Another tread for motherboard (first time builder)

[rsx1022]

Item already purchased:

cpu: Intel Q6600
case: stacker 830
psu: corsair 650w
ram: mushkins 800 2x2 4gb
hdd: wd 640gb
display: asus 4870

now i need the following:
mobo: debating p45 gigabyte or asus *example: p5q deluxe*
cpu cooler: i will not start ocing until i learn more.

thanks.

 

[Zenthar]

If you got no plan for SLI, you might want to consider the P43 boards as well, but for Asus' P43 board the ATX connector placement is weird. Otherwise, just look at the features you want/need and choose based on that. Performance-wise, the difference between boards is close to none.

 

[rsx1022]

For a first time builder i want to get a board with less bios issue.
Do you think asus p5q deluxe is worth the money and i can have this for the future upgrade needed?

 

[Zenthar]

If you actually needed the P5Q Deluxe features, maybe it would be worth it, but I know I wouldn't pay for that.

You won't get better performance.

You won't get a more stable board (except, maybe for the fact that some board require BIOS flash out of the box).

 

[Proximon]

The P5Q Pro has a good BIOS with both easy auto settings for OC newbs, and tons of tweaks for more experienced folks. The board cooling is adequate.

The P5Q-E has better board cooling but only one PCI slot available once you crossfire.

As Zenthar points out you won't see any real performance gains, over say a P43 or such. P45/P43 do seem to be better at certain things over x38/x48, but over all the x48s do outperform the P45s.

I also agree that the P5Q deluxe makes little sense right now. Waste of cash.

Regardless of when you will start overclocking, a good CPU cooler is a good plan from the start. I favor the Xigmatek:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003
with
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233019

 

[rsx1022]

what about other brands?

 

[killyou400p]

Any good Asus or Gigabyte boards are good for overclocking, so look for those if you are going to OC sooner or later.

 

[Zenthar]

I think Asus and Gigabyte are the best 2 brands right now.

 

[rsx1022]

do they make any board support both ddr2 and ddr3? so i dont have to upgrade in the future....

 

[shadowthor]

P5QC supports ddr2 and ddr3.

 

[Proximon]

Yes there are a few P45 MBs that support both types of memory. I haven't heard anything good about any of them. If I wanted to buy DDR3 now to avoid the upgrade cost later, I would likely get a straight DDR3 board.

 

[Zenthar]

I think DDR3 won't offer much of a performance boost until Nehalem (next Intel CPU) comes-out, so I think you should feel comfortable with DDR2. By the time you feel you "have" to upgrade to DDR3, you might also feel you have to upgrade CPU at which point a new MB might be required anyway (Nehalem uses a new socket).

 

[rsx1022]

do you think i should wait? i mean can wait for another month, my old amd still running but soon it will need to replace.

 

[Proximon]

If you are talking about waiting for nehalem you will have a long wait for mainstream boards. High end boards may make an appearance in 3 months or so.

There is NO performance gain with DDR3 right now. You can get 4 gigs of DDR2 800 for 80 bucks. Just do it.

 

[Zenthar]

If you want to wait, I say just wait a few weeks to see the impact of the 4870x2 on the GPU prices. Other than that, waiting a month (or even a few) will not change much.

 

[effel]

Biostar TP43HP. Good layout, heatpipe cooling, will reach good clocks on q6600 without a hitch, and it's very inexpensive. I really like DFI's DK P45, but for your needs it is highly unjustified. Biostar is very often looked over, in favor of big companies like Asus and Gigabyte--it's especially apparent on this forum Why? I won't discuss.

For the heatsink, Xigmatech takes the cake on $/performance right now.

 

[rsx1022]

DFi .... how good is this board? any bios issue with setup? never heard of this brand.

 

[effel]

DFI is like the enthusiast brand. It doesn't advertise, probably why you never heard of them. It makes extremely high quality boards, that have all the bios tweaking options you can imagine. They typically reach the highest stable clocks, and aren't for the new user crowd. I really what they offer. You should check out their subforum on this website.

 

[V3NOM]

zenthar "no plan for SLI then you should go for P43"....the P45 cant do sli either so... for a single card or a crossfire go a gigabyte or that great biostar (if you can get it ), and if you want sli go evga 750i SLI FTW 2x8800GT's on that board with a Q6600 is pure ownage