Please help me pick an appropriate mother board. (Solved)

Farout Foolio

Hey there, I'm currently running an Asus PQ5 with a single PCIe 16 slot. (This guy)
And am looking to replace it with a board that is sli capable, because I already have one nvidia card.
(I was foolish and purchased parts without understanding the difference between xfire and sli. )

All I'm looking for is something reliable with 4 DDR3 slots and 2 PCIe slots.
As always, your help is appreciated. 8-)

As for price range, aboot 200 is where I'm looking.

Bartholamue

Are you sticking with Asus, or are you willing to be open to other suggestions?

Farout Foolio

Any brand, as long as it's a reasonably reliable brand.
And it must support SLI, as that is my entire reason for getting a new mobo.

Bartholamue

I think I've found one (if you're going for Intel i7 processors):

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX24713%28ME%29.aspx

I have an older Gigabyte motherboard, and it has served me well for well over a year. It's probably good if you poke around sites like that, ncix, and newegg for the specs you want, because there are literally tons of motherboards, and when I was looking for one, it took quite awhile for me to choose the one I wanted.

Farout Foolio

Do I *have* to use an i7 for that, or can I use my Core Duo until I have the dosh for one?
Also, the Ram slots should be compatible with DDR2 chips, right? They're in the correct frequency list, but I'm not sure if that includes DDR2 and 3.

Bartholamue

I'm pretty sure DDR slots are backwards compatible, as well as the video card slots (as in, if you just have a PCIe non 2.0 video card, it would still work). The i7 processor has a different slot type, so I don't think dual/quad core processors will work. I'll try looking for one that does have that capability.

Esh

Farout Foolio wrote: »

Do I *have* to use an i7 for that, or can I use my Core Duo until I have the dosh for one?
Also, the Ram slots should be compatible with DDR2 chips, right? They're in the correct frequency list, but I'm not sure if that includes DDR2 and 3.

You do have to use an i7 for that.

What kind of RAM (speed and type) and what kind of processor are you currently using. How much do you want to spend?

Farout Foolio

I'm using and Intel 2.8 core duo, and 4 1GB DDR2 800MHz ram chips.
Looking to spend aboot 200 bucks.

dispatch.o

Bartholamue wrote: »

I'm pretty sure DDR slots are backwards compatible, as well as the video card slots (as in, if you just have a PCIe non 2.0 video card, it would still work). The i7 processor has a different slot type, so I don't think dual/quad core processors will work. I'll try looking for one that does have that capability.

No. DDR2 will not fit in a DDR3 slot.

Edit: That being said, it's very rare that the memory speed is the choke point. I wouldn't waste money on DDR3 right now.

b0bd0d

I got an evga 680i bout a year ago. I guess they don't sell that version any more, but they got the newer seven series out now. I really like it and the options for overclocking and tweaking are pretty serious. I think they got an upgrade policy where if you buy a product, you can upgrade and apply the cost to a better version within ninety days of purchase. Might wanna check the website. The warranty is lifetime or something too. I'm running a quad core from 2.4ghz to 3.1ghz on air with some pretty tight ram settings and dont really have any problems. The stuff I read at the forums dealing with dual cores looked like you could really overclock em.

tsmvengy

Don't even bother with SLI unless you already have the motherboard to support it.

Between the motherboard and a second video card you will be spending enough money to just get a better single video card.

ALSO DDR2 and DDR3 are NOT cross-compatible. So if you have a motherboard now that has DDR2 you need a new one that also does DDR2, NOT DDR3.

What video card are you running right now?

Farout Foolio

Right now I'm using a 1GB 9800 GT.
I also have a 512MB 9800 GT, which I got for helping a friend move. He has one of those super 200 series ones now.
So I don't have to invest in a new video card, which is cool.

After an afternoon of poking around I have found This Card which seems to fit all the listed criteria. Can anyone see any potential issues with it?

tsmvengy

Can you SLI those cards? I was under the impression that they had to be identical.

Dman

tsmvengy wrote: »

Can you SLI those cards? I was under the impression that they had to be identical.

I don't know if you can sli them or not.

It looks like you can get a GTX260 for $200....so sell both your current video cards for $75 each and buy the gtx260? Seems like a better move than a new mobo.

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=4942636&sku=P450-0264&SRCCODE=CANWGOOCAVID&cm_mmc_o=7BBTkwCjC-p8ByplCjCabTwyKbywgfCjCmH4

Lasgar

If you do decide to go with a gtx260 here is a good deal on one
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130433
177 bucks after rebate(I have done rebates on multiple EVGA products and always got the rebate without trouble) plus a free copy of Batman Arkham Asylum.
I have the older version of this card(192 core) and have been very satisfied with it. It overclocks pretty well and EVGA has a nice overclocking tool. Also has a lifetime warranty.
I sold my old 8800GT for about 105 bucks on ebay around 8 months ago, so you should be able to get 75 for each of your cards no problem like Dman said.

Farout Foolio

That card *is* pretty super, but it uses DDR3 Ram, will that work on my current board?
Is it okay because it's in a video card?

dispatch.o

Farout Foolio wrote: »

That card *is* pretty super, but it uses DDR3 Ram, will that work on my current board?
Is it okay because it's in a video card?

Yes, it's fine. Your power supply may shit and explode but it's fine.

tsmvengy

Farout Foolio wrote: »

That card *is* pretty super, but it uses DDR3 Ram, will that work on my current board?
Is it okay because it's in a video card?

Yes, the type of RAM you motherboard supports has no bearing on the type of RAM your video card can have.

Personally I would go with this card:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150394

Pretty much the equal of the GTX 260 (slightly better in some games, slightly worse in others) and it's much cheaper even when you count the rebate on the 260.

Farout Foolio

Well that's pretty neat. Since all you guys seem to be pretty sure that a single awesomer video card is the answer, I guess I'll pursue that avenue instead.
Hehe, why not both, I'm sure my power supply could handle two 260's. >.>
Anyway, I guess I have the answer I need, so thanks a bunch, guys.