X48,X38,P35,P45,... ?? need some help :p

[vsdagama]

Hey, I am building my first own desktop and I'm having some questions about what motherboard to choose,
I'm hoping u can help me out

This are the parts I would like to use: (nothing is sure yet):
E8400, 4GB DDR2 800/1066 memory?, a 4870, 650WPSU, 640GB Seagate,..., MOTHERBOARD!

First of all I don't know the difference between all the different types of motherboards like P35, P45, X38, X48,...
So I need to know that first in order to pick the right one...

You might want to read this THG article
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/x48-motherboard-comparison,1781.html
http://xtreview.com/images/intel x48 vs x38.jpg

according to this the only difference between X38 and X48 is that X48 is thesame as X38 only it enables the use of some DDR3 1600 memory,
but I'm planning to use DDR2 800 or 1066, so X48 is totally unnescessary?

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/247751-11-tomshardware
and according to this I don't even need to look for X's, the P45 or P35 will be enough because I'm planning to take a single 4870..., altough I'm not sure about the single 4870 or 2 4870's in Xfire...
My current desktop is an old pentium with crappy everything so I think the single 4870 will be already so much better...
Or is it recommended to go double?

thanks!!

 

[jeb1517]

A P45 with a 4870 should be plenty. If you think you might want 2 4870s, just wait a little bit and get the 4870x2.

 

[evongugg]

If you are not doing Crossfire or SLI, get a P45/P35.
If you want to do Crossfire get a X48 motherboard.
If you want to do SLI, get a 780i motherboard.

 

[vsdagama]

so now the question is crossfire or not...
I have no clue how good the single 4870 will be... I'm now having a uberbad video card so the single 4870 will be a huge improvement...
Will I need 2 of them??? If the only thing I do is gaming (assassins creed, GTA, COD4,...) Will I notice the improvement??
Will the single one make me unable to put graphic settings on high??
Or is a single one very good also?

 

[vsdagama]

but actually, when I take a X48 over a P45
I just get the better performance when I go crossfire, but for all the other things the X48 is thesame??
So when paying 30$ more for a X48, u just pay for the better Crossfire?

 

[falconzfan007]

Yes, i have a DX48BT2, and it is pretty much the same as the Dx38BT. The difference obviously is just the chipset and the memory capacity. The X48 is just faster, thats it!!