Going Intel...need MB.

[Rafael]

Greetings,

I am in the process of upgrading my AMD FX60 (939) system. Going to replace CPU, MB and RAM.

I am going to go Intel this time...

I have decided the CPU will be 8400 dual core or 6600 quad core...not exactly sure which one yet..

MB is where I simply have no idea.

I need a MB that:

1) Supports either of those CPU's out of the box...since I will not be able to flash its bios
2) Will fit my CM690 case and be able to fit a eVGA 8800GTX.

The only other device I have is a Soundblaster so I really do not need very many PCI slots.

So far my quick research is pointing me toward the GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3R ?

 

[magoo]

Gigabyte P35-DS4
Gigabyte EX38
ASUS P5K-Deluxe or Premium
EVGA 750i-FTW

All the above support DDR2 Ram which is very cheap right now.
All are good stable boards.
Are you going to overclock the CPU ???

 

[nightwalker]

if you have no plans to go SLI then theres no reason to not buy an Intel chipset board like a P35 / X38.

 

[Rafael]

Gigabyte P35-DS4
Gigabyte EX38
ASUS P5K-Deluxe or Premium
EVGA 750i-FTW

All the above support DDR2 Ram which is very cheap right now.
All are good stable boards.
Are you going to overclock the CPU ???

Do those support CPU's I listed out of the box? I need that, since I will have no way to flash the bios.


I do not plan to OC...I have never been very good with OCing.

My main objective is for upcoming games like Age of Conan...which barely runs on min with my current setup.

 

[Rafael]

if you have no plans to go SLI then theres no reason to not buy an Intel chipset board like a P35 / X38.

Yea I guess I should have mentioned that...I want P35 or X38, but DO not want Nvidia chipset based boards.

And I need one that supports newer processors out of the box...

 

[BUFF]

abit IP35/IP35 Pro are also good options depending upon features & budget.

 

[Rafael]

abit IP35/IP35 Pro are also good options depending upon features & budget.

My understanding is that the Abit boards require BIOS flash to use the 45nm processors?

Since I do not have a current Intel processor to use...I cannot flash the bios.

 

[nightwalker]

P35 chipsets are a bit hit or miss... only the newer ones support the 45nm's out the box, you shouldnt have any problems with X38 / and definately wont have any with X48.

 

[ethos11]

My understanding is that the Abit boards require BIOS flash to use the 45nm processors?

Since I do not have a current Intel processor to use...I cannot flash the bios.

Yes and No. I recently purchased an IP35 Pro and It came with BIOS 14 which has support for the latest Wolfdales. However there is a small glitch with the temperature reading of the CPU that has an adverse effect if you plan on overclocking (which you're not from what I understand). I had no problems flashing the BIOS to version 16 that corrected that problem. It's a great board I really like it. Also I have the CM690 and an eVGA 8800GTX with no issues at all. BTW that Gigabyte (GA-EP35-DS3R) board is also very solid. You can't go wrong with either.

 

[magoo]

Do those support CPU's I listed out of the box? I need that, since I will have no way to flash the bios.


I do not plan to OC...I have never been very good with OCing.

My main objective is for upcoming games like Age of Conan...which barely runs on min with my current setup.

My best advice, then, would be to buy from a retail that sells Motherboard bundles.
You will pay a bit of a fee for them to mount the CPU and make sure the BIOS is up to date, but at least you'd be certain of a compatable BIOS.

Take a look here:http://www.jncs.com/php/sys/index.php?id=bun-as-p5k-deluxe-wifi

Or make sure you contact the etailer when you buy the MB to check on the BIOS version.
I think the Q6600 has been around long enough to be a safe bet on most MBs you'd want to buy.

 

[Rafael]

I think I am going with a Gigabyte board and Dual Core E8400..


G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ - Retail

GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Dynamic Energy Saver Ultra Durable II Intel Motherboard - Retail

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400


for about $450