Help me choose 780i ftw/780i vs. intel for sli rig

[sulot00]

I've had my eyes on the newer nvidia boards. I have two identical evga 8800gtx superclocked cards, all i need is a beast of a psu and a motherboard. I've had some trouble choosing motherboards because i'm liking the options and upgrade-ablility of the nvidia chipsets. Although in doing my research I keep reading about all the problems/issues everyone's been having with their boards. Intel is a proven chipset maker and if they have a similar alternative than I'm open to it.

What I need:
sli support
q6600 support and nehalem/bloomfield upgrade compatiblity
I have 8g of corsair 800 ddr2 (6400) so I'd rather not upgrade memory at this time

I'm annoyed a bit by nvidia putting out boards with minor but desirable upgrads while still having problems with their current boards. I'm concerned about compatibility with my memory (i've heard of various memory issues) but not too worried because I 'm a decent troubleshooter and could buy new memory if needed(but would rather avoid that at the moment if possible)
I know that the nvidia boards (780i or 780i ftw) have what i want, but is there an intel board (stability, reliability) that offers comparible options that can / will meet my needs.

I dont HAVE to have the 3rd sli slot, but if i had it, i would totally throw another card in there some day for the price on a used gtx is well worth it for the upgrade. or maybe a dedicated pysics card at some point. but ANYWAYS, sorry this is probably too long but what do you fellows suggest.

I want to oc my q6600 at some point but not rushing it, i'm pretty busy usually, but i believe i'm savy enough, i've learned a lot in the last year. i just dont have the time to spend researching the compatiblity of the intel boards, it'd be cool to get some informed/ educated feedback.
there's a lot of guys out there with similar rigs (q6600). what do you suggest.
Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ANdrew

 

[Ancient_1]

For SLI you need a nvidia chipset for your q6600. Right now the only non nvidia chipset boards that have SLI is the skulltrail and the up coming x58, neither of which would fit what you want.

 

[atomicWAR]

he's right...nvida has no nehalam chipsets coming out and sli will be licsensed to MOBO makers of x58 boards. plus nehalem socket is completely differant then a 775 for a q6600.

I suggest you get a 780i as its as close as your gonna get. It will work with your ram and cpu choice.

 

[1haplo]

Nehalem is a different socket. No board will support the socket 775 Q6600 and Nehalem socket 1366. The only parts you will be able to use when Nehalem is released is the Video cards, DDR3(If you get a board that supports DDR3 now), Power supply, hard drives, DVD/CD Drives and other addon cards.

What board are you using now? Unless you do not have a SLI board, stay with the board you have.

The EVGA 132-YW-E178-A1 780i SLI FTW has Solid State Capacitors and 8 phase power. That board is good for overclocking. I have also heard that this is one of the most stable nVidia boards, It is a newer revision of the 780i boards.

Yes Intel Chipsets are very stable, but no Intel chipset that supports the Q6600 will support SLI.

PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W is SLI certifide and $90.00 aftre rebate. at Newegg.

Also if you are going to overclock make sure you have a good heatsink and fan.

1Haplo

 

[sulot00]

Cool, thanks for the good feedback guys. I just need some reasurrance. I really do want the evga 780i ftw but i wasn't certain it was worth the extra money over the 780i. actually i think on newegg its only a difference of 30 bucks or so and since i've heard its a bit more stable thats definately appealing.

Yeah i messed up thinking nehalem , i was thinking since these boards support 45nm that it was a possibility. i guess i got my code names mixed up. i think i read it supports the bloomfield though, am i wrong on this? or is bloomfield the nehalem chip. anyways thats off topic, i'm in no hurry to get nehalem tech anyways although very desirable just gonna be real expensive for awhile and i'm pretty happy with my machine.

just need that second card running and some oc love on the cpu and i'll be set!
thanks fellas
q6600
scythe ninja w/120 fan
88000gtx superclocked
ab9pro
40" samsung lcd 1080p
40" samsung lcd 720p

 

[swampthug]

bloomfield is just a codename for a nehalem chip. none of the motherboards you can buy today will support nehalem in any way.