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Which motherboard?



 
 
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  #1  
Old October 12th 08, 04:27 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Larc[_3_]
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Posts: 383
Default Which motherboard?

I have to buy a new motherboard but want to keep the same CPU (Pentium D 945),
which I'm very happy with. This is what I've narrowed down to:

ASRock Penryn 1600SLI-110dB - Nvidia nForce 650i chipset (2 IDE & LPT)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157120

Asus P5Q SE - Intel P45 chipset

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131333

Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R - Intel P45 chipset (LPT header)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128359

Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L - Intel P35 chipset (LPT)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128337

MSI P7N Platinum - Nvidia nForce 750i chipset (2 IDE)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130159

MSI P7N SLI-FI - Nvidia nForce 750i chipset (2 IDE)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130175

The ASRock Penryn is the only board that's got everything I want on it, but I'm
a little wary of the 650i chipset. Shortcomings on other boards can be overcome
by adding a PCI card on those that don't have two IDE connectors and a USB to
LPT adapter cable for those that don't have a parallel port. Right now, I'm
leaning more toward the Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L since it at least has a parallel
port and an Intel chipset, which I'd feel more comfortable with than Nvidia.

Any opinions? Or maybe other motherboards I should consider? I want something
that supports Pentium D obviously, has four memory slots supporting at least
DDR2 800, has three PCI slots (two are OK if it has two IDEs) and has a floppy
connector. Ideally, the board would have a parallel port and two IDE
connectors.

All the boards on my list have a three years parts and labor warranty except
MSI, which has three years parts and two years labor. That's good since I never
tend to keep the same board in my main system for more than three years anyway.

Thanks for any help.

Larc
  #2  
Old October 12th 08, 08:07 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
John Weiss[_3_]
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Posts: 63
Default Which motherboard?


"Larc" wrote...
I have to buy a new motherboard but want to keep the same CPU (Pentium D 945),
which I'm very happy with. This is what I've narrowed down to:

ASRock Penryn 1600SLI-110dB - Nvidia nForce 650i chipset (2 IDE & LPT)
Asus P5Q SE - Intel P45 chipset
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R - Intel P45 chipset (LPT header)
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L - Intel P35 chipset (LPT)
MSI P7N Platinum - Nvidia nForce 750i chipset (2 IDE)
MSI P7N SLI-FI - Nvidia nForce 750i chipset (2 IDE)


Any opinions? Or maybe other motherboards I should consider? I want
something
that supports Pentium D obviously, has four memory slots supporting at least
DDR2 800, has three PCI slots (two are OK if it has two IDEs) and has a floppy
connector. Ideally, the board would have a parallel port and two IDE
connectors.


Biggest obstacle is already overcome -- you decided which features are
important.

Next question is whether you will ever use SLI. If not, then any of the above
will work.

I'm happy with my Gigabyte DS4s (1 P35 and 1 X48). If you are sticking with
your old IDE Hs, a plethora of SATA ports may not be important to you, so the
EP35-DS3L should work just fine for now. You can find IDE adapters in either
PCI or PCIe x1 (less popular, but with a eSATA bonus in
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16816124022), unless you
need more than a single additional IDE port (2 devices).

Tom's Hardware has a good nForce 650 review at
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...ster,1566.html.
Though it was written 18 months ago, it kept up with the then-current MoBos.

So, the final question is, which is more important to you NOW -- price and
backward compatibility, or future upgradability/tweakability (PCIe 2.0, higher
RAM clock)? If the former, your AsRock choice seems appropriate.


  #3  
Old October 12th 08, 09:08 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Larc[_3_]
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Posts: 383
Default Which motherboard?

On Sun, 12 Oct 2008 12:16:36 -0400, Blattus Slafaly
wrote:

| I have an AS Rock and I like it. Before this I was an MSI advocate and
| they worked the best for me. I use AMD processors.
| I am also surprised by a PCChips board I have which works quite well.

I've owned more MSI boards than all others combined and have always liked them.
But in this case it's the Nvidia chipsets I'm concerned about. The only time I
ever strayed away from Intel chipsets, I got burned (VIA). And that was a Tyan
board I paid more for than any other board I ever bought.

I wish MSI made a P45 board that supports Pentium D or a P35 that otherwise
meets my needs, but they don't.

Larc
  #4  
Old October 12th 08, 11:21 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Larc[_3_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 383
Default Which motherboard?

On Sun, 12 Oct 2008 12:07:16 -0700, "John Weiss"
wrote:

| "Larc" wrote...
| I have to buy a new motherboard but want to keep the same CPU (Pentium D 945),
| which I'm very happy with. This is what I've narrowed down to:
|
| ASRock Penryn 1600SLI-110dB - Nvidia nForce 650i chipset (2 IDE & LPT)
| Asus P5Q SE - Intel P45 chipset
| Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R - Intel P45 chipset (LPT header)
| Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L - Intel P35 chipset (LPT)
| MSI P7N Platinum - Nvidia nForce 750i chipset (2 IDE)
| MSI P7N SLI-FI - Nvidia nForce 750i chipset (2 IDE)
|
| Any opinions? Or maybe other motherboards I should consider? I want
| something
| that supports Pentium D obviously, has four memory slots supporting at least
| DDR2 800, has three PCI slots (two are OK if it has two IDEs) and has a floppy
| connector. Ideally, the board would have a parallel port and two IDE
| connectors.
|
| Biggest obstacle is already overcome -- you decided which features are
| important.
|
| Next question is whether you will ever use SLI. If not, then any of the above
| will work.

Never! It just happens to be on the Nvidia boards. I couldn't find anything
comparable in the ASRock and MSI stables without it.

| I'm happy with my Gigabyte DS4s (1 P35 and 1 X48). If you are sticking with
| your old IDE Hs, a plethora of SATA ports may not be important to you, so the
| EP35-DS3L should work just fine for now. You can find IDE adapters in either
| PCI or PCIe x1 (less popular, but with a eSATA bonus in
| http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16816124022), unless you
| need more than a single additional IDE port (2 devices).

Looks nice, but a local computer shop has a PCI card with two IDE connectors for
about $20. A big plus with that is if it doesn't work right, I can have it back
in the shop in ten minutes.

| Tom's Hardware has a good nForce 650 review at
| http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...ster,1566.html.
| Though it was written 18 months ago, it kept up with the then-current MoBos.

That makes me feel a little better about Nvidia, but it also says the 650i is
older technology now.

| So, the final question is, which is more important to you NOW -- price and
| backward compatibility, or future upgradability/tweakability (PCIe 2.0, higher
| RAM clock)? If the former, your AsRock choice seems appropriate.

You've nailed the big question. In the past I've made a habit of buying more
"seasoned" technologies. That has usually meant I've had to buy a new
motherboard and sometimes even new RAM with every CPU upgrade. Since I'll
probably be moving from the Pentium D to Core 2 Duo or Quad sometime next year,
I thought it might be a good idea to prepare for that now. That's why all the
boards listed, even the ASRock, could handle an upgraded CPU. Of course, DDR2
800 RAM would be max on that and on the MSI boards. Both Gigabytes and the Asus
would allow RAM upgrades. The latter three have more OCing options as well, but
that's not a consideration for me.

BTW, do you know if there are significant performance penalties if a PCIe 16x
2.0 video card is used in a regular PCIe 16x slot?

Decisions, decisions!

Thanks for the great info, John.

Larc
  #5  
Old October 12th 08, 11:56 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
John Weiss[_3_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 63
Default Which motherboard?

"Larc" wrote:


| So, the final question is, which is more important to you NOW -- price and
| backward compatibility, or future upgradability/tweakability (PCIe 2.0,
higher
| RAM clock)? If the former, your AsRock choice seems appropriate.

You've nailed the big question. In the past I've made a habit of buying more
"seasoned" technologies. That has usually meant I've had to buy a new
motherboard and sometimes even new RAM with every CPU upgrade. Since I'll
probably be moving from the Pentium D to Core 2 Duo or Quad sometime next
year,
I thought it might be a good idea to prepare for that now. That's why all the
boards listed, even the ASRock, could handle an upgraded CPU. Of course, DDR2
800 RAM would be max on that and on the MSI boards. Both Gigabytes and the
Asus
would allow RAM upgrades. The latter three have more OCing options as well,
but
that's not a consideration for me.


If you're going to go for a 45nm CPU any time soon, you better check the
compatibility on any older MoBo. Some of the P35s promised it with future BIOS
upgrades, but I've been burned by that promise in the past. If you are looking
at a CPU upgrade in the near future, the P45 is a much better option.

Also, RAM clock will be a chokepoint if you upgrade the CPU but are limited to
DDR2 800 RAM...


BTW, do you know if there are significant performance penalties if a PCIe 16x
2.0 video card is used in a regular PCIe 16x slot?


I suspect you won't notice it if you aren't a gamer using a high-end card or a
pair of cards.


  #6  
Old October 13th 08, 12:59 AM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Larc[_3_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 383
Default Which motherboard?

On Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:56:30 -0700, "John Weiss"
wrote:

| If you're going to go for a 45nm CPU any time soon, you better check the
| compatibility on any older MoBo. Some of the P35s promised it with future BIOS
| upgrades, but I've been burned by that promise in the past. If you are looking
| at a CPU upgrade in the near future, the P45 is a much better option.

In the list of supported CPUs, Core 2 Duos to the E8600 (3.33GHz Wolfdale) and
Core 2 Quads to the Q9650 (3.0GHz Yorkdale) are shown for the P35 Gigabyte. In
all, it's a rather impressive list of supported processors assuming it's right.

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/M...ProductID=2778

There are probably some areas I missed, but I haven't been able to dig out many
differences between the P45 and P35 other than P45 support for PCIe 2.0 and 16GB
of RAM as opposed to a max of 8GB for the P35. Since I'm pretty much married to
32-bit XP, I don't anticipate needing more than 2GB for the foreseeable future.

Larc
  #7  
Old October 13th 08, 02:47 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Larc[_3_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 383
Default Which motherboard?

I finally got tired of weighing the pluses and minuses and just ordered the one
I wanted most:

Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R with Intel P45 chipset

Thanks very much for all the help.

Larc
  #8  
Old October 13th 08, 07:06 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
John Weiss[_3_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 63
Default Which motherboard?

"Larc" wrote...
I finally got tired of weighing the pluses and minuses and just ordered the one
I wanted most:


Good plan! :-)


Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R with Intel P45 chipset


Should do you well!


 




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