Ok, I've got average experience with PC's but after reading through pages and pages of mainboard advice and reviews online I'm confused as hell... I've just bought 2 XFX "Alpha Dog" GeForce 9600 GT's, and though they'll be in different PC's, I want to upgrade my mainboard to an SLI capable for the future - it'll a cheap way to boost 1 outdated gaming rig in a few years! Plus I can barely fit it in my existing PC case and its bad airflow... I've decided to buy a better PC case, and an E8400 CPU to go in it - and am wondering what a decent mainboard choice would be? Basically I'm looking at SLI and DDR2 capable and decent cooling, hopefully with decent onboard audio. My mainboard budget is about £75-£100 max. I'll be re-using all my current components - which are listed in my profile. I know questions like this are everyday here, but I'd really appreciate some advice! I'm lost with all the chipsets and mainboard widget acronyms and stuff...
In your case you want SLI so the choice of chipset is limited to nVidia based boards with the nForce chipset, the popular Intel based boards are only compatible with Crossfire. Current nForce version appears to be 750i/780i but the 6 series seems to be still selling strong due to issues with the 7 series. I'm no expert on nVidia based boards so someone else should be able to suggest specific models. What case are you considering?
Yes, apologies if I should've posted in the Nvidia Videocard forum. I'm not certain of the exact PC case yet, but it'll be a standard tower one, I'm thinking spacious and maybe an exhaust fan. Coolings sensible as the PC's in a warmish slightly dusty environment (albeit vacuumed every few months). My current no-name PC case is cramped and "slim" and hell to work in - had to move the HDD just to get the 9600 GT in and could barely plug everything in due to lack of space. Ugh. I've heard of stability and video corruption issues with the 7 series - I had an Asustek P5N-D SLI recommended to me by a local PC upgrade company, but after reading very mixed reviews (mentioning heat and dodgy layout) I decided to ask here.
Update: Would an Asustek P5N-E be a solid choice for reliability, performance, and SLI (if I ever use it)? Again a local PC company's recommended it as a nice O/C'er and solid effort. They also suggested an Asustek P5K, tho non-SLI. Edit: after reading up on it, I see the P5N-E doesn't support 1333 FSB like an E8400 needs... or does it? I'm confused. Edit 2: Considering an Antec SOLO EC case, but a little worried about its Depth and the longer video cards...
lol I could buy c2d e8200 but this cpu doesn't support my mainboard by the fsb limit. I already did upgrade from pentium d820 to c2d e6600 and my mb works my cpu.
I have a P5K-E that I use with my E8400. It seems to be a pretty decent overclocker, although my O/C-ing experience is only very recent. I have had no issues whatsoever with this board's compatibility with the E8400. A regular P5K should be good as well, I should think. No SLI, but I don't use it. In my experience, on a budget, you can spend the same amount of money for two lower cards in SLI or a single higher-end GPU, and the single will almost always win. Also, I might note that I've OC-ed the processor to 3.6GHz easily with a 1:1 FSB:RAM ratio. 400MHz FSB with a 9x multiplier. G.Skill DDR2-1000 underclocked to 800MHz with tightened timings. 5-4-3-11 as opposed to 5-5-5-15.
You are in the proper forum, it's called Intel because it's about boards with Intel CPU's but these boards come with chipsets from various makes including both Intel and nVidia. You shouldn't vacuum the inside of a PC, vacuuming generates static electricity that can kill chips, I inadvertently terminated a soundcard that way some years back. I even heard of people sucking components off their board lol. Compressed air can be messy but it's the way to go. You can use either aerosol air (also called "keyboard cleaner") or a small compressor. Compressors are noisy but a much better value, canned air is usually overpriced. 90 psi will dislodge dust from spots you never suspected even existed, heck the first time I used my compressor it blew label stickers off stuff. Well from what I can tell the P5N-D has all the desirable features (16x + 16x SLI, PCIe 2.0, etc.) and appears to be a solid choice but if the 750i had early issues it may have affected reviewers' opinion of it. You may want to check if the more recent reviews tend to be more positive than earlier ones. As for the case one of the best ones with regards to space, layout and cooling performance is the Antec P182. It is very large, with the PSU and a hard drive cage in a separate compartment from other components. It can handle 11 internal hard drives, 4 optical drives and the longest, biggest video cards on the market won't interfere with other components. Internal airflow has been carefully designed to provide efficient cooling with the help of two large exhaust fans (1 at the back and 1 on top) and a large circulation fan amidships. Because the case is airtight save for the intakes in front there is no need for an intake fan, the 3 fans inside create a negative pressure effect that draws air in through filtered intakes, which minimizes dust ingestion. This is not a carnival type case with dozens of blinking lights though, it only has two discreet soft blue LEDS for power and HD activity monitoring. Panels are sandwich type with with soundproofing material between internal and external wall and the finish is a distinguished looking bluish dark gray "gunmetal" aluminum with glossy piano black trim. If you like the Solo you'll like the P182 which costs slightly more but is more than worth it. The finish appears black on most pictures but that's an optical illusion, in the "flesh" it's definitively dark gray. I was very pleasantly surprised when I opened the box
I'll vote fot the p182 also, very quiet and efficent. Your also able to run the psu leads beetween the outer case layer and internal soundproofing and back through holes to connect to source. I love it.
Thank you all. I've decided on a P5K - reliable, solid and a nice O/C. I wouldn't be SLI'ing now - it would be in a few years time, as a freebie performance increase - but it occurs to me that it wouldn't be that useful by then (won't DX10.1 etc be out and require a newer videocard anyway?). So, my new PC's will be (hopefully): E8400 Asustek P5K 2Gb DDR2 5300 XFX GeForce 9600GT 512Mb DDR3 Jeantech 500w PSU I can't afford that Antec 182... pity! Edit: Antec Solo doesn't look too bad.
P5K is good bang for the buck, give me an Intel board over nVidia anytime. Won't do SLI but Crossfire has less issues (if your next card(s) is/are ATi obviously). Anyway even with (single) nVidia cards Intel chipsets fare better than nVidia chipsets.
Yes, I keeping reading and being told Intel Chipsets = reliable. Never tried an ATI videocard, but from what I've read about the new ATI and Nvidia GPU's performance and pricing, that'll change :nerd: Now all I need is a cool, roomy PC case! And more money :bang:
Oh ya, ATi is definitely back in top shape. Plus the unexpected quality and popularity of Intel based boards is making ATi cards even more attractive.
