P35 vs. 680i

[gshau]

So I'm planning to buy a new motherboard pretty soon, and I'm curious about what the Pros/Cons are between the 680i and the P35 boards.

I'm planning on using DDR2, so the DDR3 advantage of the P35 isn't really relevent to me. I'm getting a Q6600, so the quad-core performance, especially overclocking, is pretty important to me.

Also, I haven't seen a really good 680i roundup in forever, the last time I read one the BIOS were all pretty new, bad overclocking for Quad core. I know that's been improved recently, but which of the 680i's are better for this?

Any recommendations?


Thanks!

 

[uiojkl]

If you want to build SLI,then 680i is your only choice.Both are good at oc.

 

[gshau]

No one has any specific recommendations?

 

[renethx]

Either chipset is OK.

Some OC results with GIGABYTE GA-P35-DQ6/DS3P/DS3R at Official GIGA P35-S3/DS3/DS3R/DS3P/DS4/DQ6 bios/info thread

Xeon 3210 (Kentsfield) 3.6GHz
QX6700 3.91GHz

 

[Old Hippie]

good 680i roundup in forever

Not even 90 days old. Just start breathing?

 

[Shimmishim]

680i
pros
sli
unlinked fsb/mem ability

cons
680 chipset is hot hot hot
FSB limited to around 500



P35
pros
o/c mem like crazy
500+ easily obtainable (useful for 6300, 6320, 6400, 6420, 6550, 6750) for extreme fsb o/c
supports ddr2 and ddr3

cons
none that i can think of off the top of my head besides not having unlinked mem/fsb like 680/650 chipset


I have:
Asus P5N32-E SLI Plus (650i hybrid)
Asus P5B Deluxe (965)
Abit IP-35 Pro (P35)

my favorite is the abit board followed closely by the p5n32-e then the p5b.

 

[SerpentRoyal]

If you don't SLI, then the clear winner is P35. P35 is a much cooler chip. No problem pushing quality RAMs and CPUs to the bleeding edge. My 1GB DDR2 800 Kingston ValueRAM kit is cruising at 594MHz/2.1V/5-5-5-15-2T. Memtest stable up to 604MHz. Other 2GB DDR2 800 Kingston ValueRAM kit is good up to 580MHz/2.1V/5-5-5-2T. Why spend extra $ for Crucial, Corsair, or OCZ? Note that YMMV with any Kingston VR module. Look for "N5" on the part number. Non-N5 modudes are cheaper. Most will fail Memtest around 408MHz.

A well-designed P35 board should do at least 550MHz FSB. My P35-E, for example, is stable up to 488MHz FSB, but that's probably because of the limitation of the E6320 CPU (495MHz FSB wall). The key to quads overclocking are the quality of the CPU (stepping) and thermal management. Most will hit 3.4GHz. You'll need to spend $ on an excellent cooler if you want to break the 3.5GHz barrier.

680i's ability to unlink the memory may add another 1% to the bottomline speed, but that's just noise if you're already running above 3.2GHz core speed. Note that CPU core speed is still KING. A good P35 board will allow you to overclock higher with the same Vcore. The average improvement is around 30MHz core speed.

I'm not too keen on the Gygabyte's P965 boards. Run hot and too buggy. Abit IP35 series is very solid. I can vouch for the IP35-E. There are reports about poorly aligned heat pipe cooler on the IP35 Pro. Not sure if this is a widespread problem....

 

[covert24]

neither. wait for the X38's to come out since the P35 chipsets are going to be a thing of the past.

 

[golem]

Note that YMMV with any Kingston VR module. Look for "N5" on the part number. Non-N5 modudes are cheaper. Most will fail Memtest around 408MHz.

Could you tell me where to find the part number? I don't see anything on my modules that has the letter "N". Do you know who makes the chips on the module?

Thanks

 

[SerpentRoyal]

Junk Kingston ValueRAM (KVR800D2K2/2GR on the label)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820134488

Better Kingston ValueRAM (KVR800D2N5K2/2G on the label)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820134117

The 1GB stick (double-sided) shows a Kingston logo. The 512MB stick (single-sided) has six small squares for logo.

 

[golem]

Originally posted by: SerpentRoyal
Junk Kingston ValueRAM (KVR800D2K2/2GR on the label)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820134488

Better Kingston ValueRAM (KVR800D2N5K2/2G on the label)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820134117

The 1GB stick (double-sided) shows a Kingston logo. The 512MB stick (single-sided) has six small squares for logo.

Thx for the info.

 

[tekjansen]

I assume x38 supports both DDR3 ram and SLI? Best of both worlds.

 

[covert24]

also supports SLi as well as crossfire.

 

[dev0lution]

Originally posted by: golem

Note that YMMV with any Kingston VR module. Look for "N5" on the part number. Non-N5 modudes are cheaper. Most will fail Memtest around 408MHz.

Could you tell me where to find the part number? I don't see anything on my modules that has the letter "N". Do you know who makes the chips on the module?

Thanks

N5 just means it's Non-ECC and Cas 5 - link here. The two part #'s listed are exactly the same except one is a retail sku/packaging and the other is not. More than likely you were lucky with the particular chips they were using for that build...

 

[SerpentRoyal]

Then I must be very LUCKY with the N5s, and UN-LUCKY with all the other "non-N5" RAMs. Both versions are Non-ECC and rated at 5-5-5-18 (SPD). Informed customers don't pay a 20% price premium for the OEM label unless there is a significant improvement in the quality of the chips.

 

[aka1nas]

Originally posted by: covert24
also supports SLi as well as crossfire.

There has not been confirmation that the X38 will get an SLI license. That was just an Inquirer rumor.

The X38 will officially support DDR3 and PCI-E 2.0. There will likely be a few boards with DDR2 support still as it's said to be unofficially supported still by the chipset. It will also have a full x16/x16 PCI-E lane configuration for multi-gpu setups.

 

[dev0lution]

Originally posted by: SerpentRoyal
Then I must be very LUCKY with the N5s, and UN-LUCKY with all the other "non-N5" RAMs. Both versions are Non-ECC and rated at 5-5-5-18 (SPD). Informed customers don't pay a 20% price premium for the OEM label unless there is a significant improvement in the quality of the chips.

Entirely possible since the whole reason it's "value" ram is because the build of materials is not the same from week to week for the same part. Just because the price on newegg is higher or lower for one doesn't mean much in terms of what it's actually made with.

 

[solofly]

Originally posted by: gshau
So I'm planning to buy a new motherboard pretty soon, and I'm curious about what the Pros/Cons are between the 680i and the P35 boards.

I'm planning on using DDR2, so the DDR3 advantage of the P35 isn't really relevent to me. I'm getting a Q6600, so the quad-core performance, especially overclocking, is pretty important to me.

Also, I haven't seen a really good 680i roundup in forever, the last time I read one the BIOS were all pretty new, bad overclocking for Quad core. I know that's been improved recently, but which of the 680i's are better for this?

Any recommendations?


Thanks!

The formula is pretty simple...

1 GPU = Intel chipset and nothing but
2 GPUs = I guess you're stuck with Nvidia

 

[toadeater]

If you want SLI with Intel, wait for the X38 boards, due in September.

 

[vrdublu]

P35 chipset boards seem to be plagued by different problems depending on manufacturer, but if you don't mind the problems they generally overclock very well. The 680i has been around for a while and has less problems right now and seems to overcklock as well if not maybe a bit better then P35 but has a better memory controller right now. Once the P35 matures it might be on par if not better then the 680i. If you can wait till September then you can pick up the X38 chipset that will be better then either one of those chipsets, only time will tell. Good Luck.

 

[gshau]

Has there been any word on whether or not the 680i will support 45nm Penryn yet?

 

[covert24]

i doubt that it will happen gshau.

 

[CrystalBay]

Any rumors about a BX3 board from Intel???

 

[jkresh]

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuch...howdoc.aspx?i=3038&p=2, 680i supports Penryn with bios update

 

[bfdd]

I like my 680i, but I will probably be picking up a X35 when Penryns are out and DDR3 reaches the 2000mhz mark or close to it.