Mainboard choices, LGA775

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DopefishLives

Weaksauce
Joined
May 3, 2006
Messages
74
Looking at upgrading my system to better enjoy some gaming and general use. I'm trying to maintain a budget, and hopefully recoup some costs from selling leftovers of my old system.

Here is my current system (Items highlighted in red will be reused in the new build)

Lian-Li PC60 case
Antec TruPower 430w PSU
Abit IS7-E mainboard
Intel P4HT 2.8C, OC'd to 3.2GHz (3.0 on aircooling)
GEIL Golden Dragon DDR RAM, 512mb
ATI Radeon 9600XT AGP
Creative X-Fi
1x Western Digital 160GB 7kRPM JB(SE) PATA HDD
2x Hitachi Deskstar 7kRPM 250GB SATA HDD
Plextor CD-RW/DVD drive
LG CD-RW/DVD-RW DL drive
Dell SP2208WFP 22" Widescreen LCD

I've already sold the 16GB HDD and PSU for $100, I hope to get $100 for the mainboard/CPU/memory combo and maybe another 50$ for my video card, once I get everything sorted out. I'll also be selling my watercooling equipment to help fund this endeavor, I figure the Intel HSF will be adequate at stock speeds until I am ready for a nice Zalmann.

Here is what I've chosen so far on Newegg to fit my needs and goals as well as stay current until the end of the year when a do an overhaul (GTX(s), uprated proc, cooling and new case)

Thermaltake PurePower 600w Modular PSU
Intel Q6600 CPU
Corsair XMS 4GB (2x2GB) PC2 6400 RAM
XTX GeForce 8800GT 512mb

I was originally considering the DX38BT mainboard but the limitations of DDR3 and no SLI support really sadden me, I love ATI but they can't seem to get their act together with software and thus their hardware will never benefit, so Crossfire isn't something I'm considering.

The three boards I'm looking at are below, I'm trying to stay under $200 and of course the cheaper the better but I don't want to shortchange myself and be forced to spend more later by doing so.

Intel BLKD975XBX2KR -- $199
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121060
PROS:
-Nice layout and appearance
-
CONS:
-Older chipset
-Legacy ports
-No SLI

ASUS P5K-E /w WiFi -- $149
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131196
PROS:
-WiFi onboard
-No PS2 mouse port
-Lots of rear ports
CONS:
-Some people have noted issues with the Q6600 CPU initially
-No SLI

ASUS Striker Extreme -- $299 (Holy shitmuffins!)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131074
PROS:
-Badderass than all the rest
-Nifty display on-board
-Only USB, no legacy ports
-SLI support
-Good on-board cooling
CONS:
-Price :(

Added contenders:

ABIT IP35 Pro -- $169
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813127030
PROS:
-Nice layout and appearance
-Good onboard passive cooling
-Price
CONS:
-Legacy ports
-No SLI

EVGA NF68-A1 -- $199
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188013
PROS:
-SLI
-Wolfdale support
CONS:
-Legacy ports
-Unknown experience with EVGA mainboard, reports of questionable stability.

I've also heard good things about GIGABYTE, and I know they have a good history in the server realm for stability. I have always been an overclocker but will likely stay close to stock clocks this round, at least for awhile and will leave to the OEM cooling as well but will consider a ZALMANN later on. The video card I'll overclock a bit only because I've heard of bountiful gains with the 8800GT and OC'ing.

Input, thoughts and opinions?

Thanks guys.
 
IMHO, strike the Intel BLKD975XBX2KR, the EVGA NF68-A1, and the ASUS Striker Extreme off the list. The 680i isn't quite as old as the 975X, but it's still an outdated chipset.

If you want an SLI motherboard right now, I'd go for the EVGA 780i ($260), MSI P7N Diamond ($230 AR, 780i), or the MSI P7N SLI Platinum ($145 AR, 750i) if you don't mind fewer fancy-dancies and 8x SLI (which is PCI-E 2.0, so is equivalent to PCI-E 1.x 16x).

If you're not going to use SLI, the Intel chipsets are much better, the P35 being the best choice unless you want Crossfire, in which case go X38 (but not Intel's own DDR3-only board!). The abit IP35 Pro you mentioned is one of the most-loved on this forum, and is a very solid choice. As for Gigabyte, I like mine ;) ; it's hard to go wrong with the Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3R ($122). Some people also like the DFI P35's; go with them if you love tweaking with the BIOS.

Also, skip the PurePower if you haven't already bought it. The only Thermaltake power supplies worth even giving a second glance at are the excellent Toughpowers, like the 750W I got for cheap. Corsairs are also good, especially the modular HX series (520HX, 620HX).
 
Yea, seems the consensus is to go for the IP35. I always seem to end up with an Abit board despite trying to be open to different brands anyways. :LOL: The last three mainboards I've owned have all be Abits and they have never led me astray.

The power supply I'll have to mull over, I was considering it as three people at my work are happy with theirs but then again they don't overclock or do any tweaking so they probably don't pay attention to rail/voltage stability, etc... I'll take a gander at the ToughPower's and Corsair's HX-series as recommended.
 
I might have to take back what I said about the PurePower; assuming it's the Rx version (big assumption here, but I think that's the only modular one), it's actually another CWT (Channel Well Technologies, who actually builds it) like the Toughpowers. Not quite as good of one mind you, but still decent. Check the review at Hardware Canucks and the model number (W0144RU) to make sure it really is the same one first. If it is and you can get it for significantly less than a Toughpower or Corsair HX, then go for it.
 
DopefishLives said:
Yea, seems the consensus is to go for the IP35. I always seem to end up with an Abit board despite trying to be open to different brands anyways. :LOL: The last three mainboards I've owned have all be Abits and they have never led me astray.
Click to expand...
even with abits though there are other options e.g. the IX38 QuadGT is under $200 after MIR at mwave or perhaps you don't need all the bells & whistles of the IP35 Pro & could go with the IP35 or even the more basic IP35-E?

What features do you really need/want?
Legacy ports are becoming harder & harder to find on enthusiast class mobos but do you really need them for anything or would a PCI card or converter cable be OK if you do have a device that needs them?
 
BUFF said:
even with abits though there are other options e.g. the IX38 QuadGT is under $200 after MIR at mwave or perhaps you don't need all the bells & whistles of the IP35 Pro & could go with the IP35 or even the more basic IP35-E?

What features do you really need/want?
Legacy ports are becoming harder & harder to find on enthusiast class mobos but do you really need them for anything or would a PCI card or converter cable be OK if you do have a device that needs them?
Click to expand...

I think the IP35 Pro is going to be the winner, I'd like a full-featured board as the last few I've had were E's and thus sort of barebones. I suppose it was a little confusing the way I listed things but I don't like legacy ports and prefer boards that DO NOT have them. :) The more USB, the merrier.

The Corsair HX 620 is actually only about $35 more than the PurePower, they both look like good units though, but I'd still like to see some current and voltage logging to be sure (which maybe that review contains, I haven't read it just yet).
 
I built a Q6600 system for my son using the Asus P5K-E/wifi and it went very well and the system is fast, stable and runs smoothly. I advised two coworkers to use the same CPU/mobo combo and they are happy with it as well. My own Q6600 and P5K-E/wifi are sitting on my desk ready to go into my main rig, so I'll have ever more experience with it soon... ;)

I've heard great things about the Abit board as well and I can't say anything bad about it. I just personally liked the features and looks of the Asus board better, plus my P5B-Deluxe has been a super board.
 
DopefishLives said:
. I suppose it was a little confusing the way I listed things but I don't like legacy ports and prefer boards that DO NOT have them. :)
Click to expand...

so why list them as Cons for the IP35 Pro?
The only legacy that it has is PS/2 - no serial, no parallel.
 
BUFF said:
so why list them as Cons for the IP35 Pro?
The only legacy that it has is PS/2 - no serial, no parallel.
Click to expand...

It is still a legacy port, no? I suppose I should have noted it as singular instead of plural but I was speaking in generalities either way, I don't like them of any kind and find them unecssary and take space away from where additional USB ports could be positioned.

I've settled on the IP35 Pro and the Corsair HX620 after reading reviews. The PurePower is still a GREAT PSU but for $30~ more the Corsair unit offers 8-pin PCI-e cables for, longer power cables for easier routing and a standardized internal fan size.

Thanks guys for all the input, at least the community here is still comprised of helpful and informative members. :)
 
DopefishLives said:
It is still a legacy port, no? I suppose I should have noted it as singular instead of plural but I was speaking in generalities either way, I don't like them of any kind and find them unnecessary and take space away from where additional USB ports could be positioned.
Click to expand...

Out of curiously, what do you use so many USB ports for? I use exactly three: one for my USB mouse, one for the printer, and one for an external hard drive. My other two external drives are Firewire and e-Sata (a much better external drive interface). I use my front USB ports for temporary devices such as flash drives. I could see using one more for a USB keyboard (not that keyboards need more than PS/2 bandwidth anyway; the bottleneck is the human), and maybe one more for a scanner, but what is the point of a gazillion USB ports anyway? ;)
 
For me, I use USB ports for keyboard, mouse, UPS monitoring, printer and then I like having ports open so I can use my thumb drive, plug in my camera, external HDD, MP3 player, etc.
 
farfromhome said:
Out of curiously, what do you use so many USB ports for? I use exactly three: one for my USB mouse, one for the printer, and one for an external hard drive. My other two external drives are Firewire and e-Sata (a much better external drive interface). I use my front USB ports for temporary devices such as flash drives. I could see using one more for a USB keyboard (not that keyboards need more than PS/2 bandwidth anyway; the bottleneck is the human), and maybe one more for a scanner, but what is the point of a gazillion USB ports anyway? ;)
Click to expand...

It is more a matter of why have something I never plan to use again, compared to something that I intend to use now and for a long time after.

As for my initial USB needs ON the system itself:

-Monitor hub 1
-Monitor hub 2
-External HDD cable
-Phone charge/data cable
-Keyboard
-Mouse
-USB light

Now I don't need a ton of USB to make this happen as that's all decently standard and each monitor has four additional ports that come from the 1 they each acquire at the back of the system. However, I like the expansiveness and potential of USB since all modern peripherals are built on that architecture where as the PS/2 and LPT ports have been fading away slowly and I have no intentions of picking up hardware to operate from them.
 
Update:

I placed my order from Newegg, not everything but it'll get me started.

-Abit IP35 Pro
-Corsair HX620

I'm still on the prowl for a Q6600, some memory and a 8800(GT/GTS/GTX)

I sent a few PM's out on here, hopefully I can find a deal, help someone move their parts and get my system up and going. :)
 
Good luck with it. I can't speak for the mobo, but I love my corsair hx620. It's an awesome PSU... ;)
 
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