So Many Boards To Choose From...

Rozzy85

Rozzy85

Rozzy85

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Joined
27 Jun 2008
Posts
1,538
Hi, I'm going to build a new PC soon but I can't decided whether to go AMD or Intel. I know the AMD's Phenom's aren't as fast as Intel's Core 2 Duo/Quad etc but the amount of different chipsets is putting me off. They also seem more expensive than AMD boards with equivalent features. What I really need to know is what are the real differences between the chipsets? I know some of the differences but I'm sure there are more. If I'm wrong please correct me. I'm also still undecided whether I'll go CF or go to it in the future so it wouldn't hurt to have it.

P35 - PCI-E V1.0 (two cards in CF operate at 8x)
P45 - PCI-E V2.0 (two cards in CF still operate at 8x)
X38 - PCI-E V2.0 (two cards in CF operate at 16x)
X48 - Same as above as far as I know. I don't know the real differences.

The biggest constant though is the cost. I don't really want to spend more than £150 on a board as it just seems a waste beyond that unless the extra cost justifies the extra features. It someone could recommend a board I'd appreciate that. :)
 
P35 has two 1.1 PCI-E slots - one running at 16x and one at 4x.
P45 has two 2.0 PCI-E slots - both at 8x
X38 has two 2.0 PCI-E slots - both at 16x
X48 has two 2.0 PCI-E slots - both at 16x

If it were me - i'd look at the OcUK x48 board. It's supposed to be very good. If you don't want Crossfire then go P45.
 
TaKeN said:
I think I read that the X48 is the better clocking chipset of the all those lot ?
Click to expand...

P45>P35>X38>X48 for overclocking. Not what you'd expect, I know.

If you only want 1 graphics card a P45 or P35 board will do very well indeed for you.
 
I've just noticed that the board I wanted only has 1 PCI slot. I'm going to need 2 minimum for my TV and sound card. The next Gigabyte board up in the P45 range is the GA-EP45-DS5 and has 2 PCI slots. However, it's price is neck and neck with the GA-X48-DS4.

For a single card solution would the GA-EP45-DS5 be better or should I go for a cheaper P45 board? I may overclock (Q6600) so if what you say about the X48 is true then the P45 would be better I guess. I don't mind trying a different manufacturer but I'm a little less willing to get a Asus again. Every Asus board I've had either died or had a defect.
 
I saw this on the front page menu thing and i thought it said "so many beards to choose from"

Just thought I'd share :)

move along, nothing to see here.
 
I'm going to need 2 minimum for my TV and sound card. The next Gigabyte board up in the P45 range is the GA-EP45-DS5 and has 2 PCI slots. However, it's price is neck and neck with the GA-X48-DS4.
Click to expand...
Yes but the P45 bios is much improved over the X48

I'm currently playing with
Gigabyte GA-EP45-EXTREME which is another variant similar to GA-EP45-DS5 compare the bios there to the Gigabyte X48T DQ6

luck:)
 
I bit the bullet and ordered last night. I went for the GA-EP45-DS5 in the end so it seems I made a good choice. :) Ordered it with a load of other parts to too (Q6600, 4870, Samsung T1 and Xonar D2). I'll finally be able to play Supreme Commander with full detail. My poor little Semprom 3000+ and 6800GS just can't cope with it.
 
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