Mobo for x3350

[bstew417]

Hey everyone,

I just ordered a new xeon x3350 and now I'm searching for a motherboard. I use my PC for gaming as well as video editing and 3d animation. I need x38 chipset for crossfire. I will do some moderate over clocking but I will NOT push this chip to its limits. The main issue here is stability. I currently have 4 gb's of OCZ Platinum Rev. 2 DDR2-800 4-4-4-15 that I will be using. I need the best price/performance out of my board.

I currently have 5 motherboards as options.

Gigabyte ga-x38-ds4 and Asus p5e being the cheaper end (I don't have tons of money.)
Then stepping up a little, Asus p53 ws pro, Asus Maximus Formula, and Gigabyte ga-x38-dq6.

I can find the money to buy the higher end motherboards, but if the ds4/p5e will be stable with a slight OC I'd rather go for one of those.

Thanks.

 

[Arcanedeath]

You can flash the P5E to the Maximus Formula or Rampage bios w/ Afudos and the right switches. the P5E is basicly the same board sans certain features, I have a Maximus and have been pretty happy but if your looking to save some cash the P5E isn't a bad choice. you do get more options and better cooling on the Maximus though depends if its worth it to you or not.
Edit Since you'll be using a Quad the Asus boards don't have sepearate GTL ref adjustments and could limit you quite a bit. So you may want to consider a DFI if your planing on pushing the Quad.

 

[bstew417]

I will not be pushing it. I will only slightly overclock it. I've seen a few places that the gigabyte ds4 ran a bit cooler than the p5e and I've had a gigabyte in the passed and liked it a lot, so I'm leaning towards it.

Is there anything definitively better about either the p5e or the ds4?

Thanks

 

[Xpoc]

I have the P5E and X38-DS4. They both work well with my Q9450.
My DS4 supports my cpu with F1 bios(first bios).
I had the quad installed in my P5E, but I felt the DS4 likes it better
I have an E8400 installed in the P5E.

The DS4 is easier to configure, so if you don't plan to OC much, go with that or the EX38-DS4.

The DS4 does OC just as good as the rest.