Overwhelmed, need help.

[nicros]

I am looking for a new mobo that is preferably:
1. Silent
2. Good overclocker for someone who has done it before but still kind of new. I want to overclock, but Im not hardcore about every little bit of juice.
3. Future proof (1600FSB? or is 1333 ok?)
4. Works with 45nm
5. Solid, stable and made with great components
6. Price is good

Yep, pretty much the same things everyone is looking for in a good motherboard...

Here are the candidates I have lined up (in no order). Im leaning towards the DFI, just cause I hear such good things about it, but the other things I hear like its not for novices kind of spook me. Maximus formula seems good, but I hear it is discontinued and the p5e is just as good. Gigabyte I dont know much about. Anyways, the list:

GIGABYTE GA-EX38-DS4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128089

GIGABYTE GA-EX38T-DQ6
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128329

GIGABYTE GA-X48-DQ6
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128331

ASUS P5E
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131219

ASUS MAXIMUS FORMULA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131227

DFI LP UT P35 T2R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136037

DFI LP LT X48-T2R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136046

DFI LANPARTY DK X48-T2RS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136047

Im really stuck here. Is it worth it to pay the extra? Im willing if it will give me a longer time with that motherboard. Is there a particular brand that is better? Go for the entry level version or the top o the line?

Some suggestions would be very much appreciated!!!

 

[williamleja]

I think I am about to pick one of these up as an upgrade to my Asus P5N32-E SLI. It is only $130 plus S&H after the $90 rebate. From what I hear it is a good overclocker. It is an X38 chipset with 45nm support and 1600 FSB support. Sounds like everything you want.


ABIT IX38 Quad GT LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813127033

Act quick though because the rebate expires Monday April 28

William

Note: It is a DDR2 motherboard which is not exactly future-proof. All I can say is that DDR2 prices are dirt cheap and DDR3 is still kinda expensive especially 2x2GB kits. I'd still go with it though and just pick up 8GB of either DDR2 800 or DDR2 1066.

Oh and you are not going to find future-proof. Intel is coming out with Nehalem by the end of this year or early next year. All LGA 775 boards will be obsolete when that happens. I have learned it is best to just quit trying to keep up with the cutting edge because your pay check is the only thing that gets cut!

 

[nicros]

Crud, looks like I missed it its auto notify good call though. Any others from my list that strike your fancy and why?

 

[bpogdowz]

Who wants a Nahalem anyways? You can't even OC it. Could I ask why you are even considering a 45nm board.

 

[dagger]

Crud, looks like I missed it its auto notify good call though. Any others from my list that strike your fancy and why?

ROFL, at that price, no wonder.

I use the GA-EX38-DS4, and satisfied with it. It does everything and more. Still, With the $207-$130 price gap, you should wait for the Abit board.

 

[dagger]

Who wants a Nahalem anyways? You can't even OC it. Could I ask why you are even considering a 45nm board.

What does it have to do with Nehalem? It comes with a new socket, so Nehalem won't fit anyway. By "45nm" boards, I assume you meant boards that support 45nm Yorkfield quads. The chipset still use old 90nm process. X38 is for high overclocking on cpus with low multiplier. Without oc, a cheap p35 will do fine.

 

[nicros]

I definately want to oc. Im afraid the abit is a done deal- the rebate expires monday so I would be suprised if it is in stock before that. Im a bit suprised nobody is saying to give the DFI DK X48 T2RS a shot, at $224 and with DFI's reputation for quality components this seems interesting.

The bios options most likely would overwhelm me but oh well.

And yes, by 45nm I mean the yorkfields- not necessarily quads. I think you get waaaaaay more bang for your buck with the E8400.

 

[dagger]

I definately want to oc. Im afraid the abit is a done deal- the rebate expires monday so I would be suprised if it is in stock before that. Im a bit suprised nobody is saying to give the DFI DK X48 T2RS a shot, at $224 and with DFI's reputation for quality components this seems interesting.

The bios options most likely would overwhelm me but oh well.

And yes, by 45nm I mean the yorkfields- not necessarily quads. I think you get waaaaaay more bang for your buck with the E8400.

Because many people will dispute DFI's "reputation for quality." They're not among the top brands on most people's list. And x48 is almost identical to x38 in term of overclocking performance. But the you might as well consider it, at $224, it's only around $20 more than the next cheapest x38 board, a real bargain.

As for e8400, it depends on if you're keeping it for less than 2 years or 2+ years. Quad optimized applications are coming out. Also, without overclocking, e8400 is not attractive for its price, even for single thread programs.

Keep in mind, a typical oc for Q6600 at 2.4ghz stock is 3.6ghz, which is 1.2ghz difference on each of 4 cores. A typical oc for e8400 at 3.0ghz stock is 4.0ghz, which is 1.0ghz difference on each of 2 cores. E8400 overclocks better according to the highest absolute clock rate, but not highest relative change in clock rate. It's also by the amount of processing power per core, not the total processing power across all cores.

 

[nicros]

Good points. If quad core apps are coming out it makes more sense thats true. Would a p35 overclock a quad just as well? For example, if you look at the DFI X48 T2RS vs the DFI LT UP P35, the LT has a lot more cooling (Im just picking DFI for no reason).

The other board I was thinking about was the GA EP35 DS4. Decent price, good overclocker from the reviews.

I guess another good point I should make is to take my current system into account. I have an E6600, tuniq 120, p180, geil DDR2 800, evga 8800GTX and ocx 700W.

Based on this, what board can get me the best (3.4 or better) OC, and meets the criteria stated earlier in my thread? For the best price?

 

[dagger]

Good points. If quad core apps are coming out it makes more sense thats true. Would a p35 overclock a quad just as well? For example, if you look at the DFI X48 T2RS vs the DFI LT UP P35, the LT has a lot more cooling (Im just picking DFI for no reason).

The other board I was thinking about was the GA EP35 DS4. Decent price, good overclocker from the reviews.

I guess another good point I should make is to take my current system into account. I have an E6600, tuniq 120, p180, geil DDR2 800, evga 8800GTX and ocx 700W.

Based on this, what board can get me the best (3.4 or better) OC, and meets the criteria stated earlier in my thread? For the best price?

P35 runs at 1333mhz fsb natively, and reliably oc to 1600mhz. X38/48 runs at 1600mhz fsb natively, and reliably oc to 2000mhz. You may exceed both limits, but higher is hit or miss. 1600mhz = 3.6ghz for cpus with 9x multiplier (e6600, e8400, q6600), and 3.2ghz for cpus with 8x multiplier (q9450).