Intel P35 and P965. Best Underclocker? Power draw?

[HedgeHocker]

Hi,

Not sure that is the best way to approach the goal, all features aside, but which chipset was/is the most energy efficient between the Intel P35 Express and the Intel P965 Express?

I've now got a spare of each and want to most miserly one for my wifes PC. These are both fantastic mainboards (in their day) and she will never use all the power features on either; Hulu, torrents, and HD digitized movies computer. Yes, a sort of HDPC. She will not need the raid of either one or be overclocking much if any. I'm one of the guys who lives in MAINE where we pay Hawaii real estate prices for our electricity use so efficiency, even with a game rig, is king.

I'm going to drop my old EVGA 8800GT SC in there just because I can't stand the idea of selling it although I really should while it can fetch a few bucks. So if I I do sell it ..I have a new ATI 2600 XT sitting in a box. I'm not sure what the power savings would be underclocking the 8800GT or if it would be worth it.

Back to the mainboards. What does anyone think about the energy use between those two intel chipsets? The thing with the P965 was that is is super touchy about the RAM settings to boot even to the BIO (remember) to even change the settings and it cooked a set of my RAM one year because it would not stay where I set it... Gigabyte board. I don't remember which has batter on board sound. She does not play PC games. The ATI 2600XT does have the HD audio but was that ever good? I've never seen it reviewed. Well I'm not staying on topic so thank you for reading.

The two boards are:

ABIT IP35 Pro

Gigabyte GA-965P-DQ6 (rev. 3.3)

 

[HedgeHocker]

You made zero cents - go help someone else apple hole

 

[terr281]

zipzoomflyhigh is trying to tell you that motherboard power usage is negligible in a pc. The primary power uses in a desktop pc are the graphics setup and the cpu.

As such, instead of focusing on the motherboard's power usage, if you want to decide on one of the motherboards, you should focus on which board will allow you the best cpu clock for your chosen cpu on the lowest voltage.

(Example: Lets say you are using a Core 2 Duo E6750, the cpu in my MB, no matter which motherboard you choose. Build the computer by using one of the motherboards, decide on a "cpu clock" that you want... lets say, you keep the cpu at stock 2.66 Ghz. Lower the voltage slowly until it will no longer stay stable. Record the info, and then build the computer on the other board and do the same. Pick the board with the lowest voltage use.)

Further, he was right in regard to putting a gaming graphics card in a cpu that won't be used for gaming when you are concerned about power usage. The thing you need to think about with the graphics card is what minimum standard you are looking for. It severely sounds like you are trying to build a HTPC on a budget. With that said, look at the video card hierarchy that this website posts every month. (Last page of the "best video card for the money" posts.) Make sure to use a video card that is hefty enough for the task you truly wish.

Example: For my HTPC build from new parts late last year, I went with a AMD Phenom II 720, socket AM3 board, and an ATI 4670. This was because I wanted low to moderate gaming potential, at least a 3 core cpu (for potential multitasking), DDR3 ram usage (lower power usage versus DDR2, easier potential upgrade later due to parts availability), and the 4670's HDMI output capability for protected audio. (It also has a Blu-ray reader.)

HTPCs are, in many ways, more difficult to build than high-end gaming rigs. This is due to the balancing act you face between 24/7 power-on (power usage), low acoustics (noise), required features (potential for infared remotes, tv recording, HDMI output, etc.)... High-end gaming rigs only typically worry about "what is the best" and "how do I safely install this watercooling system." Following that, "what is the highest overclock I can tolerate AND that the system will survive for X years."

 

[HedgeHocker]

Nevermind

 

[HedgeHocker]

LOL...

I stumbled back on to my post while doing a Google search. I do feel I should say thanks, close this post, and defend myself a little better against this help offered by member zipzoomflyhigh in the form of mocking and trolling.

6 months later I still wonder zipzoomflyhigh actually read my post. I spell fine. I may not type well but I spell fine. I didn't want to spend a cent more? You are an ass, obviously. I didn't have many hardware OPTIONS back then. Excuse me, perhaps I could have phrased things better but I have seen far less intelligible requests for help on Tom's Forums. Didn't I mention underclocking the gdamn 8800GT???

Let's see...

""I'm going to drop my old EVGA 8800GT SC in there just because I can't stand the idea of selling it although I really should while it can fetch a few bucks. So if I I do sell it ..I have a new ATI 2600 XT sitting in a box. I'm not sure what the power savings would be underclocking the 8800GT or if it would be worth it. ""

I was going to underclock it.... or use the ATI 2600. I didn't want to buy more hardware but I figured that went without saying. I suppose with the limited comprehension of people like zipzoomflyhigh, high marks in school no doubt, I need to reason every point made when asking for help from him. Guess what, I was not asking for help from you.

If it wasn't CLEAR ..I wanted to make the best out of what I already owned.

Are you still an idiot zipzoomflyhigh? Please do not run for public office when you grow up.


For your part terr281 -Thank you very much sir. At least you understood I was on actually read my post.


Now on with my Google search.

 

[HedgeHocker]

Best answer selected by HedgeHocker.