Advice on ASUS mobo for Q6600

[brucek 38]

Once again looking at upgrading from my current AMD 4800 X2 to a Q6600 quad. I tend to favor ASUS boards, although am not locked into them if comething better is around for the same $$. Can anyone advise on a board to run the Q6600? Also any advice on memory would be appreciated.Thanks- Bruce.

[Guest wayupthere]

Hello Bruce,Well two that would definatly do an excellent job.You can have a look at the GIGABYTE GA-X38-DQ6.It features the X38 chipset, which will fully support the still to come 45nm CPUs (Wolfdale & Yorkfield cores), very nice futurewise. The only caveat is that it will only run DDR2 and not DDR3 which makes that part not future proof.. One thing to note is that it only has 1 PATA connector, now if your drives are primarily SATA, then you wont have any issues with it being absent.If you like you said prefer Asus, the ASUS P5K is a very good to work with, very stable.That board runs on the P35 chipset, it won't support the 45nm CPUs, and runs also on DDR2. Again the downside is that it only has 1 PATA connector.These are just two, out of many good to excellent boards on the market. Maybe you can give a bit more insight about your wishes? You want WiFi? Want to run DDR2 or 3? Have a board ready for 45nm now or not? Onboard sound? need a IEEE 1394 port?I know a lot of questions, but theres a broad range of options per board..making one more expensive or cheaper as options are added....Having your answers will help narrow down your perfect match.Regards,

[brucek 38]

Thanks Davis. Good to hear from you :)I would like onboard sound, which for some reason works better than my Z2S Audigy (now removed) (I see a comment in the FSX forum that someone else has better results with the on-board too, then the Creative product).Although I have never utilized SLI, it might be good to have the capacity to do so- or is this something of the past?Only 1 PATA connector is not an issue, all my HD's are SATA.I would like a IEEE 1394 port for my video editing.I like the capcity to move forward into the 45nm CPU's. I would see this of more benefit than the DDR-3 memory capability (any comments, Davis?).One last side-question- when are the 45nm CPU's due to come on the market?Thanks again for all your help. Bruce.

[Guest wayupthere]

Hey Bruce,Ok well the Onboard vs. Off board sound is still a battle. Off board will give better performance, being in the audio industry I stand behind that only, But ok.. but i guess for FS onboard it fine ;)As to SLI, some insight, it has always been a thing of the past, since SLI was around years ago, amongst the users of it were the old VooDoo GPUs, the only difference is that you needed to loop a cable on the outside from card to card, instead of the now SLI-Bridge adaptor ;)Its it useful now?, well depends on what programs/Games you are (going) to run. Other than FSX I run SLI in some FPS and video rendering c,q graphics intensive programs (making music-videos etc) and do get a very nice boost, again depends on the end user. One thing to note is that work is already being done on Tri- and Quad SLI mobos..As to the 45nm CPUs, the "expected" lauch date of the first batch of 45nm CPUs the Core 2 Extreme QX9650, housing the Wolfdale die is set to be the 11th of Nov 07, so pretty much around the corner according to Intels press release earlier this month.Well both the 45nm and the DDR3, are a good thing. Difference being that there is already DDR3 on the market, whilst not yet any 45nm CPUs.Best benefit you'll get with DDR3 over DDR2 is lower power consumptions, faster reachable speeds, which lends itself to less heat and "lower" engery bill.Hope sofar your still with me ;)So after all this, which path you want to go? 45nm ready and DDR3 or stick with current tech for now?.

[brucek 38]

"So after all this, which path you want to go? 45nm ready and DDR3 or stick with current tech for now?."Thanks Davis-I'll take the 45nm ready (do any boards offer both that and the DDR3?) I'll take the DDR3 if available.Bruce.

[Guest wayupthere]

Good news for you ;)ASUS P5E3 X38 Chipset, DDR3 and all the rest you wish for is on that board. No doubt that that will do you good for a good while to come. Just not "yet" super available outside of Asia, so shop around.Accompanying article here: http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3098&p=9Somewhat outdated, since the article was made a bit before retail launch but very good info none the less.

[brucek 38]

Thanks Davis,It sounds worth waiting for. Looks like around $250 US, from what I can see.Thanks again, it's good talking with you :)Bruce.

[Guest wayupthere]

Glad to help Bruce :)Btw, how did the whole G1000 work out?Regards,

[brucek 38]

Thanks Davis.I love the G1000, so much info as long as you know where to look for it. Makes the "steam" C172 look like a Mad Dog :)Bruce.