Help! Which mobo to get for my new box.

[Guest Steve_TO]

Has anyone had experience using the BFG 680i mobo. I am also considering the EVGA 680i and the Asus P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe. The prices for the boards are BFG- $330, EVGA $295, ASUS $285 all canadian dollars from www.canadacomputers.com My spec are:- INTEL E6600 CPU- 2GB OCZ (OCZ2P800R22GK) DDR2 PC2-6400 2GB (2x1024MB)Platinum Revision 2 XTC Dual Channel Kit - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA NCQ 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache (OEM)- LiteOn LH-20A1H 20X DVD-Writer, Black, LightScribe, OEM- 2- BFG 7950 GT OC Video cards(non SLI mode)- 1- BFG 7600 GT OC Video Card- Enermax Phoenix Black Elegant 3.0mm diamond-cut and hair-brushed Aluminum Case- 2-Silverstone 120x120x25 Dual Ball Bearing Case Fan with Speed Controller/Max CFM 105- OCZ (OCZ700GXSSLI) GameXStream 700 Watt Power Supply, Dual GPU, SLI compable I plan on running six displays and although I am a newby to the whole overclocking game, I would like to learn. I am open to all suggestion and thanks in advance for the help.

[Guest Steve_TO]

Well guys I have been pm'ing Jason and he has been very helpfullin providing me with good info to make the right decision. I have decide to go with the EVGA mobo. The reason's being the lifetime warranty, EVGA's encouragement to OC, the EVGA forum and the $35price difference from the BFG. I also returned my BFG 7600 card and am start out with the 2 BFg 7950 Gt OC's for now and then will add a EVGA 8800 GTX later on, money permiting. In terms of the ram, thanks to Jason again I found out that my OCZ Platinum Rev2 DDR2 6400 was not recomended by EVGA so I went with 2 Gigs Corsair DDR2 Twin2X Matched 6400 ram. This was on sale and is quite similar to the Corsair Dominator ram. I am also using a Zalman CNPS7700-Cu for CPU cooling. I choose this fan because my case has a huge side fan and clearance is an issue. This is my first build so I am quite excited to see this baby fire up. Well got to go and put this thing together. Will report back with pics and results. Again thanks a lot Jason for all your help.

[Bob Scott]

Recommend that you not install the small eVGA NorthBridge fan...the 7700's fan will cool the NB just fine, and in fact the NB fan and the 7700 fan work against each other if they're both installed. The fins on the 7700 will interlace with the fins on the NB fan slightly...they may even touch, which is no problem.Also, take care with the 7700 backplate...you need to use a dremel or file to remove some of the plastic on the back plate to prevent crunching the surface-mounted caps and resistors on the back of the mobo.RegardsBob ScottATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VSantiago de Chile

[Guest Steve_TO]

Hi Bob. Thanks for the information on the fan istalation, it is great advise. The EVGA forum was also quite helpfull in providing pictures and instalation procedures for the Zalman fans. After a little more research on cases and fans I have decided to exchange my case for the Antec 900. The power supply is located on the bottom and it has two 120mm fans up front, one 120 mm in the top back and a 200mm on top of the case. It also has attachments for optional fans on the side to cool the video cards. Since I will have more lateral room in this case I will go with the Zalman CNPS9700. By orienting the air flow up towards the 200mm top fan I hope to be runing at quite low temps. Here is the link for the case if anyone is inteested:http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?d...1391&cid=CS.664

[Bob Scott]

FWIW, I just replaced the Zalman 7700 with a Tuniq Tower. Got a 12 deg C drop in CPU temps over the Zalman. The Tuniq mounting screws fit into the Zalman backplate, so I used it with the Tuniq rather than have to sweat the SMD clearances again with its backplate...CheersBob ScottATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VSantiago de Chile