X48, X38 or P35 ????

[rickpatbrown]

I'm finally moving on from my 939 system. I have to write this on another computer cause I don't want my Opty to know

I think I'm gonna go with an E8400. The quads are too expensive and I want to overclock the bejeezzus out of it. My question comes for the MB. I'm leaning towards the ASUS Rampage Formula. I figure that the X38/X48 are a better choice with the future in mind (PCIe 2.0) and the X48 runs a little cooler from some reviews I've read. $100 here or there doesn't bother me much.

Is my thinking here right?

I'm primarily interested in building a computer. After I do that, I like to overclock it. After that my priority is gaming. I don't encode porn or edit much. I have 8800GTS (G80). 750 PC Power & Cooling PSU and I think I'll get 4G of Crucial Ballistic RAM. (I could also use some suggestions on the RAM).

Thanks for the help.

 

[Guest]

P35 is good if you do a moderate OC

a Asus P5K Pro or Prenium is good

 

[Asian PingPong]

Just remember that the nehalems are coming out within the next 9 months so future proofing does not exist. Most x48 mobos just run cooler because of the gargantuan heatsinks on the things. It's far cheaper to just get a good x38 mobo and buy better chipset heatsinks.

 

[Crazy-PC]

Wait for 3 more weeks for more X48 mainboard available in markert and go with MSI X48C that could use either DDR-2 or DDR-3; it would be within USD$ 300. If budget is important for you and you are not going to change your G80 graphic card, P35 of price within USD$ 200 would be make sense.

 

[rickpatbrown]

I imagine that I will buy a new graphics card/s in the next year. That's why I thought X38/X48 would be better.

Does P35 overclock E8400 better than X38.

I don't see myself getting into Nehalem when they come out. I might be looking at them by the next time I rebuild in a year or two. I'm not usually one to jump onto bleeding edge technology.

 

[acidpython]

bleeding edge? this is a whole new architecture it will range from budget - bleeding edge. Stick with what you need and let that last you for a year or two.

 

[dagger]

I imagine that I will buy a new graphics card/s in the next year. That's why I thought X38/X48 would be better.

Does P35 overclock E8400 better than X38.

I don't see myself getting into Nehalem when they come out. I might be looking at them by the next time I rebuild in a year or two. I'm not usually one to jump onto bleeding edge technology.

Motherboard chipset has no impact on graphics card. Or are you talking about PCIE 2.0? PCIE graphic cards are backward compatible, so it'll work fine.

No, P35 does not overclock better than X38, it's the opposite. P35 runs natively at 1333mhz fsb, and can typically overclock to 1600mhz without problems. X38 runs natively at 1600mhz fsb, and can typically oc to 2000+mhz without problems. 1600mhz = 4x400mhz -> 9x400 = 3.6ghz in Q6600, and 8x400 = 3.2ghz in q9450, and 7.5x400 = 3.0ghz in Q9300

For high overclocking, get x38.

And don't get a $200 p35 board, get a cheaper one. You can get x38 for $207, so it makes no sense. P35 is good only in that it's cheap.

 

[imrul]

x38 or p35

 

[rickpatbrown]

Don't you hate it when you write a reply and hit submit and they tell you that you didn't log in. . . anyway.

I'm talking about PCIe2.0 when I talk about future graphics upgrades. I think that I definitely want an X38 or X48 chip.

Is the heat dissipation between the two negligible or will the X48's refined process allow a higher FSB overclock.

I plan to upgrade to a quad probably a year from now than hop on the Nehalem train a year after that -unless my boys at AMD pull something from the CPU gods. You could call this Ricky's road map. My thinking is that an X48 might give me an advantage later down the road also.

The thing is, the difference between X38 and X48 is about 75$. That's not a big deal if it will give me better results. I am not wealthy though, so I'm not trying to waste money if an X48 will not give me an advantage over the X38.

I realize that I am asking the same question over and over again. I am very bad at making decisions and despite the evidence of my posts, I am making some headway at making a decision.

Thanks again.

 

[dagger]

Don't you hate it when you write a reply and hit submit and they tell you that you didn't log in. . . anyway.

I'm talking about PCIe2.0 when I talk about future graphics upgrades. I think that I definitely want an X38 or X48 chip.

Is the heat dissipation between the two negligible or will the X48's refined process allow a higher FSB overclock.

I plan to upgrade to a quad probably a year from now than hop on the Nehalem train a year after that -unless my boys at AMD pull something from the CPU gods. You could call this Ricky's road map. My thinking is that an X48 might give me an advantage later down the road also.

The thing is, the difference between X38 and X48 is about 75$. That's not a big deal if it will give me better results. I am not wealthy though, so I'm not trying to waste money if an X48 will not give me an advantage over the X38.

I realize that I am asking the same question over and over again. I am very bad at making decisions and despite the evidence of my posts, I am making some headway at making a decision.

Thanks again.

Compared to P35, X38 produces less heat, and runs much cooler at the same fsb. This is mostly due to refined process. Of course, X38 boards tend to come with better heatsinks, which also helps.

As far as I know, there is no significant difference between X38 and X48. It's probably not worth the extra $75. But I may be wrong, feel free to do more research.

 

[rickpatbrown]

we actually found the X48 to be cooler than the X38 in the production level boards.

They said this in the context of removing heatsink. Its hard to tell if that meant the heatsinks are responsible for the better temps or that the chips put out less heat and better sinks are not needed.

From andantech http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3208

There isn't much informtion on the board that I've found yet. Xs has some stuff, but I haven't had a chance to filter through it.

andantech is a pretty reputable site, right?

 

[rickpatbrown]

Ok, I have to be honest. I ordered the rampage this afternoon. I got itchy fingers.

 

[Maroc]

No need to get itchy fingers lol, you no doubt picked the better chipset/board. It may have come at a cost but theres nothing wrong with wanting that extra performance edge.