Mobo advice please?

[Stupido]

Folks,

I will appreciate an advice.
Currently running Q6600 on Gigabyte P35 mobo with GTX280 and 4x1GB RAM @ 1066MHz (HyperX)...
Main usage is gaming (on 24'' monitor)...

I'm considering going to SLI, thus I'll need to change the mobo. I have interesting prices on following asus boards:
P5N-T Deluxe 780i (~192 euros)
Striker II Formula 780i (~240 euros)

My first question is is it worth going SLI with GTX280? If yes, which motherboard of the above should go?

Thanks!

P.S.
Out of curiosity, I tried and was able to overclock my Q6600 to 3.15G on air without problems, but didn't saw any visible improvement in games, thus reverted back to 2.4G

 

[bobbknight]

I stay away from Asus so I would have to say MSI, EVGA, or XFX.

 

[chookman]

Why do you want SLI? bigger ePeen?

If you REALLY are finding the GTX280 slow then you can give it to me LOL

For the money you spend to go to SLI (new mobo and GTX280) its not going to be worth it in my opinion.

 

[Stupido]

ePeen? What's that (sorry English is not my native language)?

Why SLI? Because I already have one GTX280 and with extra another I could keep that setup for longer... I guess... That is why I ask for other opinions

And GTX280 is far from being slow... Currently I play Crysis on high settings, so I'm quite happy with the card. But I would like to go even higher on performance (kind a future proof?)

 

[Stupido]

bobbknight, why would you stay away from Asus? By reading some forums, I had the impression that Asus (and GigaByte) makes good mobos, while EVGA had some quality issues? Especially with 780i chipset?
Im not sure, it's just impression...

 

[Proximon]

There is nothing wrong with either board.

Chookman thinks you just want to SLI GTX280 so you can brag on the internet.

One of the big reasons the ATI video cards are so popular around here is that the chipsets they run on in crossfire, x38/x48/P45, are more stable than the 7xx nVidia chipsets.

You should look again at processor speed. I'm seeing some pretty drastic differences with an overclocked E8400 compared to stock Q6600, in games.

If you still want to SLI two GTX280s, I suppose those boards will work. You will not see much performance gain with that CPU.

 

[Stupido]

hehehe brag on internet... why the f$%k I would do that?

However, should I than sell out my current setup (mobo + CPU + GPU) and go CrossFire based system with some C2D instead of C2Q?

Honestly, I don't really like thinking about duals since I believe that quads are the way to go. Now I play Crysis Warhead and that one is multicore optimized because I see that all 4 cores are used (but not maximized even I'm running on stock clock @2.4GHz). I look forward for Far Cry 2 and I guess that one will be also multicore enabled...
The only game I still enjoy very much and it is not multicore optimized is Team Fortress 2... There probably I could use some OC...

 

[chookman]

I think for the money you are going to spend on a new board and another GTX280 it wont be worth it. When you find you system is getting on the slow side youd be better off buying a new generation video card (when they are out in the future) or buying a whole new rig with the money you saved from not doing this upgrade

Dont under estimate peoples need to have a machine that is faster than everyone elses just for the bragging rights.

 

[Stupido]

OK... Thanks for all the answers!

Reading reviews and forums so far, I think I'll skip this upgrade... or at least postpone it for later...
or maybe I should upgrade just the CPU? Since Nehelem is coming out, I hope the prices on the Q9### quads will drop...

In fact is P35 bottleneck for those quads (getting old, having FSB@1333 but RAM@1066, etc)?
The reason I ask is how long this motherboard will be "usefull"? Another 6 months, year or two?

 

[chookman]

Considering your motherboard will only take current Intel CPU's (new i7 is on a different socket) its not "really" useful for upgrading now.

Once you find it nessary to upgrade your CPU youll need new mobo new ram anywho