New system, need mobo and ram please

[shadow88]

For my new build I have picked out the E8400 and the HD 4870, with intentions of a year from now going Crossfire.

What would be the best motherboard for these two?
I would like a 4GB Ram set. Max for the two would be $400. About $200 on each.

just an FYI I'll probably upgrade in 2-3 years anyways.

Thanks in advance

 

[shadowthor]

You would probably want to go with a X38 or X48 to allow your video cards if you crossfire to run at pci-e x16 instead of pci-e x8 on the p45 chipset.

 

[efx92]

Here's an X38 mobo, supports DDR2 and DDR3 memory, capable of using crossfire http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186134

Here's a good set of 4GB of RAM, if you want 8GB then get 2 of them and it will still fit in your budget. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184

 

[shadow88]

So I'm definitely going to get that ram. Only problem is I can't find that motherboard to buy in canada. No one seems to carry it.

Could anyone recommend me a motherboard w/ DDR2 and if I'm lucky supports DDR3 as well + crossfire + 2PCI slots (i need 2 for my sound card + wireless card).

Sites I shop from would be http://www.canadacomputers.com and http://www.ncix.com

Thanks in advance

 

[aevm]

@MrsBytch - nice try, but Newegg hates us Canadians and refuses to ship stuff our way

@OP:
Forget DDR3. There's really no point in buying a MB with dual support for DDR2 and DDR3. My own GA-P35C-DS3R has it but I'm not going to use it after all.

If you buy from NCIX soon add &promoid=1058 to your URLs, you might get better prices, depends on what you buy. It's valid for this weekend at least.

aBit IX38 QuadGT, $198
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=27002&vpn=IX38QuadGT&manufacture=ABit

or GA-X48-DS4, $253
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=29821&vpn=GA-X48-DS4&manufacture=Gigabyte

I think one PCI slot will be blocked when you add the second video card. Unfortunately, that seems to happen a lot, not just this MB. You might have to take out the sound card and use onboard audio, or get a USB sound card.

Crucial Ballistix Tracer PC2-6400 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-800 CL4-4-4-12, $90
http://www.ncix.com/products/index....4&manufacture=CRUCIAL TECHNOLOGY&promoid=1058

 

[shadow88]

Thanks so much.
Now another question, out of those two motherboards, what is the best to overclock with? I could care less about documentation really, im just looking for raw stability and want to push my stuff to the limits

What do ya think?

 

[shadowthor]

I don't know where you live in Canada, but if you are in Ontario, there is a deal for a E8400, 4gb of Ram, and P5Q

http://www.infonec.com/site/main.php?module=detail&id=410467

 

[aevm]

P5Q is a P45, it won't do as well in Crossfire as an X38 or X48. Read this: http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/1472/intel_p45_vs_x48_crossfire_performance/index.html

Here's a quote from newegg, about the IX38 QuadGT:

Pros: Good solid board for the price. I am running 500 Mhz FSB on an E8400 with a multiplier of 8, giving me 4Ghz with minor voltage bumps. My board is rock solid at these specs 24/7 in prime95. It has on-the-fly voltage/FSB adjustments in Windows which makes it super easy to get your system 100% stable without having to keep rebooting into BIOS. Every adjustment for voltage/FSB you could ever want is in this BIOS.

Cons: A few minor glitches, the first BIOS this board came with really didn't support the new 45nm CPU's, the temp readings were way off the charts, I had to update to the version 12 to get a proper temp reading. Version 12 then did not display the multiplier in BIOS properly, it reported 9.5 instead of 9 for my E8400, I downloaded BIOS version 13 from their Taiwan FTP and this fixes, the BIOS 13 does not show up on their USA FTP or website, this shows a lack of organization I think.

Other Thoughts: 500 FSB... stable and running cool thanks to the heat pipes. Other than a few minor BIOS glitches this board is great.

and one about the GA-X48-DS4:

Pros: High FSB allows great overclocks, lots of headroom. Large northbridge cooler performs well. Did not once have to reset cmos jumpers due to excessive overclocking, board rolled back to stock settings automatically. Lots of USB ports, 1394b connection is nice.

Cons: A bit expensive, but not rediculous. No onboard power button, but i wouldn't have needed it anyways. No SLI, but then again ATI might make a comeback.

Other Thoughts: I fired this baby up with an E8400, got 4.2ghz right outa the box with 1.456v, temps are pretty stable at 45c. System does SuperPi 1M in 10 seconds. I HIGHLY recommend this board.

They're both good at overclocking.