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Which SLI motherboard to pair with Core 2 Duo?  

post #1 of 8
8/30/06 at 12:07pm
Thread Starter 
I'm lost in a sea of specs right now....

What are the motherboards of choice right now for a Core-2 Duo chip, overclocking on air, with two 16x PCI slots so i could go quad-sli in the future if I so chose to do that...

My goal is to drive games at playable framerates of 30fps or higher on my 1080p monitor for the forseeable future.

Right now my 3.4Ghz (oc'ed 3.0) P4 with 6800GT can't really get the job done on FEAR and some other FPS's at that resolution. Others like HL2 have wildly varying framerates again, due to the resolution.

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post #2 of 8
8/30/06 at 12:11pm
I've always been a fan of Asus motherboards.
post #3 of 8
8/30/06 at 12:58pm
Wait for thr Nvidia 590 for Intel mobos for the best SLI support. I am waiting for the one from DFI. See thread on where in heck are the 590 mobos.

Or if you cant wait there are a few NF4 SLI mobos that support conroes.
post #4 of 8
8/30/06 at 1:20pm
This is one of the reasons I decided to delay my Conroe system purchase. I was looking around and just couldn't find a motherboard that had all the features I was looking for (2xPCI-E dual 16 / SLI / ETC.).

The Nvidia 590 definitely looks like a winner though; any idea what they'll be going for when released (i'm assuming these are ~$300 boards)?

Oh, and the other reason I decided to delay my purchase is that the machine I was building hit $2K at an astonishing rate! :)
post #5 of 8
8/30/06 at 5:10pm
Thread Starter 
Street, your unbridled lust for more power is admirable.... :)

Yeah I noticed today that the number of motherboards that support Conroe are....few.
(Today was Day 1 of research, I had no idea most MB's couldn't take the chip).

I have accepted that this build will require me to skip the budget MB (I had a rule, never drop more than $100 on a MB)...but it looks like I might need to step up to $200 for this one.

The chip, interestingly enough, would be the cheapest component I buy.....I was even thinking of buying an Extreme, until I read all the articles saying how insanely overclockable and fast the "lesser chips" in the line were turning out to be.

Never one to turn my back on a huge overclocking bargain (Celeron 300a, P3 800Mhz, Pentium 1.4Ghz Northwood, and lately the 3.0Northwood), I find it hard to resist..but I might just have to wait on the 590 chipset.

Tinker, whats the deal with it...ie: whats it do "better"...
post #6 of 8
8/30/06 at 8:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HeadRusch
Street, your unbridled lust for more power is admirable.... :)


Tinker, whats the deal with it...ie: whats it to "better"...
It suuports the 2xgig LAN, SLI memory, Suppose to OC better then the nF4 for intel, and its SLI 16, and it supports conroe and not retro BIOS/voltage fix that the nF4 is. Just read up on some of the 590 AMD reviews. Also its the newest chipset from nVidia SLI and prob has a longer life span then the nF4 chipset. Native support of 6 SATA vs 4 with NF4 but will losse a iDE controller tho. Most 590 will come with HD audio (what ever its call?).
post #7 of 8
8/31/06 at 4:48am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tinker
It suuports the 2xgig LAN, SLI memory, Suppose to OC better then the nF4 for intel, and its SLI 16, and it supports conroe and not retro BIOS/voltage fix that the nF4 is.
Ok, Gigabit Lan = crap to me.....SLI Memory...whats this? I hear you on the OC, tho I read a recent bios update solves a bit of that issue...but...SLI 16? I thought the board had dual 16x slots..??

Or dual 16 meaning you can go Quad-SLI if you so chose to.

If I buy this system I'm not sure if I should get 1 of those 9550 (orwhatever they are called) Nvidia SLI-on-a-stick boards, or just go for the gusto and get a pair of 7900GSX's. I am driving a 1080p monitor.....

Quote:
Just read up on some of the 590 AMD reviews. Also its the newest chipset from nVidia SLI and prob has a longer life span then the nF4 chipset. Native support of 6 SATA vs 4 with NF4 but will losse a iDE controller tho. Most 590 will come with HD audio (what ever its call?).
YEah, the way my desk at home is configured I even dropped my rears so I just do 2+sub...these audio options are nice for someone who would use em tho.

Hmmmmm.....so wait on the 590 boards then eh?
post #8 of 8
8/31/06 at 8:15am
im waiting on the new asus board myself. it looks very nice i saw a little bit about it over at hardforum
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