p35 or x38

toothe · 19 Dec 2007 at 10:13

Which chipset?

building a new pc over xmas, will be a general use pc that will include gaming. i will be going with 3870's is crossfire (as i have 1 spare) and want to keep the build cheapish.

will prob be quad core cpu although not 100% yet.

what main pros and cons of these chipsets?

feriso · 19 Dec 2007 at 10:15

3870 have to have a crossfire mobo not sli

toothe · 19 Dec 2007 at 10:19

yeah, but both p35 and x38 support crossfire

topshot · 19 Dec 2007 at 10:32

x38 supports crossfire with 2 x16 whereas P35 is one x16 and one x8 isnt it?

If it was me i would go for P35 and a 8800GT

Iraklis F.C. · 19 Dec 2007 at 10:33

i had a x38 mobo and returned to p35. bios support is much better in p35 mobos , as the chipset is mature. and not to mention they are equally fast

schumi84 · 19 Dec 2007 at 10:35

The P35 chipset drops the second PCIE slot to 4x.

Even so, there isnt a particuarly big performance hit, as reviewed by Gibbo somewhere on the forums, will try to find the link.

/Edit http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17803543&highlight=3870+gibbo

that is the link to the 3Dmark results for both the 3870 and 3850, single card and xfire.

Hope this helps.

toothe · 19 Dec 2007 at 10:39

so p35 has same features of x38 except for the fast 2nd pxi16 lane?

p35 supports all the 45nm etc as well as i plan to have this pc for a while and want something upgradable/future proof etc

topshot · 19 Dec 2007 at 10:40

yes P35 supports 45nm etc

toothe · 19 Dec 2007 at 10:41

so the only advantage of x38 is dual 16pci-x lanes?

toothe · 19 Dec 2007 at 10:44

hmm what are the ocuk value boards like? seen one in the p35 section looks cheap.

topshot · 19 Dec 2007 at 11:14

never had one, it doesnt look too bad but is on pre order?

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard is worth a look

schumi84 · 19 Dec 2007 at 11:17

It all comes down to the features on the motherboard really. The cheaper ones may not come with as many USB ports, firewire, 7.1 sounds etc.
I have just picked up the P35 DS4 and it comes with 8 USB ports, 2 firewire, SPDIF, 7.1 HD sound.
The OCUK board you mention does look very good for the money, incorporating a number of points i have outlined above, will you be overclocking it at all, as there is another area to think about too.

toothe · 19 Dec 2007 at 11:42

no wont be overclocking it. not overly bothered about number of usb firewire etc.

would rather have 2 gbit lan ports etc.

another question (prob should be in cpu section) how much hotter do quad cores get compared to core 2 duos?

topshot · 19 Dec 2007 at 12:03

a fair bit hotter than dual cores, if you want a decent Air cooler for the Quad then go for a tuniq tower

mattyfez · 19 Dec 2007 at 12:10

I know on the Abit p35's at least, the more expensive ones have better quality capacitors, which in therory make the board more robust and longer lasting, bios features are probably more extensive also, but if your not a die hard overclocker it not such an issue.

toothe · 19 Dec 2007 at 12:13

just deciding what to do atm, opinions are great . ..

currently using a matx case / mobo with asus mobo and dual core cpu with a 3870xt. using it as a gaming machine atm. BUT i was going to move graphics card etc to new machine and use this as server (lots of vmware stuff etc). so if i took out the core2duo and put that in new machine and put the 3870 in the new machine and put a quad core in the matx?

or do i build new pc and keep current pc for gaming?