Mobo recommendation for Intel Q9550 CPU

[walidch]

Hello all,

I want to purchase a new PC and I'm thinking about getting the Intel Q9550 CPU and would like to know what board to purchase with it.

Can you please recommend some kick ass boards?

DDR3 is not a MUST but it's a good option, however, I will be installing DDR2 rams when I purchase the board.

SLI and crossfire is not a MUST but I may need it in the future, I will be using one VGA at the moment.

I don't do CAD work, I will rarely do any video/audio editing, but I will run a VMware Workstation on it as well as use the PC for games and DVD playback.

I am currently stuck with one of the following (due to my location):

Asus Striker II Extreme nForce 790i Ultra SLI
Gigabyte GA-MA790GP-DS4H 790GX
Gigabyte GA-X48-DQ6 (DDR2)supports ATI CrossFireX
Gigabyte GA-EP45-EXTREME (DDR2)supports ATI CrossFireX
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DQ6 (DDR2)supports ATI CrossFireX
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R P45
Asus P5K-WS P35 w/Sound+1GB Lan(DDR2)

 

[walidch]

Thank you all in advance

 

[theAnimal]

Gigabyte GA-EP45-DQ6.

DDR3 is unnecessary for socket 775. The added expense is not worth the very minimal performance increase.

 

[fullmetall]

Actually any P45 board from ASUS or Gigabyte is good..

UD3P gigabyte

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358

or


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131299
P5Q pro

I have the Biostar P45, not bad either

 

[walidch]

Thanks you guys for replying.

So far the Gigabyte GA-EP45-DQ6 seems to be the best option, so that's the best you'd recommend off the above list?

Thanks again.

 

[walidch]

Or the Asus Striker II Extreme nForce 790i Ultra SLI ?

 

[fullmetall]

790i, extreme, yea, extreme price...

 

[walidch]

cool.

the Asus Striker II Extreme nForce 790i Ultra SLI is only $10 more expensive than the Gigabyte GA-EP45-DQ6 in my country.

If it is a better option then I'll go for it.

Much thanks.

 

[fullmetall]

Na, its not, bad reviews on this board.

Dont see whats wrong the the Gigabyte UD3P...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358

way more stable board, same specs..

 

[walidch]

Oh I thought you meant it's better.

I can't find the UD3P here, only the gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R P45

 

[fullmetall]

Well the UD3R is the same thing as the UD3P just only has 1 PCI x16 slot. so if your wanting to crossfire you would want something like the ud3p.

 

[walidch]

Exactly, so I would like to leave the option of crossfire or SLI open in case I need to upgrade my gear in the future.

Seems like my best bet is GA-EP45-DQ6 so far.

I heard I can find more Gigabyte mobos at a place which I'll check in a day or two.

Thanks a lot FullMetall \m/

 

[fullmetall]

no problem, the ep45 is 134.99 here in the usa. and the 790i is 299.99 and sucks,
The ep45 is more stable so try and find something similar to the ud3p or an ASUS P5Q Pro P45.

 

[walidch]

The GA-EP45-DQ6 is for USD 363 here, and the 790i is for 375. (plus 10% taxes to both values).

I found the GA-EX58-UD4P for $330 but the reviews are not too good for this one.

 

[fullmetall]

x58 mobo is a 1366 socket which means i7 core processor. so you wouldn't want that just yet.


ep45 should do you good.