What a hardware jungle it is...

SplitBURST · *Last edited by SplitBURST; 10-16-2008 at 20:21.*

Hi guy's I need your help!

I've spent the last 2 hours reading through the forum and am now 1% smarter then I was before. I'm looking to upgrade my rig to better meet today's most demanding games.

I'm not happy with my gigabyte mobbo (thu I got it for free :p) it's crash free bios sucks, default voltages way over what's needed and memory settings won't make it in to windows. BSOD by the ram running default (auto) at 1066MHz witch is supported by the mobbo but not working. (took many phone calls and lots of email to both Gigabyte and my retailer to conclude this) and sucky OC ability compared to many ASUS motherboards.

But I have no clue what to get. I understand Intel® X48 Express Chipset & X38 Express Chipset are the best. As for best CPU I have no idea and all motherboards with these chipset use ATI Crossfire witch I really don't want! I've only check ASUS motherboard cause I want quality and little trouble and great OC ability.

So what would you guy's recommend I get? my budget would be about 300 euro

pharaoh guru · 10-16-2008, 20:17 | posts: 154 | Location: Egypt

could you please tell your budget in numbers rather than in adjectives and we'll be more than willing to help you....

theman7233 · 10-16-2008, 20:31 | posts: 148

seriously with your current rig i would recommend picking up a SLI mobo and then adding another 260 you would probably need a new psu too. if you dont like that idea then i suggest waiting for the new x58 and i7 processor from intel

D-Cyph3r · 10-16-2008, 20:54 | posts: 518 | Location: Lala Land

You really dont need to upgrade your CPU. A Q900 series will be only fractionally faster (unless you went for a QX, which your budget doesn't allow). Your RAM and GPU are both fine aswell...

I'd go for a P45 based Asus Maximus Formula, great RoG board that isn't stupidly priced. Should be all you need to get the best OC from your RAM and CPU.

SplitBURST · 10-17-2008, 08:31 | posts: 15 | Location: Sweden

Quote:

Originally Posted by D-Cyph3r

You really dont need to upgrade your CPU. A Q900 series will be only fractionally faster (unless you went for a QX, which your budget doesn't allow). Your RAM and GPU are both fine aswell...

I'd go for a P45 based Asus Maximus Formula, great RoG board that isn't stupidly priced. Should be all you need to get the best OC from your RAM and CPU.

Thnx guy's

Isn't Asus Maximus Formula with ATI Crossfire?
btw isn't my PCI-E x16 limiting my gtx 260 don't i need pci-e 2.0 and faster cpu?

Tat3 · **Memory**: 3*2Gb 8-8-8-20 @ 1680MHz

Quote:

Originally Posted by SplitBURST

Thnx guy's

Isn't Asus Maximus Formula with ATI Crossfire?
btw isn't my PCI-E x16 limiting my gtx 260 don't i need pci-e 2.0 and faster cpu?

Yes.

I'd recommend you to look for 750i/780i SLI mobos. Support SLI and work fine with quads.

If you can find eVGA 750i FTW it's highly recommended. It's perhaps best 750i mobo.

SplitBURST · 10-18-2008, 09:45 | posts: 15 | Location: Sweden

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tat3

Yes.

I'd recommend you to look for 750i/780i SLI mobos. Support SLI and work fine with quads.

If you can find eVGA 750i FTW it's highly recommended. It's perhaps best 750i mobo.

Quite expensive, must be a kicker ass mobo thu. Dum design for pci slots. When two gtx 260 are in place there's no way to use those middle pci slots

btw is my PCI-E 1.1 really a big bottleneck? and what other mobos do u recommend without SLI?

Ieldra · 10-18-2008, 14:36 | posts: 2,514 | Location: Milan, Italy

Quote:

Originally Posted by SplitBURST

Quite expensive, must be a kicker ass mobo thu. Dum design for pci slots. When two gtx 260 are in place there's no way to use those middle pci slots

btw is my PCI-E 1.1 really a big bottleneck? and what other mobos do u recommend without SLI?

Your PCI-E slot is NOT a bottleneck. It is NOT.
Imagine you have a car that can go at 300KM per hour and there's a motorway that allows 600KM per hour. What difference does it make if you take the 600KM per hour road ?

No video card uses the full bandwidth of PCI-E 1.0. Let alone 2.0
Upgrade your CPU is pointless atm. It's a great performer.
Get a new mobo and overclock your GTX260 I guess...

OCZ · 10-18-2008, 15:59 | posts: 496 | Location: Belgrade, Serbia

What a joker ..no offense.
What do you want to upgrade ? a fast CPU to an 5% faster ? you got yourself a brand new GTX260 and you're not happy ? is it outdated by now ..?
Absolutely no need to upgrade your Mobo as well, the only point of having a high-end board is overclocking.
And you can OC your CPU more then 3.2GHz with your board ..
4Gb of RAM looks more then decent to me as well ..I bet you have at least 22" monitor so upgrade your case, speakers, dog, cat whatever just not the computer

SplitBURST · 10-19-2008, 08:03 | posts: 15 | Location: Sweden

thnx guys i now have a better understanding and am happy with what ive got for now

CoreyPL · 10-19-2008, 20:59 | posts: 915 | Location: Poland

PCI-Ex 2.0 theoretically can give more power through the slot than 1.x versions (150W compared to 75W) and that's the biggest difference. Performance-wise, like someone said earlier, you wouldn't be able to use the bandwidth of 1.x slot. And for power you have a PSU connector, so why bother with the new mobo.

As for Gigabyte (I've own one too and I'm happy) try to upload newest BIOS, go to configuration and press Ctrl+F1 right after you go to BIOS config to see some hidden options (mainly for the voltages and memory speed). Gigabyte with P35 chipset supports 1066MHz memory only by "overclocking" meaning that you have to set all the memory parameters manually (voltage, speed, timings) like in the mems specs - don't use auto-detect and SPD, because they usually don't work well despite being reported otherwise. I've tested the same problem with GA-P35-DS3R and 1066MHz Patriot mems - I hope it will help.

SplitBURST · 10-20-2008, 08:24 | posts: 15 | Location: Sweden

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoreyPL

PCI-Ex 2.0 theoretically can give more power through the slot than 1.x versions (150W compared to 75W) and that's the biggest difference. Performance-wise, like someone said earlier, you wouldn't be able to use the bandwidth of 1.x slot. And for power you have a PSU connector, so why bother with the new mobo.

As for Gigabyte (I've own one too and I'm happy) try to upload newest BIOS, go to configuration and press Ctrl+F1 right after you go to BIOS config to see some hidden options (mainly for the voltages and memory speed). Gigabyte with P35 chipset supports 1066MHz memory only by "overclocking" meaning that you have to set all the memory parameters manually (voltage, speed, timings) like in the mems specs - don't use auto-detect and SPD, because they usually don't work well despite being reported otherwise. I've tested the same problem with GA-P35-DS3R and 1066MHz Patriot mems - I hope it will help.

Thnx man, Well i have changed about all memory settings as for clocks and voltages. They are set too 4-4-4-12 (voltage +1v or +2v about 1.80v-2.20v recommended for Crucial DDR2 BallistiX PC8500 2048MB CL5 ,Kit) all other set too auto, cause I have no clue what they are.(help with these greatly appreciated) I think that speed is not supported by the type of RAM i have. Only a few are on GB's memory reference list. As it turn out Crucial DDR2 BallistiX PC8500 2048MB CL5 ,Kit m/två matchande BallistiX 128Megx64 got really crap reviews