X38 Chipset Question

[brucek 38]

Does the X38 chipset offer either SLI or Crossfire (ATI) capability> I seem to see conflicting information about this ion the web. (Hopefully Davis is around :) ).Thanks, Bruce.

[Guest wayupthere]

Hey Bruce,Yeah Present ;)Right now X38 is mainly Crossfire ready, However have been talks with Nvidia that SLI should also be coming for the chipset (rumors I heard, and things Ive seen also during my last visit to Computex) Theres just still a Licensing agreement issue between Intel and NV.,but there already have be confirmed reports that SLI does infact work, and reports being it trumps the P35 in performance.Nothing concrete yet though, but I don't doubt concrete reports will arise sometime in the near future.Regards,

[brucek 38]

Hi Davis,Thanks for dropping in :)"and reports being it trumps the P35 in performance"I assume you are not referring not to SLI/Crossfire, as my knowledge of the P35 is that it does not support any form of dual graphics, although I could be wrong. Thanks for the info on the SLI possibility too.Bruce.

[Guest wayupthere]

Hey Bruce,Was referring to benchies being done with Crossfire.P35 will do dual GPU in the form of ATI ;)It's Nvidia, and its 3rd party licensing, what makes things a bit complicated..Regards,

[brucek 38]

Thanks Davis!

[Tabs 2,790]

Crossfire only at the moment...I just got a Gigabyte X38 board and I'm going through absolute #### getting it to work correctly - I don't know if this chipset is really ready for prime time yet. Probably going to return it for a P35 on Monday...

[brucek 38]

Interesting- I thought that Davis has a X38 chipset in his Gigabyte board too?Other than the potential to migrate to the newer CPU's, and a batter benchmark, what's the advantage of the the X38 offer over the P35?Thanks- I'd be real interested in any info you get on the X38, Ryan.Bruce.

[Guest wayupthere]

Yep I do Bruce,Ehh whats exactly going on Ryan?As to the difference Bruce, it's Graphics Bandwidth with Multiple GPUs running the new PCIe 2.0 (if your GPUs support PCIe ver. 2.0) and should give better performance, not just for games but during day to day use also.Other than that, there are a few small performance gains over the P35, but its mainly Crossfire aimed ATM.Regards,

[brucek 38]

Thanks Davis.Yes Ryan, I'm in a mobo-buying mode, so I would also appreciate any info on your issues. Have you tried any other mobos with this chipset, or is it just the GB version?I saw this review at Tom's:http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/10/31/x38...rt_1/index.htmland it sounded like the GB was a winner, at least for the OC'ers.Thanks, Bruce.

[Guest wayupthere]

Bruce,Be safe and get solid advice, forget about THG, if you want credible reviews go here for an example of worthy reviews: http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3120Would NEVER trust THG reviews, and im not alone in that feeling many others here would agree ;)Regards,

[brucek 38]

Thanks Davis,Having somewhat just enough knowledge to be dangerous about PC's, this is great advice, thanks. I will try the link you suggested.As always, thanks for your incredible insight into the technology side of this hobby, and a fellow pilot to boot :)Bruce.

[brucek 38]

Hi Davis,So, I've been fishing around anandtech.com, and found this recommended mobo:"Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R (S4516597) MotherboardPrice Range: $144.00 - $167.00 at 4 stores The GA-P35-DS3R is GIGABYTE high performance platform based on the killer combination of the Intel P35 chipset plus support for multi-core processors up to FSB 1333MHz, including the 45nm platform. The GA-P35-DS3R is also part of the GIGABYTE Ultra Durable 2 Series of motherboards, featuring top quality electronic components which provide optimized power savings, ultra cooling and extended system durability. "I know that this is the older P35 chipset, but I see support for the 42nm CPU's that are on the way. I assume no Crossfire support, but other than that, how would you rate this mobo compared to your GB X38 series, when using a INTEL CORE 2 QUAD Q6600 CPU?I also see no DDR3 support with this P35 board, but am still confused as to whether the X38 board that you currently have offers DDR3 or not?Thanks- Bruce.

[Guest wayupthere]

Hey Bruce,Thanks for your kind words *blush*Just to clear things up, the P35 chipset DOES support Crossfire.That P35 mobo is actually a really solid board, I have one running on another system. (stock, not overclocked)And yes that particular one won't do crossfire, since it only has one PCIe slot. Another thing to keep in mind is the lack of a firewire port and and extra USB 2.0 PCI bracket, there are only 4 on the board.. Just keep that in mind if you have many USB peripherals, and if you use firewire.Overall its good board, that does well.As to mine, Whilst the X38 chipset offers support to both DDR2 and DDR3. Gigabyte stayed with DDR2 ATM.Im still in the process of evaluating it, but as of yet.. I'm able to push it hard without issues. Compared to your P35, I would not say on par, but not THAT great of a difference.The biggest differences between the X38 and P35 chipsets, are the North Bridge chip, the added PCIe 2.0 (faster than PCIe 1.0, but not a great advancement, big changes to come with PCIe 3.0, but that still a while out) and the support for the ATM expensive DDR3.DDR3 is capable of running at 1333MHz which in turn offers quite a bit more bandwidth, which also makes it stand out. Whether DDR3 will be really worth it, will show in due time.So to sum it up, P35 Good and solid, with just a few minor "issues".Regards,

[brucek 38]

Thanks Davis, very interesting stuff. Like most people I have ususally just gone and bought a mobo on someone's recommendation, but it's sure fun to research the myriad of options available out there :)No doubt if I find an X38 board that will take DDR3, I will loose soemthing else that your's has :)Thanks- Bruce.

[Guest wayupthere]

hehe It's not only fun, its WISE and smart...;) Seen it soo many times, people just buy the same thing, as what somebody else has, without research, thinking hey they've got it so it must be good.I mean you see some one with a top of the line system, all the bells and whistles, SLI/CF, Special heatsinks, insane cooling etc..., then you ask them, so you use all that, and they go "No, but its there though"Many times, one can save alot of money if they'd only researched, and really think about what they need and don't need, but thats takes time, and unfortunately all too often thats a bit too much time.Mix it up, read reviews, ask for individual recommendations, and see what YOU actually need. With that you can be pretty safe, don't just focus on one part.Anywayyyyy...Gigabyte GA-X38T-DQ6 look for that, it has ALL the same as mine, just runs DDR3 ;)Regards,