Need a good @ MOBO for Q9450/E8500

[Zer0Cool]

Hello,

I'm currently in progress of choosing parts for my ultimate build. After doing lots of research about ddr2 and ddr3 memory I think I decided to go for DD2 because its cheep and some fast current ddr2 can beat ddr3. So that sad I need ur help please in choosing a good MOBO. I will be overclocking all of my components & I DON'T need an sli/crossfire mobo, I will only be using single card, like 9800GTX, 8800 GTS or maybe the GX2.

The board MUST have at least 3 PCI slots for 2 of my sound cards and 1 PCI ethernet card, and also needs to be compatible with Q9450 & E8500. The board must also be a good overclocker (I guess high FSB?). I don't care about the price! Also guys what are ur thoughts about the PCI 2.0 do I need it for the vid cards that I listed above? I wasn't able to find a mobo with PCI 2.0 and 3 PCI slots. If possible I would like to have it.

I also was told that if I will be doing a high @ on my pc, I would need a good RAM. I want 4gb of it (Crysis u know), something FAST! Again money is not an issue (be reasonable plz) I guess I can spend as much as $400 on RAM.

Here are my specs:

CASE: COOLER MASTER COSMOS S 1100 ATX Full Tower Computer Case.
MOBO: ???
RAM: ???
VidCard: 9800 GX2, 9800 GTX or 8800 GTS (don't know et)
CPU: Q9450 or E8500 (Haven't decided et)
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 (X2 raid 0)
OS: Vista 64 bit Ultimate/Win Xp 32 (Dual Boot)
……etc

Your help is greatly appreciated!

Thank you

 

[worshipme]

For a start, there are two chipsets to choose from, the P35 or X38. The 780i790i are great but they are seriously expensive and the Intel chipsets are actually better for overclocking. If you don't want to spend loads then a P35 would be best. I has all of the overclocking capabilities of an X38, but lacks PCI-E 2.0 support (not really a disadvantage ATM). I would recommend this P35: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130098 or this X38: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131219R Sure, it's an open box, but that's very cheap.

 

[Zer0Cool]

The links that you provided for the mobos, all of them have 2 pci slots, I am looking for 3.

Thanks for trying

 

[worshipme]

OK, hang on a sec.

 

[esa193]

id get nvidia 780i board- ddr2
or 790i board-ddr3

 

[Celegorm]

id get nvidia 780i board- ddr2
or 790i board-ddr3

Neither meet his requirement of 3 PCI slots.

I have yet to find an OC'er that will support three PCI.

 

[Zer0Cool]

I thought I found a good one, but after taking a clouser look maybe not, here is the link to the mobo i was thinking about: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136046&Tpk=DFI+x48

1st question, It has a standard memory of 800, what exacrtly does it mean? Does it mean I cant use more then 800 DDR2 ram? What If I want to use 1066+ RAM? Also can someone explain to me the what does PCI 2.0 does? How much of a performance increase will I get from usign it? lats say if I use 9800GTX card. This current model is T2R, anyone know when T3R coming out? T3R is DDR3 MOBO

Thanks

 

[worshipme]

I thought I found a good one, but after taking a clouser look maybe not, here is the link to the mobo i was thinking about: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136046&Tpk=DFI+x48

1st question, It has a standard memory of 800, what exacrtly does it mean? Does it mean I cant use more then 800 DDR2 ram? What If I want to use 1066+ RAM? Also can someone explain to me the what does PCI 2.0 does? How much of a performance increase will I get from usign it? lats say if I use 9800GTX card. This current model is T2R, anyone know when T3R coming out? T3R is DDR3 MOBO

Thanks

Yes, that has 3 PCI slots. I see no point in buying the X48 over the X38 but if you can't find an X38 with the required slots then...
The memory standard of 800 means that it takes a maximum speed of PC2 6400, you could almost definitely achieve higher speeds through OC'ing though.
PCI-E 2.0 doubles the bandwidth of PCI-E 1.1 from 2.5GB/s to 5GB/s. At this moment in time no cards benefit from the extra bandwidth. And don't bother waiting for the 9800GTX, it's probably going to be quite expensive and it doesn't perform much better than the 8800GTS G92, benchmarks here: http://translate.google.com/transla...803/1243353.html&langpair=zh|en&hl=en&ie=UTF8

EDIT: I found a good mobo with 3 PCI slots, it was right next to me all along: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131180

 

[Zer0Cool]

Thanks for the mobo link, but again If I use this board one of the pci slots will be taken by the Vid Card! At this Time I guess im not so worried about the PCI 2.0 as I am about the 800 standard memory...Grr I didnt know its going to be this hard to find an optimum mobo 4 me!

 

[worshipme]

I thought you said you just wanted three PCI slots, one for you PCI video card and two for sound cards.