X38 or P35

[goodie]

which would be the better choice,
cheapest x38 probably Asus P5E & 800 ram or
descent P35 & 1066 ram
also will my 8800GT perform better on a pci-X 2.0 slot?
(1 reason for leaning towards x38)
my new CPU will prob be Q6600 (if that helps)
TIA for any advice

 

[Maziar]

Get a P35 and DDR2 800 why?

reasons for RAM:
1_DDR2 800 doesnt have alot of difference with 1066 in performance and also DDR2 800 OCs very well too, so get a DDR2 800 RAM with 4-4-4-x or lower timings

Reasons for P35:
1_Alot cheaper than X38

2_The main difference between X38 and P35 is that X38 supports CrossFire @ dual 16x mode but P35 supports CrossFire @ 16x4x mode (with the exception of ASUS BLITZ FORMULA and BLITZ EXTREME which support CrossFire @ dual 8x mode, and dual 8x doesnt have alot of difference with dual 16x)

3_X38 supports PCI-E 2.0 @ full bandwidth
P35 supports PCI-E 2.0 too but not @ full bandwidth (which wont make alot of difference for 8800GT)

 

[itotallybelieveyou]

Get the X38 more expensive for pci-e 2.0 is the future

 

[jevon]

I'm also leaning towards the X38 right now. Not only for the PCI-E 2.0 but also the two 16x PCI-E slots (both 2.0 also) because both nVidia and ATI have been saying that multi-gpu systems are what they're focussing on right now. Some say thats a marketing gimick, but with the GT and 3870, CrossFireX and Tri-SLI are looking like good options! And on the ATI end, you can mix and match various cards, so you could have a CrossFireX setup with 1 3870, 1 3850, and 1 2900XT if you wanted. So thats why I'm leaning towards the X38s despite their price.

 

[Maziar]

Get the X38 more expensive for pci-e 2.0 is the future

as u know, 8800GT in P35 performs like a 8800GT in X38 and who knows about future cards?

 

[sweetpants]

which would be the better choice,
cheapest x38 probably Asus P5E & 800 ram or
descent P35 & 1066 ram
also will my 8800GT perform better on a pci-X 2.0 slot?
(1 reason for leaning towards x38)
my new CPU will prob be Q6600 (if that helps)
TIA for any advice

I've read that if you're looking at a performance difference between the two it was negligable if not worse in the X85 when compared to a P35.

Though, futureproofing yourself with DDR2 would be nice...

 

[goodie]

which would be the best for overclocking?
the Asus P5E or a good P35?
what about the high ram frequency support on x38 1066 native, 1200 overclock?
if you guys still recommend P35 which mobo would be the best for overclocking?

 

[goodie]

any more suggestions?

 

[Maziar]

ASUS P5K-E WIFI-AP (the difference with normal P5K-E is that P5K-E has WIFI + better cooling)

GIGAYBTE P35 DS3R
ABIT IP35 PRO

 

[corsair61]

I'm in the same quandry having decided to shift from my AMD solution to Intel and now perplexed by the X38/P35 issue. I'm also concerned that from several other forums their appears to be a problem with Intel Raid set-up and as I use twin Raptor 150s in a Raid 0 I would like to have now post problems with that set-up;
I ordered a Blitz Extreme but failed to note it was a DDR3 board only; if I go to the Formula I lose the two external eSata ports which I prefer as I have a large (TB) Sata external drive.
My gut days P35/DDR2 and/0r wait till the x38 sorts itself out and DDR3 memory prices drop.

 

[goodie]

I'll probably go for P5E DDR2
i havent read anything about raid problems but then i dont use raid.
I just want a fast, overclockable board, which is reasonably future proof

 

[neoxblu1]

X38 with Corsair Dominator 2GB 800mhz (Expensive but latency is ownage; 3-4-3-9)

I'll try to get you a link but its on www.newegg.com

 

[goodie]

i was thinking X38 & this stuff
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145177
cash limitations!

 

[Maziar]

pretty good RAM with good timings

 

[dashbarron]

I keep seeing this, and I'm stuck on the chipset and SLI/Crossfire issue. I thought I might just get an X38 and a 8800GT for now, and just upgrade my card later when I need it. But I see people who have 2 8800GT's in SLI on a 680i, and the performance is sometimes 20 frames more, and I think I should go 680i just for the SLI option, and get a second cheap card (when the prices have dropped in a few years), as opposed to another expensive one.

 

[boner]

if you can afford DDR3 then go for X38 but i would wait for the X48

 

[MysteryMan]

You do know that the p5e is a crossfire only board? Doesn't support crossfireX or sli.

only advantage of the p5e to a P35 is the dual pcie2.0 x16 support.

or go look for a sli certified board (for your 8800gt if you want sli.)

 

[David345]

whats crossfireX?

 

[Maziar]

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3151&p=4

AMD is taking advantage of this via CrossFireX which currently enables up to 4 GPUs to be connected in the same system with three CrossFire bridges. It's not a pretty solution: you'll need a non NVIDIA chipset motherboard with 4 physical x16 PCIe slots.

 

[FatFunkey]

i just bought the Abit IX38 QuadGT due to the fact it is true 16/16 PCI-E 2.0 for more future compatibility..

Only problem is i got mine on ClubIT..and its still "Pending Approval" for the past 3 days..im about to call them if it dosn't change..or maybe there just lazy and already shipped it (I hope..kinda want to have my new rig up my Friday for weekended Crysis :3)

 

[jevon]

I'm also leaning towards the X38 right now. Not only for the PCI-E 2.0 but also the two 16x PCI-E slots (both 2.0 also) because both nVidia and ATI have been saying that multi-gpu systems are what they're focussing on right now. Some say thats a marketing gimick, but with the GT and 3870, CrossFireX and Tri-SLI are looking like good options! And on the ATI end, you can mix and match various cards, so you could have a CrossFireX setup with 1 3870, 1 3850, and 1 2900XT if you wanted. So thats why I'm leaning towards the X38s despite their price.

After doing more reading, I need to correct and clarify my post: The X38 does NOT support true CrossFireX. X38s provide 2x PCIe 16x lanes, then sometimes 8x or 4x. I think you can still CrossFire 3 cards if you wanted to, but they would all have to be the same model. Although I'm still a little sketchy here, as ATI's new cards are suppose to have CrossFire enabled on the hardware side.

Continuing with the X38s and their 2x PCIe 16x lanes, in January we should be seeing the Dual GPU Core 3870s (3870x2). Something to keep in mind is that you MAY be able to run two of these cards in CrossFire on the 2 PCIe 16x lanes. And again sketchy part: possibly have 1 3870 or 3850 (that you could get now) running on the slower 8x or 4x PCIe lane in a tri-Crossfire setup ---- but again, I'm not sure if this particular feautre is exclusive to AMD's 790FX chipset - it depends if the 790FX basically is just for the 4x PCIe at 16x slots, or if it also enables the CrossFiring of different GPU models (3850 with a 3870 for example). Again, I know I've read that CrossFireX is in the Hardware of the new cards... sooo yeah.. /brain explodes

NOW I'm actually looking at some Phenom options (gasp) since the AMD 790FX is the only way to eventually get 4x GPUs working in CrossFireX at full speed... although I doubt I'd get to that point before it's time to build again, I still want to know what kind of price/performance options are available when taking CrossFireX into consideration.. since GPUs are the most important component after all... my thinking is I could probably get better longevity from my system-to-be by adding 3870s or other ATI cards over time (up to four of them) to keep up with graphical demands while the Quad Phenom OCd to 3.0Ghz shouldn't be a major bottleneck for some time (though would still rather have a Q6600

Anywho....I need a drink

 

[hughyhunter]

I think that the x38 is a decent motherboard if you ever have ambitions of upgrading to penryn and/or having a wicked fast crossfire/crossfireX platform. However if you already have an 8800GT as I do you are better off sticking with an Nvidia chipset because you will never and I mean never be able to get the true full advantage of SLI (which crysis is hungry for) and that means that instead of buying another 8800GT when prices subside you will be just buying a whole new card... that's expensive. Take advantage of what Nvidia has to offer and get an Nvidia chipset that will support the new 45nm Penryn. If you dont want old 680i if I'm not mistaken the new 780i will be out in a few short weeks followed by the 790i. But if you want fast DDR3 and want to pay a fortune by all means get an X38 chipset and feed the already giant Intel even more.
In my personal opinion I think that the spyder platform is the future for 2008-2009 and if you didnt already own an 8800 I would be selling you on that!

 

[jevon]

In my personal opinion I think that the spyder platform is the future for 2008-2009 and if you didnt already own an 8800 I would be selling you on that!

I agree, depending on how crazy Penryn is. From a primarily gaming point of view (GPUs > CPUs) I think AMD has a really good thing going with 2/3 of the Spider (3800 and 790FX) but the other 1/3 (Phenom) isn't so hot...I was thinking if I could get 3.0Ghz OC out of one that would be enough to last me a long, long time, during which I could keep adding GPUs to the 790FX motherboard -- which buy the way, the MSI K9A2 Platinum is selling for $178 -- but unfortunately it seems the Phenoms as of now are very difficult to get good OCs out of, 10% seems to be the average before stability problems show up.

So a new option I'm weighing now is still picking up MSI 790FX for CrossFire, but dropping a cheapo 5000+ Black Edition (unlocked multiplier) CPU and OCing it to 3.3ish, which shouldn't be too hard. Will have pretty decent performance too considering it's only $130 http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/10/22/budget_overclocker/index.html

Of course thats a gamble and I dont want to wait 2+ years before AMD catches up more, and with Penryn around the corner I may still pull the trigger on an X38.

 

[jjblanche]

Okay, SLI and Crossfire aside, for a single GPU, is there any benefit to P35 vs. x38?

 

[hughyhunter]

Jevon... I completely agree with you and in fact that is exactly what I would do in that same situation. I was once strongly considering the black box for my upgrade but decided to stick to my old 3500+ until AMD releases the 45nm processors in 2nd half of 08. I really think that AMD has something going for themselves with the 790FX and even the upcoming 3870X2. That is going to be a very user-friendly platform that is wicked fast to compete against. I wouldnt pull the trigger on an X38. I dont think that the X38 is a very wise buy at this point. The only benefit that I can think of for the X38 is that it will support DDR3 and has full 16x lanes on both pci-e slots. It is overclockable also. Other than that I dont like how much you have to spend for not that much performance increase from the p35. JJBlanche if I were you and if you are pretty dead set on getting an X38 than get the foxconn mobo. Yes it's more expensive than some of the p35's but the p35's will not support next gen penryns if i'm not mistaken. Also the foxconn X38A will support up to DDR2 1066 for now and when prices subside on the DDR3 it has two slot's for that so that you can take advantage of DDR3 without upgrading. But if you do have an 8800GT you should strongly considering waiting until the 780i/790i from nvidia comes out that will allow you to support SLI.