Need feedback on Wolfdale/ nVidia 8800 build

[voodoo_papa]

Im going to be building a new PC soon, migrating from long support of AMD to Intel.

I plan on buying en e8400 Wolfdale CPU along with an 8800 GTS. The motherboard I am looking at purchasing is an X38. The two motherboards I am looking at are as follows:

ASUS P5E LGA 775 Intel X38
MSI X38 Diamond (which I cant find in the US currently)

I also need a motherboard that hopefully supports the Wolfdale out of the box, since I will only have access to this chip It may not post with it.

I see both boards support ATI Crossfire. How or will this hinder my performance if I plan on using an nVidia board?

The other chipset that was recommended to me for the Wolfdale is the P35, however none of these motherboards seem to be as nice as the X38

thanks!

 

[g-paw]

The X38 should support the E8400 out of the box but check MSI to see if you need BIOS update. If your running only one video card, the nVidia will work fine but if you want to run 2 you'll need ATI cards for Crossfire. If you want to run 2 nVidia cards, you need a mobo that runs SLI. The most recent revision of the ASUS P5K or P5K E should also run the E8400 but again check ASUS to see if you need a BIOS update. Both ASUS and Gigabyte make good mobo in both the X38 and P35 series

 

[voodoo_papa]

thanks G-paw. Initially I dont plan on running SLI, eventually ..maybe.

could anyone recommend a motherboard that supports SLI and the Wolfdale? Im just not a fan of ATI

 

[beurling]

only 780i supports E8400 out of box. My Maximus formula X38 required a bios flash so i went to my friends hous for 5minutes and borrowed his dual core. Asus EZ flash with a USB key is incredibly easy and I love it!
If you want SLI and wolfdale, you need the 780i.

 

[iancarnage]

only 780i supports E8400 out of box. My Maximus formula X38 required a bios flash so i went to my friends hous for 5minutes and borrowed his dual core. Asus EZ flash with a USB key is incredibly easy and I love it!
If you want SLI and wolfdale, you need the 780i.

NOT TRUE! I am running an e8400 on my Evga 680i LT. The only companies whose 680i chipset wont run e8400 is Asus and Gigabyte! I know from first hand experience that EVGA and XFX 680i and 680i LT mobos will support e8400.

 

[voodoo_papa]

thanks for the replies. After doing a bit more searching I think I'll save some cash and opt for the p35 chipset with some DDR2 1066

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4 Rev. 2.0
OCZ 2gb DDR2 1066 5-5-5-15 2.1-2.3v
RAID/0 Western Digital Caviar RE WD1600YS 160GB 16mb cache

I would opt for the nVidia chipset, but not too many folks are recommending it to me. Honestly, I probably wont be doing an SLI setup so this setup may be my optimal config