Tom's Hardware > Forum > Motherboards & Memory > General Motherboard > MOBO? for E8400, SLI GF9, 4x2gb 800-1066mhz

MOBO? for E8400, SLI GF9, 4x2gb 800-1066mhz

Forum Motherboards & Memory : General Motherboard - MOBO? for E8400, SLI GF9, 4x2gb 800-1066mhz

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fwogiz   02-12-2008 at 06:27:32 PM

Mainly for online FPS gaming (CS, BF2, Huxley"if it ever comes out!!" etc), running on Vista64
E8400-500
4x2gb 800-1066mhz
2x GF9800GT(prolly)
1x Barracuda 7200.11 500gb
maybe creative xtrem gamer soundcard?? is it worth it?

what kind of mobo would i need for all those to work at max potential?
are pci-e 16x slots important for GPUs only? some mobo only have 1 x16 an a 2nd x4.. thats not good for me right?
what do i have to look for when choosing a mobo??
i thought of x48, p5k-e, 780i.. but i guess those are only the good mobos out there.. maybe i dont need that much

also, IF POSSIBLE, i d like a mobo that could be compatible with those nehalen CPU that are coming out in a maybe a year?

Tx a lot for you opinions/knowledge!


Message edited by fwogiz on 02-15-2008 at 05:11:29 PM
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g-paw   02-12-2008 at 10:51:29 PM
- 0 +

At least for this review they used a P38 mobo. Nehlen will require a new mobo so no matter what you buy now you won't be able to run it.

Reply to g-paw
fwogiz   02-15-2008 at 05:13:10 PM
- 0 +

tx for the info g-paw
anyone go any answers/clarification to my pci-e questions?
Tx again

Reply to fwogiz
akhilles   02-23-2008 at 04:16:09 PM
- 0 +

Nehalem is a new platform:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nehal [...] hitecture)

I wouldn't worry about Nehalem. Worry about the present. Now. The ideal mobo that will do true X16 SLI are 680i & 780i:

http://www.nvidia.com/page/nforce_600i_tech_specs.html
http://www.nvidia.com/object/nforce_780i_sli.html (click specs)

780i does true TRI SLI X16.

The XFX 680i is affordable at:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applica [...] CatId=2541

The EVGA is the most popular thanks to the low price. The ASUS has better chipset cooling. The evga chipsets will be very hot at stock. 70-80Cish. It can be remedied with a reseating of the heatsinks & application of better thermal paste like MX-2.

For a board that does true X16 SLI & is in between the cheapest & most expensive, this special 650i edition is the one:

http://www.asus.com/products.aspx? [...] 3=495&l4=0

I LOVE the layout of the board, particularly the power & SATA connectors. Gigabyte hides the SATA connectors when 2 2-slot gpus are installed.

Reply to akhilles
fwogiz   02-23-2008 at 11:51:51 PM
- 0 +

Tx a lot for the links and answer Akhilles!
so 780i would be too much for what i need?
i read some stuffs bout nvidia mobo havin issues with E8400 and that X48 might be better... what wud be the differences between x38-48 and 680-780i ?

Reply to fwogiz
akhilles   02-25-2008 at 06:02:53 PM
- 0 +

780i supports 45nm quads whereas 680i won't. 680i only does 45nm duals like Wolfdales. The very reason nvidia released 780i is to support Yorkfield. Both do TRI SLI. 680i needs some modding to do that. 780i out of the box.

If you're running tri SLI or planning to upgrade to Yorkfield, 780i is the only solution.

No big issues. stock e8400 will run on 680i/780i, but overclocked, P965, P35, X38 & X48 will run much smoother & have room for more overclockability.

I myself have given up on SLI since SLI locks me into nvidia chipsets which are generally not a good overclocker as intel chipsets. Look up ANY E8400 benchmarks at google & you'll see what i'm talking about.

X38 was a mistake, IMO. A rushed product. Shortly after, Intel announced X48 to patch up something which escapes me at the moment. If you go intel chipset, get the X48 which is being delayed. X48 does FSB & RAM at 1600MHZ out of the box. X38 may need bios updates.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_ [...] 2_Chipsets

Reply to akhilles
fwogiz   02-25-2008 at 06:33:14 PM
- 0 +

ok so x48 would be the best xept that you cant get SLI on x48??... ;(
i think that what i need the most is
1: Good GPUs (sli GF9800GT&+ is what i was aiming for, in the end)
2: Good CPUs (E8400 is my main idea, but i thought of Q6600)
3: Good RAMs (4x2gb 800 or 1066mhz)

and yeah im planning to overcloak my CPU only, up to 4ghz prolly, just like you akhilles
so there is no mobo that supports 45nm, SLI, and overclocking???? :( THAT SUCKS!

Reply to fwogiz
akhilles   02-26-2008 at 03:23:21 PM
- 0 +

If you're patient or skilled in overclocking, you can get 4ghz out of Wolfdale on 680i/780i. nvidia chipsets can overclock, but they're not as good as Intel chipsets. Just google "e8400 overclock benchmark".

You can crossfire on supported Intel chipsets like X38 & X48. They do true x16 CF.

Reply to akhilles
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