it's being phased out for the Exx50 processors. Of these, the most interesting to me is:

E6750 (4M L2 cache 2.66 GHz 1333 MHz FSB 65nm) $183

The main changes are +300 FSB and a $40 price drop. Is this pretty much the same processor, with upgrades? I really liked the fact that the e6600 just WORKS. It seems to have few people reporting problems. Is it more likely there will be compatibility and stability issues getting a processor so close to its launch? Fixing problems is the #1 thing I do NOT want to have to do with this computer. Also, what do you think of this TXT technology?

I don't see any need for SLI.

Liquid cooling is too complex and expensive, though the quiet would be nice.

I'll keep in mind power requirements in regard to vid card, thanks for the reminder.

I'll be using windows XP.

Other than gaming? Nothing strenuous. Websurfing, IMing, schoolwork, extremely light digital camera stuff (printing pics and not much more.)

I'm looking to spend up to $1000, I suppose, on the box. I'm quite happy with my peripherals, except maybe I'll get a new keyboard.

 

[deadhead_matt]

you are right

now the price of the E6600 ($224 todays price)

on July the Q6600 for $266

That is what i was getting at sorry not so clear on this.
But if you cant wait till July then go for it

 

[deadhead_matt]

Try this post it was one for a guy that wanted about the same PC. Me and another poster help out last night the poster other then me posted his prices in canadin money

http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=1691809#1691809

 

[DireStrike]

Agh, thread near-necromancy! Maybe thread anesthesiology?

Ok, I'm narrowing my interests, but I still don't have a clue what motherboard to get, besides something that supports what I want. There seem to be a lot of those. I'd like something stable, dependable, that either doesn't run hot or can take heat. Even though I won't be overclocking, this apartment gets hot.

Processor - E6750, so FSB should be 1333.

Vid Card - Geforce 8800 PCI Express x16
I'd also like to add a PCI slot fan to help cool the 8800 and case in general.

Sound card - I'll go with onboard sound for the time being, or a cheap sound card. I'm only ever gonna use 2 speakers or headphones, and quality doesn't have to be phenomenal.

The case will support ATX or microATX, and should help with the cooling: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811208019

DRIVES - I'm getting hung up here. When did SATA become so standard? 0_0 Well, it's not much of a price difference with IDE so I guess its just better. I'd like one HDD and a DVDR, unless someone can present a really compelling reason to install the OS on a second HDD.

So... yeah. Any recommendations? Favorites? ...Advertisements?

 

[deadhead_matt]

Agh, thread near-necromancy! Maybe thread anesthesiology?

Ok, I'm narrowing my interests, but I still don't have a clue what motherboard to get, besides something that supports what I want. There seem to be a lot of those. I'd like something stable, dependable, that either doesn't run hot or can take heat. Even though I won't be overclocking, this apartment gets hot.

Processor - E6750, so FSB should be 1333.

Vid Card - Geforce 8800 PCI Express x16
I'd also like to add a PCI slot fan to help cool the 8800 and case in general.

Sound card - I'll go with onboard sound for the time being, or a cheap sound card. I'm only ever gonna use 2 speakers or headphones, and quality doesn't have to be phenomenal.

The case will support ATX or microATX, and should help with the cooling: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811208019

DRIVES - I'm getting hung up here. When did SATA become so standard? 0_0 Well, it's not much of a price difference with IDE so I guess its just better. I'd like one HDD and a DVDR, unless someone can present a really compelling reason to install the OS on a second HDD.

So... yeah. Any recommendations? Favorites? ...Advertisements?

PCI slot fan NOOOOO they suck (and I don't mean in a good way) LOUD and crap out vary fast!!!!!

Harddrive If it was me and your $$$ lets you 2 drives are good.
Ok you put your Os on one drive and files, MP3s, and movies on the other.
That way if your OS (and it will) needs to be reinstalled it is no big deal and with only having your OS and games and other programs on it it makes it a h3ll of a lot less trouble it reinstall. (But do back up your stuff).
It will give you a little speed boost (now what i mean by this is that your OS drive won't have to go looking threw a lot of files to find the OS).

OK

Now the MB one that is not hot and is stable that would be Intel MB (stable but NO OCing) or Gigabyte (stable not hot and if you want to in will OC).

Intel
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121314

GIGABYTE
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128050

Now I'm going to say that if you are going to upgrade (CPU) in say the next year or two go with the P35 chip set MB. Also (do not hold me to it) buy i think the next new chip set will be out some time in the latter half of July so keep an eye out for that.

One last thing go with a full size case better cooling and if this is your first build all that room helps out. Take a look at this one it is all most the same price as the one you listed. (no window)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811125468

 

[FallenSniper]

You might want to take a look at this mobo as well. It is very similar to the Gigabyte matt posted, but this one also has compatibility with DDR3 Memory. I don't know if you want to future prooff this system to that extent, but it's an option.

If you still aren't sure what MoBo you want, post some that you are considering and we will help you out.

 

[Zorg]

You might want to take a look at this mobo as well. It is very similar to the Gigabyte matt posted, but this one also has compatibility with DDR3 Memory. I don't know if you want to future prooff this system to that extent, but it's an option.

If you still aren't sure what MoBo you want, post some that you are considering and we will help you out.

I like that board. No firewire or eSATA but I think I can live with that.

@OP Definitely get a P35 mobo, and I really like the Q6600 at $266 after price cut. CPU HS get Thermalright Ultra 120 extreme. Check the PS sticky for a link to good PSs.

http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2989&p=4
http://www.anandtech.com/casecooling/showdoc.aspx?i=2943&p=4
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/PSU-101-102-ftopict198276.html

 

[systemlord]

I hear great things about the P35 MB as its designed for those 1333 FSB processers. Their selling at NewEgg now for $229.99, there replacing the P965 with the P35 and are 45nm ready.

 

[DireStrike]

Ooh wow! Lots of replies and attention, thanks!

PCI slot fan NOOOOO they suck (and I don't mean in a good way) LOUD and crap out vary fast!!!!!

Oh, that isn't good. Well, they're very cheap, so I still think I'll try one and get it shipped along with other stuff.

Harddrive If it was me and your $$$ lets you 2 drives are good.

Ok, so where do I get a small, cheap, yet reliable drive to do this with? The smallest I find on Newegg is 40 GB and like $40, that's too much to pay for a little convenience. I can deal with having to reinstall sometimes, hell I've done it on this box 3 times in the last month without losing anything important.

Now I'm going to say that if you are going to upgrade (CPU) in say the next year or two go with the P35 chip set MB.

Yes I just might. We'll see how useful the Quad Cores prove to be. I'm not getting one now but maybe later. P35 sounds good in any case.

One last thing go with a full size case better cooling and if this is your first build all that room helps out.

Not my first build, it's ok for me to bust up my knuckles a bit. I think I have to override you on case choice, this one has more spots for fans (3v2) and is a lot cheaper ($40 rebate I plan to JUMP on.) The only real difference is a whole lot of extra space on top, the drives and cards and CPU will still be crowded into the same space. Still, I'll look at more full cases.

You might want to take a look at this mobo as well. It is very similar to the Gigabyte matt posted, but this one also has compatibility with DDR3 Memory. I don't know if you want to future prooff this system to that extent, but it's an option.

Thanks, it seems like each new windows release will waste 2x as much RAM. Sticking with XP for now. The board's not TOO expensive for a good level of future proofing... Hm, maybe I will stick with Matt's suggestion for now though. The p35s are still new.

@OP Definitely get a P35 mobo, and I really like the Q6600 at $266 after price cut. CPU HS get Thermalright Ultra 120 extreme. Check the PS sticky for a link to good PSs.

Ok. I don't see a need for the quad cores yet, but maybe soon. Been to the PS sticky already. Just trying to nail down the rest of my system so I can use the eXtreme PS calculator!

Thanks all, lots to think about. I'll be back!

 

[Yoosty]

Ok, so where do I get a small, cheap, yet reliable drive to do this with? The smallest I find on Newegg is 40 GB and like $40, that's too much to pay for a little convenience. I can deal with having to reinstall sometimes, hell I've done it on this box 3 times in the last month without losing anything important.

Best bang for the buck has to be a Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 ST3500641AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148108

Or if you want to go Raid, then 2 - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $79.99 each.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148140

 

[DireStrike]

That gigabyte board (Matt's) seems to have a very short list of "qualified vendors" for memory: http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/FileList/MemorySupport/motherboard_memory_ga-p35-ds3r.pdf

What does this mean exactly? Should I not buy memory unless it's on this list Or is it just like "known good" memory, and most everything else will work ok? I don't see any need to get DDR2 1066; DDR2 800 is fine.

 

[ZOldDude]

Hey everybody. I built my last computer like... um, a while ago. I'm not really up on things anymore, haha.

I'm looking to build a gaming rig. The processor is probably gonna be a Core 2 Duo E6600. How do I tell which motherboards are fully compatible with this?

Also, um... What else do I need to look for in a mobo? It seems that AGP for graphics cards has fallen by the wayside... right? What else do I need to watch for? Anything new and really desirable?

I'm also a bit worried about high temperatures in this crappy apartment, so I want to put in a strong cooling system. That's another topic in itself I guess, but I need the board to support something that'll get the job done.

Thanks!

If your into games and want a MB that can give you the very best preformance or OC then you want a DFI MB.

DFI just won the best MB OC contest for the 3'rd year in a row and holds the record for both AMD and Intel systems.

 

[FallenSniper]

That gigabyte board (Matt's) seems to have a very short list of "qualified vendors" for memory: http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/FileList/MemorySupport/motherboard_memory_ga-p35-ds3r.pdf

What does this mean exactly? Should I not buy memory unless it's on this list Or is it just like "known good" memory, and most everything else will work ok? I don't see any need to get DDR2 1066; DDR2 800 is fine.

Most anything will work with it, that is just known good memory, as you said. But...It's your lucky day.

Crucial Ballistix Only $70 after MIR and it's also on the supported list. No better deal than this right now.

 

[swifty_morgan]

A couple of years ago I put together a gaming machine. A top end sli setup. Today, realizing what a waste sli was, I find myself needing extra pci slots for things like a physics card, a sound card, and whatever else I want, or have a need, to put on it. Unfortunately, my top end board is anything but top end for doing such. I have a need for a sound card and can't get it on my board because the layout sucks. For some games, performance can increase alot when onboard sound is disabled.

you gotta make sure the board is laid out the way you want. For me that would be one of the non- sli gigabyte boards. That, along with a freezer pro heatsink and fan should make a quite stable, and extremely overclockable platform if you choose the right memory.

I know several people who used these boards and only the guy who thought he was a genius and didn't need any help, had to rma his. The others are still going strong.

the newer p35 boards are getting good reviews also.

With the conroe chips, the more expensive the motherboard, DOESN'T mean much better performance. If you look at the reviews on different sites, you'll see the framerates are within a few of each other. Good Luck

 

[Zorg]

If your into games and want a MB that can give you the very best preformance or OC then you want a DFI MB.

DFI just won the best MB OC contest for the 3'rd year in a row and holds the record for both AMD and Intel systems.

I see you promoting the DFI mobos and touting the fact that they have won these overclocking competitions, which I don't dispute. I looked on the DFI website to find if they made a P35 mobo and could not find any. I have two questions that I was wondering if you had the answers to. First, were there any P35 mobos in these overclocking competitions that DFI won? Second, does DFI make a mobo with the p35 chipset? The reason that I ask is that it appears painfully clear to me that the P35 is the absolute best chipset for overclocking the core2 duo and the core2 quad.

 

[Hellboy]

Theres a new top of the line EVGA board called Black Pearl with nvidia 680 chipset

its 1333 compatible

so i would go for that

wont get much change out of 300 dollars tho if any ( im in the uk so not so sue what the rate is )


ps its got liquid cooling already on it

www.evga.com

 

[Zorg]

Theres a new top of the line EVGA board called Black Pearl with nvidia 680 chipset

its 1333 compatible

so i would go for that

wont get much change out of 300 dollars tho if any ( im in the uk so not so sue what the rate is )


ps its got liquid cooling already on it

www.evga.com

The OP said he didn't want SLI, so why that board over P35?

 

[Hellboy]

I hear he may not want sli, but if he changes his mind he can,

But it works good on single video card too and it aint far off a decent p35 board price wise.

Got loads of other features too i got the Non-Black Pearl version and its a great over clocker ..... im well impressed after the much required bios update.........

And its already water cooled so that will save him headaches too...

These boards are proberly the best there is -- the muts nuts

 

[Zorg]

I hear he may not want sli, but if he changes his mind he can,

but it works good on single video card too and it aint far off a decent p35 board.

Got loads of other features too i got a non black pearl version and its a great over clocker .....

I doubt he will change his mind, and the p35 kicks the sh!t out of the 680i. Read and learn.

http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2989&p=4