bennyboy

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My mobo has just completely died and I'm trying to find one to replace it. I'd like to upgrade but after hours of reading I'm more confused than when I started :??: Please help !?!?! I've seriously read about this for hours and am now completely confused.

Current System
P5N32-SLI Premium
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16813131071
Core2duo E6600
8800 gts
4GB DDR2-667
650 watt power
http://www.hardware.info/productdb/bGpkbJiYmA/viewproduct/Sweex_Advanced_Gold_650W/

I play games and photoshop a lot. I also occasionally run 2 or 3 virtual machines for testing OS builds.

I have about 400 quid to spend if the upgrade is decent. If it all gets too hard and expensive I'll just get the same mobo again so I can get back to work.

I hope that's enough info for you guys to work with?

Any constructive help would be very gratefully received indeed.

Cheers
Ben
 

Amg

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are you going to SLI?? if not the Nvidia chipset mobo are nothing but a pain in the butt saying that through...does it post? at least if so get the lastest BIOS update for it and flash the bogger if it does not post at all RMA it and get money back if possible
 

bennyboy

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Thanks AMG. Was kinda keeping my options open on SLI because I do like gaming and just one 8800 gts is struggling now days.

It doesn't do anything. The fans spin up on the board and on the graphics card and I can see that the safety LED next to the CMOS turns on but that's it. No power to keyboard, mouse or monitor and no beep test. Tried with different RAM and power and reset CMOS but no joy. RMA not possible anymore :-(

An upgrade would be nice but I don't think I'm being realistic about a decent upgrade for 400 quid :-(
 

Amg

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you should get RMA unless the baored is old asus offers a 3 years warrently but its will be gone for a long time.

I would get a P5Q and a HD4850 or HD4870 so you can xfire, okay I know P45 is only 8x/8x on xfrie and AMD/ATI have driver issues and don't scale but it works or you could get a 9800GTX Or GX2 if your lucky, i haven't seen a GX2 around brand new for ages :|
 

toadworks

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Cross fire stuff will be the new wave this summer once the 4 cpu thing is worked out...
AMG I think you have a Asus right?
I own a few Asus and some ecs and a J&W who is not bad but unknown here in the usa.
XFX as they are now has very bad support for me. But some say they are great?
Asus and toms did a review of cheap gamming stuff here
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-2-overclock,2113.html

Most of us have or will have a Asus some time and it seems I here MSI is getting better at OCing.
But we are getting ready to start testing some new china stuff from http://www.jwele.com/ they have some great ideas and there top of the line
Processor


1. Socket AM2+/AM2 for AMD Phenom™FX / AMD Phenom™ / AMD Athlon™ 64 FX / AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 / AMD Athlon™ 64 / AMD Sempron™ processors (Support up to 140W TDP Processors.)

Chipset


1. AMD® 790GX + SB750 (Built in Radeon™ HD 3300 Graphics, DirectX® 10 Ready, with 128MB DDR3 side-port memory onboard)
2. Marvell® 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet Controller
3. Super I/O: Winbond W83627EHG chip
4. Realtek ALC 888 HD Audio Codec
5. 8M bit flash ROM

HyperTransport™


1. HyperTransport™ 3.0/1.0, 5200/2000 MT/s

Memory


1. Dual Channel DDR2 1066/800/667/533 support (DDR2 1066 support is dependent on CPU)
2. Max capacity: 8 GB
3. DIMM slots: 4

Internal I/O

Connectors


1. 1 x 24-pin ATX power connector
2. 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector (compatible with 4-pin connector)
3. 1 x floppy connector
4. 1 x IDE connector (for 2 PATA devices)
5. 6 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors (Support RAID 0,1,0+1,5)
6. 1 x CPU fan connector
7. 2 x system fan connectors
8. 1 x front panel connector
9. 1 x front audio connector
10. 3 x USB 2.0 header for additional 6 USB 2.0 ports (by cables)
11. 1 x buzzer connector
12. 1 x IR connector
13. 1 x COM connector
14. 1 x CD-IN connector
15. 1 x SPDIF In/Out header

Expansion Slots


1. 3 x PCI-E x16 slots
2. 1 x PCI-E x1 slot
3. 2 x PCI slots

Rear Panel I/O


1. 1 x PS/2 Keyboard port
2. 1 x PS/2 Mouse port
3. 1 x HDMI port
4. 1 x S/PDIF In port (coaxial)
5. 1 x S/PDIF Out port (optical)
6. 1 x DVI port
7. 1 x VGA port
8. 1 x eSATA port
9. 4 x USB 2.0 ports
10. 1 x RJ45 GigaLAN port
11. 6 x Audio ports (Line In / Line Out / MIC In / Rear Speaker Out / Center-Subwoofer Speaker Out / Side Speaker Out)

Form Factor


1. ATX
2. 304.8mm x 245mm

H/W Monitoring


1. Winbond W83627EHG
2. System health status auto-detect and reported by BIOS

BIOS


1. 8 Mbit flash ROM, AMI BIOS

Bundle Software


1. Driver and Utility CD/DVD

Remark


1. Due to different Linux support condition provided by chipset vendors, please download Linux driver from chipset vendors' website or 3rd party website.
2. This product does not support Win9X/ME.
3. 100% Solid Capacitors, Debug LED onboard.

So they are even supporting Linux installs.

People like ECS and a few others might not run linux though!
 

Amg

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I do indeed, good thing is the MOBO WAS WORKING unitll I paired it off with a OCZ powersupply >.>

I will find out tomoz I m RMAing it to OCUK see if the powersupply did some hardware damage.

the only compenies I would have are asus,gigabyte,DFI RIP ABIT =( for SLI EVGA or asus

I ve had issues with MSI so I no longer trust them
 

toadworks

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MSI is not so good for overclocking and we are sure that xfx will drop there name soon and become evga . They are both identical right down to manuals.
If OCZ gives you good support let us know and we will put them on our good support list for rma hardware issues......As you know XFXforce is not supporting any hardware issues anymore. We are also getting reports of some rma they did do getting used hardware back for there new hardware that was supposed to get fixed.......That sucks!
Toadworks

Good luck AMG!
 

bennyboy

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Thanks guys.

OK so comparing my old P5N32-SLI Premium to the ASRock P45XE I think it's pretty clear that the ASRock P45XE is the way forward. My 8800gts will still work with the ASRock P45XE right?
 

Amg

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OCZ was exalanat at that as soon as I said made a noise computer crashing no matter what I did they offered a RMA, but I decided to get a tagan instead so OCZ kindly told me to RMA thier product to the e-commerce i got it from.

No one has problems with OCZ they will replace the faulty product sometimes you get something better :D
 

toadworks

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Hummm lets take a look here
P45XE

1. LGA 775 for Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme / Core™ 2 Quad / Core™ 2 Duo / Pentium® Dual Core / Celeron® Dual Core / Celeron®, Supporting Penryn Quad Core Yorkfield and Dual Core Wolfdale processors
2. ASRock DuraCap (2.5 x longer life time), 100% Japan-made high-quality Conductive Polymer Capacitors
3. Intel® P45+ ICH10 Chipsets
4. Compatible with FSB2000/1600/1333/1066/800 MHz CPUs
5. Supports Dual Channel DDR2 1200/1066/800/667, 4 x DIMM slots, Max. capacity up to 16GB

* Supports ATI™ CrossFire™
* 2 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots (green @ x16 mode, blue @ x8 mode)
* 6 x SATAII 3.0 Gb/s connectors, support NCQ, AHCI and Hot Plug functions
* 2 x eSATAII 3.0 Gb/s connectors
* PCIE Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000 Mb/s
* 7.1 CH Windows® Vista™ Premium Level HD Audio (ALC888 Audio Codec)
* 1 x WiFi/USB header
* Supports ASRock Instant Boot
* Supports Smart BIOS, ASRock OC Tuner, Intelligent Energy Saver, Extra ESD Protection
* Supports I. O. T. (Intelligent Overclocking Technology)
* Windows® Vista™ Premium 2008 Logo Ready
* ASRock SPDIF I/O Plus: 1 x Coaxial SPDIF Out Port, 1 x Optical SPDIF Out Port, 2 x eSATAII ports, 1 x RJ-45 LAN Port with LED, 6 x USB 2.0 Ports

Just got this in my e-mail ......dealer price is under 100usd and user price is around 129.00usd a lot of stuff included for the money.....Might start selling them again.....
BioStar TPower I45 http://www.biostar-usa.com/app/en-us/t-power/content.php?S_ID=365
CPU SUPPORT
# Intel® Core™2 Extreme Processor
# Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor
# Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor
# Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor
# Intel® Celeron® Dual-Core Processor
# Intel® Celeron® Processor 400 Sequence


FSB
# Support FSB 800/1066/1333/1600MHz


MEMORY
# Support Dual Channel DDR2 667/800/1066/1200(OC) MHz
# 4 x DDR2 DIMM Memory Slot
# Max. Supports up to 16GB Memory


EXPANSION SLOT
# 2 x PCI Slots
# 2 x PCI-E x1 Slot
# 2 x PCI-E x16 2.0 Slot (CFX x8)


STORAGE
# 6 x SATA2 3Gb/s Connector
# 2 x eSATA Connector
# 1 x IDE Connector
# Support SATA RAID: 0,1,5,10


USB
# 6 x USB 2.0 Port
# 3 x USB 2.0 Header


GbE
# Realtek RTL8111C - 10/100/1000 Controller


CODEC
# Realtek ALC888S 8+2 Channel HD Audio


REAR I/O
# 1 x PS/2 Mouse
# 1 x PS/2 Keyboard
# 2 x eSATA2 3Gb/s Connector
# 6 x USB 2.0 Port
# 1 x RJ-45 Port
# 6 x Audio Connector


INTERNAL I/O
# 3 x USB 2.0 Header
# 6 x SATA2 3Gb/s Connector
# 1 x IDE Connector
# 1 x Floppy Connector
# 1 x Front Audio Header
# 1 x Front Panel Header
# 1 x CD-IN Header
# 1 x S/PDIF-IN Header
# 2 x S/PDIF-OUT Header
# 1 x CPU FAN Header
# 2 x System FAN Header
# 1 x Serial Header


DIMENSION
# ATX Form Factor Dimension: 30.5 cm X 24.4 cm ( W x L )


OS SUPPORT
# Support Windows 2000 / XP / XP 64 / Vista / Vista 64


ACCESSORIES
# 1 x IDE Cable
# 6 x SATA Cable
# 6 x SATA Power Cable
# 1 x S/PDIF Cable
# 1 x I/O Shield
# 1 x CD Driver
# 1 x User Manual
# 1 x DIY Thermal Kit

Checking for reviews though...
Bennboy you have sli and not cross fire right!
 

Amg

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LOL! asrock are a cheap brand they was under asus hence the name "AS from asus" rock they are now two different companies but asus are thier parent company...ASrock specilsies in low end mainstream motherboareds so don't expect anything special

personly i would go with asustek more expesmive but the chokes regulators capiters are all higher qauilty.

Not saying don't get it it depends what you want the bored to do, for overclocking NO
 

toadworks

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One review suggested that it was pretty good, but that some corners were
cut.
Sounds like ASUS cost-reduced, of necessity compromising quality. Prices
are nice, so value may be good. OC options were limited; less capable
than another board using the same value-priced chipset.
One thing that I did NOT like was the support/downloads at the web site.
ASROCK does not provide end-user support. Downloads & documents
appeared to be more limited than ASUS, MSI, etc.
Oc'ing I think it is Asus for most of us. But, I am very open to any motherboard MFG that supports its customers and there race to the fast and fried cpu overclock. Just never, ever will I buy a XFXForce product. I have a better chance of having a asteroid go up my butt. Then getting anything but a few e-mails about how they do not support hardware issues....NO more RMA for XFX! Anyone but XFX is going to be fine....Even my ECS overclocs a 5000 amd to 3.0 on air in a Thermaltake Key3 case with no issue at 67c with 8g and 1-0 raid going 6 hrs a day ever day of the year. 24 -7 on weekends with kids....
My XFXForce 790I never got booted to windows with out a hardware fail. ECS might be cheap but for 30.00retail it works on a budget. The new Bio star is looking like they are getting ready to show price is too high on there competitions boards for the same components.
Toadworks
 

bennyboy

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Thanks Toadworks.

My current gfx card is SLI. Does that mean the P45XE won't work with my current gfx card or does it mean I can only have one card and if I want 2 cards I have to switch to cross fire gfx cards?

I don't mind buying new gfx cards if I can get them and the motherboard with in my budget (About $600 usd)

I don't do any OC'ing at the moment. I may do in the future but right now I'm not overly concerned about OC'ing.
 

Amg

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only one will work with a non SLI mobo so its wastes your second Nvdia GPU :| unless you get a 780i SLI again like EVGA or asus, msi maybe? haven't seen much of them
 

toadworks

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If you do not own a current cross-fire, but do own a sli card that is good. Then by all means stay sli. Even if you had 2 cross fire card only 3 gpu's currently work. But, if they get it worked out and do not drop the second cards gpu power to half of what it should be... Then sli will be the one playing catch up. Currently sli is a little faster. But, it should change. EVGA is XFX so if you have a hard ware issue then pine tech who is EVGA and XFX and a few others will not support you. Asus most times will. MSI 99% will and a few others will but it takes some time to get them to help you.
880gt cards are quite good running sli. For the price now you just can not go wrong. I do not favor sli or cross-fire. I just look at the frame rate of what game I like and use a card and mobo that will give me what I like to see. There is nothing wrong with your 8800! Whit what you will save not going cross - fire and having to buy both a vid card and mobo you will have a little extra for that black box cpu you would love to get!
Or go water cooled or get that hd burner you have been looking at!
Use what you can and spend where it counts most 1. cpu 2. ram 3. support 4. mobo 5. Toms Hardware
Bennyboy, keep us posted on what you end up doing. Sounds like you are having some fun........ Looking froward to see how your project progress!
Toadworks
 

bennyboy

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That makes a lot of sense Toadworks. Thanks very much and happy NY mate.

I'll keep looking at what's in my budget and will no doubt have plenty more questions ;-)

I looking to squeeze the ASUS Striker II Extreme with new CPU and 4 GB DDR3 into my budget now :-D
 

bennyboy

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Hmm ok I'll keep that in mind. Thanks AMG.

No doubt I will have changed my mind again by the end of the weekend ;-)
 

Amg

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unless you got alot of money for I7 take your changes with the 780i it will work eventulty if not lucky one and it works out of the box