Moving to PCI-E advice.

modo77 · 31 Oct 2006 at 17:45

Hi all,

I'm in need of a new motherboard with PCI-E support. After one which has good overclocking capabilities and runs socket 939.

Any suggestions? had a look around but everyone seems to be talking about Intel at the minute.

I will be getting a G80 next year, I assume my X2 3800 will not create a bottle neck with that gpu? Or would I be better off with a complete upgrade?

semi-pro waster · 31 Oct 2006 at 18:21

A DFI Nforce 4 Ultra-D is my suggestion and should allow you to overclock nicely as well, subject to the limits of your chip of course.

Tetras · 31 Oct 2006 at 19:00

A stock X2 3800+ isn't ideal to be honest, a Core 2 Duo (especially overclocked) would be a much better partner. If it was me I'd strongly considering taking the opportunity to make a complete jump rather than spending money on another 939 board.

modo77 · 31 Oct 2006 at 20:18

Hmm, that would mean new ram too. This could get expensive :eek:

Are the new intel chips much better than the x2's?

CarlD · 31 Oct 2006 at 20:43

a lot better.

Tetras · 31 Oct 2006 at 20:50

Hmm, that would mean new ram too.

Not necessarily, there are some boards out there that accept Core 2 Duo and DDR (with not that much difference in performance too), this being one:
http://www.asrock.com/product/775Dual-VSTA.htm

Even with high end cards the performance hit from the 16X PCI-E being 4X isn't that great (near AGP 8x bandwidth) but naturally is preferable to have a "real" one. It makes quite a good stop gap board though and can be had for well under £40.

modo77 · 31 Oct 2006 at 21:52

Tetras said:
Not necessarily, there are some boards out there that accept Core 2 Duo and DDR (with not that much difference in performance too), this being one:
http://www.asrock.com/product/775Dual-VSTA.htm

Even with high end cards the performance hit from the 16X PCI-E being 4X isn't that great (near AGP 8x bandwidth) but naturally is preferable to have a "real" one. It makes quite a good stop gap board though and can be had for well under £40.

That board could come in handy if I was to switch back to intel. However not sure if the core 2 are worth changing right now. I'll have to find some benchmarks..
Only decided to U/G my video since its not letting me overclock it any more these days, and Crysis will be out in a bit.

Tetras · 31 Oct 2006 at 21:54

I'll have to find some benchmarks..

This is a start:
http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.html

modo77 · 31 Oct 2006 at 22:01

Tetras said:
This is a start:
http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.html

thanks. Funnily enough toms was the first place i went.

modo77 · 31 Oct 2006 at 22:29

Bah I'm fully blaming you all for the money I'm going to end up spending. I'm very tempted after looking at the benchmarks.

Got another question is the socket 775 going to be around for a while more? Or is the next one in the pipeline? I.e. is the quad core going to run on the 775?

Also

why on earth do a lot of these boards only have 1 pata connector

burtie · 31 Oct 2006 at 22:38

modo77 said:
Bah I'm fully blaming you all for the money I'm going to end up spending. I'm very tempted after looking at the benchmarks.

Got another question is the socket 775 going to be around for a while more? Or is the next one in the pipeline? I.e. is the quad core going to run on the 775?

Also why on earth do a lot of these boards only have 1 pata connector

Yes it will and yes it does and because of Sata.
I was in the same boat as you a few months ago i went out and spent x amount on 939 without looking into it first silly me wasted loads of cash.

modo77 · 31 Oct 2006 at 22:43

Yeah i know its because of sata, just that if they put one pata on and have a controller then why not stick 2 ports on.

Justs means I'd have to ditch a hard drive and a dvd burner. 3 hard drives and 2 dvd burners is exessive anyway.