Need MOBO Recco + RAM

[hypergruv]

Hey Guys -

I recently recently received the following parts, and I'm in the process of building a "Monster" as my Buddy referred to it:

Intel Q9650 45nm
EVGA GTX 280 Superclocked
WD VeliciRapror 300GB
Seagate 7200.11 1TB
Vista Home Prem 64 (was FREE)

I don't want to double post, so I am guessing I'll just make one post here and hope it gets the job done. I need a good solid recommendation on a board supporting DDR3. Can any one enlighten me on the different chip sets (P35/X48/790i etc...)? I guess what I'm getting at, is one better than the other? If so, why - be it personal preference, stability, ease of use, problems with one as opposed to another? As of now, I doubt I'll be OC, but I'd like to have the options there for future use. I'm more interested in initial set-up stability right now, and I'll start to tweak things in the weeks thereafter. Initially, I don't "need" SLI, but would like to have it there for the future if and when I need it. I have heard that if you plan on only using one video card for now, that the X48 chip set is a better buy. Can any one confirm/deny this?

Also, as far as DDR3 goes, I have heard a number of different things. Do you HAVE to use the 1:1 ratio - i.e. b/c my CPU is 1333MHz FSB, does the RAM HAVE to match? I have heard yes and no respectively. Can I use any speed? I've also heard using the 1:1 ratio is gimped as well. Can any one confirm/deny this? I have never really one to OC RAM in the past though, but want solid stability.

THX in advance.

 

[lowteckh]

NV chips support SLI, Intel based are Crossfire and no Nofire. Neither is backwards compatible - you can't run SLI on Intel based (other than Skulltrail and Dell's mobo). Similarly you cannot run Crossfire on NV boards. Both will run single cards without problems, it's when you play with 2 cards where you need to watch out.

NV = 650, 680, 750, 780, 790 - their naming schemes.
780 is DDR2; 790 is DDR3.
P35 is what came before the P45, don't know the exact difference.
P45 is the board you want if you are going Nofire or don't care for x16x16 Crossfire.
X48 is the board you want for x16x16 Crossfire as only X38 and X48 do x16x16.

Figure out which suits you then decide on where to go. Intel boards AFAIK are more stable than NV boards.

 

[CamaroZ28]

First off, why do you think you need a DDR3 motherboard?

 

[hypergruv]

First off, why do you think you need a DDR3 motherboard?

In order to avoid doing the same thing I am doing now, again in 9-12 months. I would rather go ahead and and get something solid now, as opposed to getting something that will "just get me by" until then.

On the other hand, the DDR2 boards + RAM are less $$ right now.

 

[CamaroZ28]

In order to avoid doing the same thing I am doing now, again in 9-12 months. I would rather go ahead and and get something solid now, as opposed to getting something that will "just get me by" until then.

On the other hand, the DDR2 boards + RAM are less $$ right now.

Haha by building a computer right now it will automatically be outdated in 1 month with the release of Nehalem. Secondly, DDR3 offers negligible advantage over DDR2 with current Core processors, so you wouldn't be "just getting by" with it.

 

[Dangman]

Haha by building a computer right now it will automatically be outdated in 1 month with the release of Nehalem. Secondly, DDR3 offers negligible advantage over DDR2 with current Core processors, so you wouldn't be "just getting by" with it.

QFT.

There is no reason right now to get DDR3 RAM for a Core 2 Duo based system. The idea of future proofing yourself with DDR3 RAM is a bad idea considering that:
A) Future chipsets may not even support your current DDR3 RAM (look at Intel's P35 chipset and it's lack of support for DDR2 533 RAM)
B) Whatever DDR3 RAM you buy and plan to reuse later on may actually limit the performance or at the very least overclocking performnce of the future system