Motherboard for Q9450

[Chilli911]

Hey Guys/Gals,

Im a n00b to the forums and really have just been using this site to get help deciding what to deck out my new system with.

So far i only know

Intel q9450
and Geforce 8800GT
with ddr2 ram

I really am having trouble finding a motherboard to stick all this in, I would like to Go to SLI in the future and it seems that most boards recommended are running an Intel Chipset which dont support SLI right?

So any help would be GREAT.

Also if anyone has any advice on a Good case/power supply it would help too

 

[bastula]

welcome to the forums!

you are right...intel chipsets do NOT support SLI, but they do support crossfire...

i have a similar setup and boat that you are in...im waiting for intel to release their P45 chipset motherboards (which should be here in a few days/weeks). that is a good choice for you, and if you dont feel like waiting that long, the intel P35 chipset is the way to go.

if you want sli, go with the nvidia 750i chipset. its cheap, its rock solid and it does SLI.

good case - thats mainly up to you (personal preference/choice), but antec, cooler-master, thermaltake, lian-li are good, solid brands to start off with. i have a lian li myself and i can say that its beautifully well made, although you pay a bit of a premium for it

psu wise, any name brand 500W psu should be good enough for you, like antec, enermax, etc.

hope that helped!

 

[Shimmishim]

For SLi I am going to agree with the above poster and say 750i is the way to go unless you want to drop $300+ for a 790i.

PSU - OCZ, Corsair, Antec, Silverstone are my favorites.

 

[Chilli911]

Hey guys, Thanks

anyone have any idea how big the gap between Nvidia and intel chipsets is.

does it just mean in will not be able to Overclock it as much or is there something that means my system just wont run as good. I understand the general consensus is that the intel chipset is better i just want to know why????

Cheers

 

[ThaJollyMan]

running a q9450 you should go with a 780i...they 100% support 45nm...possibility for tri sli in the future and ddr2 ram up to 1200mhz

 

[Jincuteguy]

What about 790i ultra from XFX?

 

[ThaJollyMan]

You could go 790i like i said if your want to invest in the ever so expensive ddr3 memory and plan on upgrading to a qx9700 processor to take full advantage of the board. Otherwise its kind of pointless. Go 790i if you want to future proof your system and spend the money on ddr3.

 

[saveyourgreenbacks]

Why do you think you'll go to SLI in the future? Are you planning on running a large display or are there specific games that you think SLI will really help out with? For most people it is usually better to get the fastest single card solution you can buy, unless you've already got the fastest single card and still need more performance. You've gotta figure that when newer cards come out you will probably still be able to sell your 8800GT for a good amount and then just buy the newer single card solution. In all likely hood the new card will be as fast or faster than SLI with the original card. In summary, if you are planning on using SLI as an upgrade path it just doesn't really make much sense. If you are wanting SLI because the fastest graphics card just isn't fast enough and you want two of them, then SLI is a good idea.

 

[ThaJollyMan]

Good point greenback...but like in my case i just bought a 780i board with a 9800gtx. I am going to want to play crysis on 1900x1200 and i know that one 9800 isnt going to be ebnough but i dont really have the money right now. There wont be a new graphics card coming for probably at least a year, for nvidia anyway. And IMO ATI blows. I went with a tri sli board so in the next few months i dont have to wait for a new graphics card to come out, i can just go buy the exact same one i already have, and most likely the price will have dropped. And also, 2x of any of the new cards out right will most likely be better than 1x of the future cards. Im kind of rambling so i am gonna stop. If yourt able to make sense of anything i just wrote then feel free to reply! Thanks!!

 

[DeathSniper]

Er, Jolly, I hope you're aware that nVIDIA's next-gen GPU is scheduled to launch shortly...

Also, while two cards are theoretically better than one - it doesn't always work in that case. For games that have been optimized and work with it - they work. For ones that are either unoptimized or flat-out don't work - you either get the same or even lower performance, or you have some interesting results with some of the graphics or crashes.

Here's a bunch you might want to take a look at:

Asus P5E VM-HDMI
Asus Maximus Formula
DFI Blood Iron
aBIT IF35 Pro

The names may be slightly off since I'm typing this off memory and don't have time atm to look them up, sorry

 

[killbydemons]

A member of another forums i go to got a Q9450 stable at 4Ghz on the Asus P5E VM-HDMI. He's been trying to get me to buy the board because I too look to get a Q9450 in the future and plan on OC'ing. From what he told me, other X48 or 790i boards couldn't take the Q9450 past 3.4 or 3.6ghz, but he might have just been unlucky.

I agree with Shimmishim, go for the 750i if you want sli since the other nforce 7 chipsets are way too overpriced for offering features that do not currently make a noticeable performance impact in day to day computing/gaming.

Also there is P45/X48 if you are willing to give up SLI. I'm going to wait and see how ATI and nvidia end up with their new cards coming out...supposedly ATI is going to be competitive this next generation of video cards

 

[Chilli911]

Hey guys

So after much research ive decided to ditch SLI.

System is
CPU: Q9450
Motherboard: Arrrggghhhh11111
Ram: 4g Corsair DDR800
HD: WD 600g SATA
Video: 512 asus 8800gt
Monitor 24" Samsung 2493 LCD
case: coolermaster 690
PSU: Corsair 620-HX

But i STILL need to pick a motherboard, im def gonna wait untili the new nvidia cards come out to buy this, but would like an idea of what motherboard to get.

I would like a motherboard with PCI express 2.0 so its semi future proff and all else is just DDR2 support and Raid 0, which is pretty easy to find. So let the recommendations begin.

P.s if its cheaper i really dont need 2 pci express slots since im not gonna EVER SLI or Crossfire

 

[secretanchitman]

stick with an intel board then. x38/x48/p45.

i'd go with p45 as they have everything you need.