Which mobo of these three should I go for?

[ezir]

Hello, I'm planning to get a C2D E6420 (2.13ghz) and try to perform a stable overclock of it to 3.2 ghz (or as high as I can get with air cooling(Zalman CNPS9700)).

I'm actually very new to this , and this will be my first attempt at trying to overclock so I need to ask some advice on which motherboard and memory combination should I go for?

The said motherboards are :
Asus P5NE-SLI 650i
Gigabyte 965P-DS3
Gigabyte P35-DS3

And memory(2gb kits) :

-Corsair DDR2 XMS2 TWIN2X2048-6400C4 (timing : 4-4-4-12)

-Kingston DDR2 Hyper-X KHX6400D2LLK2/2G 2GB 800MHz DDR2 Non-ECC
Low-Latency CL4 (timing : 4-4-4-12)

-Crucial Ballistix Tracer BL2KIT12864AL804 DDR2 PC2-6400 800MHz (timing : 4-4-4-12)

I don't plan to use SLI, and will probably change the motherboard by the time DDR3 is useful anyway, so those aren't factors for my choices.

So, what do you guys think will be the best for mobo+memory combination? Or if there are any other motherboards out there around the same price range which would give an even better performance?

I only have these 3 RAMS to choose from though, so I need to pick either one of them :?

Thanks in advance!

 

[f61]

You would be more 'future-proof' with the P35 board. You won't be able to o/c much at all. Therefore, the 965 boards are better for o/c. Since DDR3 isn't a viable choice for a year, memory is OK, just recheck the Voltage ratings and go with the lowest. The P35 board WILL boot the memory at 1.8Volts, and WILL NOT auto-detect. Red-letter warnings about this at Intel site. Look for a 1.8-1.9V memory kit if you go with the P35. Consider G.Skill if availible. Most 965's auto-detect, but some DO NOT. In general, stick with memory having Voltage UNDER 2.00Volts. IMHO, you might re-evaluate yor choices to see if this criteria is met.

'Future-Proof' of the P35 boards means Quads, and 45nm CPU's, consider that alternative for the next year, as these CPU's (especially the 65nm Quads) will get cheap fast. Later this month on the 22nd, Intel will cut the Q6600 price IN HALF! (about US$270), making it only $40 more than an E6600. Many gamers will go to the Q6600 at that new price. (NO BRAINER)

FREE upgrade with the P35.

f61

 

[BUFF]

P35-DS3 & the Ballistix.
The RAM should be good for DDR2 1000 or more with some extra voltage which assuming that the Gigabyte allows 1:1 gives you plenty of heasroom for overclocking.