Gaming mobo (w/ocing)

bluebird14 · 30 Jan 2008 at 17:53

Which would be better:-

An nforce mobo with the possibility of 2/3 cheapish cards
or an intel mobo with 1 really expensive card

and any suggestions for a good one! (anythin up to £250)

Itll have an intel QX9650 and 2Gb Dominator PC2-8500

thnx in advance

Tetras · 30 Jan 2008 at 19:24

Which would be better:-

An nforce mobo with the possibility of 2/3 cheapish cards
or an intel mobo with 1 really expensive card
and any suggestions for a good one! (anythin up to £250)

For what? Games at 1280 x 1024?

It is almost always the case that spending your entire budget on one card is a better option than two cards of half the price (in short: Crossfire/SLI give unreliable performance gains and you'd be using more space/slots and potentially higher power consumption/heat output).

For £250 you could have one of the latest and greatest GPUs (8800 GT or HD 3870 XT) and a decent P35 board. Job done!

bluebird14 · 30 Jan 2008 at 21:07

Too be honest i dont have a budget and im just looking to make my current rig as best a possible(without going overboard) and i was looking at SLI because it was really a cheap alternative to buying a whole new mobo just for a GPU but now im thinking of getting the 8800 GTS 512MB but what mobo will be the best for games while still being a gd OC'er?

I would go with two of the GTSs but will i be able to see the difference

Tetras · 30 Jan 2008 at 21:17

and i was looking at SLI because it was really a cheap alternative to buying a whole new mobo just for a GPU

I don't understand, how is SLI a cheap alternative to buying a new mobo for a GPU? Do you already have a motherboard?

There isn't such thing as a motherboard for games, they are all "good" for games, there is next to no performance difference between any LGA775 board (overclocking performance yes, performance at the same settings, no).

I would go with two of the GTSs but will i be able to see the difference

From what? One 8800 GTS? If you don't say what games/resolution/settings you play at, it is impossible to say. For most games (bar DX10 mode) a single 8800 GTS would be enough and you'd notice nothing from having two but if you play at high resolutions it would start to struggle.

bluebird14 · 30 Jan 2008 at 21:34

Tetras said:
Do you already have a motherboard?

yes , sorry if i didnt make tht clear. but ive already got a computer but im looking to make it better. And what im looking for is a really good overclocking board and i know that sli boards arent very good, so im looking at whether its worth it to egt an sli board or just get 1 really gd gpu.

I would go with two of the GTSs but will i be able to see the difference

and yeah i meant see the difference between having 1 and 2 of them.

Tetras · 30 Jan 2008 at 21:46

yes , sorry if i didnt make tht clear. but ive already got a computer but im looking to make it better

What motherboard do you have now? What is too slow that you are unhappy with? I am assuming the gaming performance, in which case what GPU are you wanting to upgrade?

so im looking at whether its worth it to egt an sli board or just get 1 really gd gpu

Like I mentioned above, it depends on what resolution/games/settings you play at, if you are happy with 1280 x 1024 then a single 8800 GTS should be fine.

An 8800 Ultra is £400 (so, double the price) for what is really just a cooler and a clock speed bump. The sub-£300 HD3870 X2 is faster but when it comes down to it, it is little more than 2x 3870 XTs plugged together (and suffers from the same weaknesses, most notably performance heavily reliant on drivers).

If you aren't very demanding on settings I would suggest you stick with a single 8800 GT or GTS. Faster performance comes at a considerable premium with the 8800 Ultra and driver reliant weakness on the 3870 X2.

If you expect to game at high resolutions with max settings in the very latest games then a single 8800 GTS isn't gonna cut it and you need SLI or 3870 X2, it really is that simple.

bluebird14 · 30 Jan 2008 at 22:00

right so are there any really good overclockers tht hav sli cos all ive read is tht they mostly run unstable.

Tetras · 30 Jan 2008 at 22:09

Well, last I read there are still question marks about whether 680i will support Yorkfield so I'd rule that out (at least without research into the board first, as some seem to work ok) making these 780 and 750 boards the first to consider: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=5&subid=1057

They offer official(ish) support for 45nm CPUs and PCI-E 2.0 but whether they are actually an improvement (over 680i) and overclock better I have no idea. You will need to scour the forums (would look at XS too) for OC reports and reviews, not many people have one yet.

bluebird14 · 30 Jan 2008 at 22:20

right thnx. sorry if ive been a bit confusen. but im relativly noobish so im still gettin in to things.
im lookin at the MSI P7N Diamond nForce 780i and the Asus Striker II Formula so i might just buy one of those then see how it goes

Tetras · 30 Jan 2008 at 22:28

As you are by your own admission "relatively noobish" and don't sound certain you care about SLI, I would suggest you avoid £200+ 780i boards. If you have problems with one there will be no one to help you. Judging by your purchase of a QX9650 money is not an issue but it is still a lot of money for a (potentially) dud board and the experience may kill your enthusiasm for PC gear...

If you just want something to play with get a decent, mature P35 board like the MSI Neo2-FR, P5K-E or Abit IP35. That way there are loads of informative threads to read, people on the boards to help out and you won't lose a bunch of dosh if you want to sell it on later to try 780i SLI. It would have been better to start with a cheaper CPU, like an E8200, but I think you already have and used the QX9650.....

bluebird14 · 30 Jan 2008 at 22:52

okay maybe i suldnt have sed tht. i started with an msi p6n sli and an e6300 and i got a little annoyed after i managed to get a stable 2.9 then when i unplugged it once it made it unstable and i was set back to square 1. so im pretty ****** with cheap stuff and im gettin the best i can. and i havnt bought anything for what is essentially goin to be a new rig all together. ive been waiting for some money and now im about to get a lot of it i plan on spending a lot.

Tetras · 30 Jan 2008 at 23:05

If you just want a fresh start go with an E8200 and a mature, respected P35 board. That would be £200 or so and should retain a decent re-sale value (with the E8200 being the newest technology and P35 boards very well regarded for performance, value and stability).

The QX9650 is ridiculously expensive for what it is and I guarantee just cos 780i boards cost a lot of money does not mean they are good! The truth is that considering the 680i chipset the chances are they are *not* good and you are heading for an even worse experience than the last one.

By all means check 780i boards out but as yet articles like this (http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=373) are all that is out there. Buyer beware.