wanted: motherboard for E6600

[Sumaleth]

Reading through the forum here has left me confused. There doesn't seem to be a Core 2 Duo motherboard in my price range that people haven't experienced problems with.

Here's what I have locked in:

. Core 2 Duo E6600
. 2x 1GB RAM (either 667 or 533)
. GeForce 7600 GT or GS
. no overclocking or tweaking, more keen on stability than a few extra frames per second
. 2x SATA harddrives, 1x IDE DVD ReWriter, room for 1x IDE harddrive
. 1x printer, 1x Wacom graphics tablet
. don't need SLI/Crossfire

Is there a motherboard I can get for those bits, that will work straight out of the box?

I very seriously considered the ASUS P5B, but the thread here suggests it's almost a toss of the coin that it'll work.

Then I looked at the Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3, but it looks like another coin toss.

I'm looking in that sort of price range, perhaps +/- US$15.

The Biostar TForce P965 Deluxe has some good reviews, but I haven't found any real-user feedback yet, and whether it has the same problems experienced by the ASUS and Gigabyte MBs.

The DFI Infinity 975X/G is another one that got positive reviews, but it doesn't get much comment elsewhere, and most people seem to recommend the P5B or the DS3.

What's the best MB for me, and what two RAM clips should I get with it?

 

[CreepieDeCrapper]

Bumping as I think it's a good question and would like to know the answer myself (for an E6400 most likely although I imagine the mobo reco's would be the same).

 

[tr1kstanc3]

Same questions I've been looking to get answers to. However I am interested in overclocking.

 

[CreepieDeCrapper]

Originally posted by: tr1kstanc3
Same questions I've been looking to get answers to. However I am interested in overclocking.

Forgot to mention that I am interested in OC'ing as well.

 

[Skott]

They all overclock very well. All the current popular overclocking mobos (DS3, P5B, P5W DH, BadAxe) are sending the E6300/E6400 to at least 3GHz from what I'm seeing. What you need to do is pull up the spec sheet for each and see what each feature the mobo has. Choose the one that has the most features you want. Now if all you care about is the most ultimate overclock then right now as of this post I believe the P5B has it by a little bit. If you want the cheapest priced good overclocking mobo then that'll be the DS3 most likely. Again, check to make sure it has the features you want. If you want every bell and whistle then either BadAxe or P5W DH.

 

[CreepieDeCrapper]

Well in my case I only want to OC a little bit. I use my PC for work (I work from home) about 8-10 hours a day plus I'll spend time gaming in the evenings and on the weekend so my hardware needs to be LONG-LASTING I am also going for a Crossfire setup so, to my knowledge, the P5W DH is my only *good* option.

Any recommendations on a HSF for the E6400 as well? I was originally thinking the Zalman CNPS9500 but perhaps that's overkill, what about the Arctic Freezer 7 Pro?

 

[n7]

I'd personally likely go with the P5B on a budget, but since it's a bit less used, there are fewer results to read about.

I can recommend the Gigabyte DS3 for sure, as it's a great budget OCer.

There really aren't as many issues as it seems, it's just those with issues crow louder than those with successful OCs

 

[imported_mdc]

Originally posted by: CreepieDeCrapper
Any recommendations on a HSF for the E6400 as well? I was originally thinking the Zalman CNPS9500 but perhaps that's overkill, what about the Arctic Freezer 7 Pro?

I bought a Freezer 7 Pro for my E6600, and it's doing exactly what I expected. It's quiet, and cools much better than the OEM heatsink. It's at least 10°C less than it was with the Intel fan, and it's gotten cooler over the last week as the AS-5 sets in. My core temps of 61-63°C may seem a little excessive, but it's running 100%CPU (folding@home) @9x400 - 3.6Ghz.

 

[Sumaleth]

So the P5B and DS3 are still recommended?

Okay, I'll go with one of those. I choose the..... P5B.

Locked in.

--

One issue down, two to go:

1/ Will I need a third-party cooler solution for a P5B/E6600/2GB RAM system?

The Freezer 7 Pro that mdc mentions looks well priced, but if I replace the Intel fan with that, am I voiding any sort of warrantee? What sort of things will happen if I don't replace the standard fan?

2/ What RAM should I buy for a P5B/E6600 system?

I'm looking to get 2GB total, and I know it needs to be DDR2 RAM (so I can't use the 1GB from my old system, which is a shame).

The "800" RAM is very expensive, and I'd prefer to get either 533 or 667. 667 sounds faster, but from my reading it sounds like 667 with an E6600 CPU is actually slower than 533 RAM.

Unless you're tweaking, which I don't intend to do. But perhaps wouldn't mind having the opportunity at a later date.

Would I be better getting 2x 1GB 533, or paying the extra for 2x 1GB 667? And whichever I go for, is there anything I need to tell the guy in the shop who will be putting this together?

What "3-3-3-15" type specs should I ask for on these RAM chips?

What problems will I see if I don't get RAM that is a perfect spec match for the motherboard and cpu?

Thanks.

 

[getbush]

You have no reason to get a different cooler. People are getting decent OCs with the stock cooler. You aren't even planning to OC. If you aren't OCing, 533 RAM is fine. As far as the 3 3 3 3 15, it won't be a real issue for you, 5s or below is fine. Just get some that is a decent value.

 

[430752]

I'm a noob kinda in the same boat, or more towards creepiedacrapper(!) wanting a bit of oc'ng to learn with.

Anyway, I'm goign with either the intel d975xbx mobo or more likely the abit aw9d max, which looks very promising. I want to watch price and out of box usefulness, first, however.

I've already got an ultra aluminus case (its okay, came with ultra x2 550w psu), arctic cooling 12 back fan, aero cool turbine 1000 front fan (both fans reported to be quiet), arctic cooling freezer 7 pro, and crucial ballistix 2gb pc6400 ram (this was order otday at zzf wcich has it at $249-40rebate). I know i'll get the e6600 conroe, just waiting on mobo first, and very, very likely 2x raptor 150gb drives for raid 0 (although, soem reports say raid 0 is iffy performace improvement with raports, others say still good for some legit gains, just not as much as with 7200rpm drives, figure I'll get two and dedice later if raid 0, raid 1, or just plain separate).



curt j.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: 430752
I'm a noob kinda in the same boat, or more towards creepiedacrapper(!) wanting a bit of oc'ng to learn with.

Anyway, I'm goign with either the intel d975xbx mobo or more likely the abit aw9d max, which looks very promising. I want to watch price and out of box usefulness, first, however.

I've already got an ultra aluminus case (its okay, came with ultra x2 550w psu), arctic cooling 12 back fan, aero cool turbine 1000 front fan (both fans reported to be quiet), arctic cooling freezer 7 pro, and crucial ballistix 2gb pc6400 ram (this was order otday at zzf wcich has it at $249-40rebate). I know i'll get the e6600 conroe, just waiting on mobo first, and very, very likely 2x raptor 150gb drives for raid 0 (although, soem reports say raid 0 is iffy performace improvement with raports, others say still good for some legit gains, just not as much as with 7200rpm drives, figure I'll get two and dedice later if raid 0, raid 1, or just plain separate).



curt j.

One user reports an EPS12v connector on his AW9D-Max that had a plug incorrectly made with a round top when it should be square and no PSU works. He has to use an old PSU with a 4pin power plug. He also can't get the board to do 1:1 on the memory at any FSB.

Check the thread at xtremesystems.org

 

[CreepieDeCrapper]

Originally posted by: mdc

Originally posted by: CreepieDeCrapper
Any recommendations on a HSF for the E6400 as well? I was originally thinking the Zalman CNPS9500 but perhaps that's overkill, what about the Arctic Freezer 7 Pro?

I bought a Freezer 7 Pro for my E6600, and it's doing exactly what I expected. It's quiet, and cools much better than the OEM heatsink. It's at least 10°C less than it was with the Intel fan, and it's gotten cooler over the last week as the AS-5 sets in. My core temps of 61-63°C may seem a little excessive, but it's running 100%CPU (folding@home) @9x400 - 3.6Ghz.

Thanks for the feedback, it's always great to hear from someone who's using the item that's in question on a successful level. I have to honestly say, I'm having a little trouble putting all your stats together but I think I see what you mean. The core temps are at 61-63 during 100% load, right?

 

[imported_mdc]

Originally posted by: CreepieDeCrapperI'm having a little trouble putting all your stats together but I think I see what you mean. The core temps are at 61-63 during 100% load, right?

My E6600 is overclocked to 3.6Ghz instead of the default 2.4Ghz.

My core temps are 61-63°C at 100% CPU. Out of curiosity, I might set the CPU back to 2.4Ghz to see what the temps are there.

 

[Skott]

From what I read the professional reviewers dont reccomend overclocking the stock Intel HSF beyond 2.5 on a E6400 chip. Thats pretty much its safe limit for 24/7 overclocking. For any kind of overclocking you should probaly go ahead and get a aftermarket HSF. I'm hearing alot of good things about the ArticFreezer 7 pro so for only twenty some dollars it sounds well worth the investment. I went with the 9500 AT because I didnt know about the Freezer 7 Pro. But I'm happy with my choice regardless of cost. Its one of the best HSF out there. There are few really good haf for Conroe now so look into it. go for price and performance. Also look at profile and weight because if you move your pc around alot this could affect your choice.

 

[Yregouth]

Originally posted by: Sumaleth
Here's what I have locked in:

. Core 2 Duo E6600
. 2x 1GB RAM (either 667 or 533)
. GeForce 7600 GT or GS
. no overclocking or tweaking, more keen on stability than a few extra frames per second
. 2x SATA harddrives, 1x IDE DVD ReWriter, room for 1x IDE harddrive
. 1x printer, 1x Wacom graphics tablet
. don't need SLI/Crossfire

I'd recommend this one: linky
Because it's a mature board (+stability), very good RAM compatibility, excellent overclocking potential if needed.

 

[Sumaleth]

I ordered the P5B today. With Core 2 Duo E6600, 2x 1GB Kingston 533 RAM, and a GeForce 7600 GS video card.

I've got a local PC store putting the system together and thoroughly testing it, and they seem confident that they'll be able to handle any problems that come up.

I'll report back Tuesday or Wednesday to say how it went.

 

[xoduzz786]

u guys should consider waiting a couple of weeks for the P5B-E, its the c2 revision of the mobo that a lot of people have been looking forward to. It should get a lot of the current problems fixed and from looking at the benchmarks over at XS it looks to be a very good overclocker

edit: its also priced at $130 over at zipzoomfly (not available yet)

 

[CreepieDeCrapper]

Great information on this thread, I appreciate it even though I'm not the OP.

mdc, that's a good idea to see what your non-OC temps are, please report back here if you don't mind and end up testing that way.

Skott, I think I'm starting to lean towards the Arctic Freezer 7 Pro rather than the Zalman 9500 at this point, mostly due to price-to-performance ratio, etc. I'm also planning to use the same board as you (Asus P5W DH Deluxe), both of those PCIe slots are x16 even with two graphics cards installed right? I was reading in CPU magazine that the Intel 'BadAxe' board's x16 PCIe slots actually run at x8 with a video card in each slot, but they didn't address this for the P5W board.

 

[Skott]

Originally posted by: CreepieDeCrapper
Great information on this thread, I appreciate it even though I'm not the OP.

mdc, that's a good idea to see what your non-OC temps are, please report back here if you don't mind and end up testing that way.

Skott, I think I'm starting to lean towards the Arctic Freezer 7 Pro rather than the Zalman 9500 at this point, mostly due to price-to-performance ratio, etc. I'm also planning to use the same board as you (Asus P5W DH Deluxe), both of those PCIe slots are x16 even with two graphics cards installed right? I was reading in CPU magazine that the Intel 'BadAxe' board's x16 PCIe slots actually run at x8 with a video card in each slot, but they didn't address this for the P5W board.

Correct 16x PCIe. Maybe if I had heard about the performance of the Freezer7 sooner I would have chosen it too. At the time the info was just coming out about its performance so I went with something more guranteed. Plus alot of folks were using the 9500 successfully and to me that was the logical thing to do. Next build I'll have to seriously consider the AF7pro. the thing is if you go with one of the popular Conroe hsf setups you wont be dissapointed. They all perform very good. It comes down to pricing mostly I think considering they all perform within 1C of each other basically. Although I still prefer a low profile and lighter weight hsf if I can get one.

Starting next week supposedly we'll see the C2 mobos reviews. I guess these are the 2nd revision 965s and 570s. So for those not liking the current line up of mobos will want to watch for them.

 

[CreepieDeCrapper]

Thanks for the confirmation on the PCIe question, Skott. What kind of temps are you riding btw? Just curious because mdc's do seem a bit higher than what I'd like to get (he's using the Arctic Freezer 7). Also, did you have any problems getting the Zalman to seat properly/snugly on the CPU? Another poster (in another thread I can't, or am too lazy to, find) mentioned that his Zalman 9500 has some "looseness" to it on his mounting setup. Again, just curious.

 

[CreepieDeCrapper]

Originally posted by: Skott
Correct 16x PCIe.

Skott, check out this link on ASUS' website:
http://usa.asus.com/products4.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=1198&l1=3&l2=11&l3=0

It appears that, with 2 video cards installed, each one is only running at PCIe x8! Damnation, there doesn't seem to be a C2D mobo with full-blown CrossFire support yet.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: CreepieDeCrapper
Thanks for the confirmation on the PCIe question, Skott. What kind of temps are you riding btw? Just curious because mdc's do seem a bit higher than what I'd like to get (he's using the Arctic Freezer 7). Also, did you have any problems getting the Zalman to seat properly/snugly on the CPU? Another poster (in another thread I can't, or am too lazy to, find) mentioned that his Zalman 9500 has some "looseness" to it on his mounting setup. Again, just curious.

The 9500 I used had a bit of twisty action, but it held well. I just didn't like the performance of it overall so I bought a Thermalright Ultra-120 instead and noticed a 7c drop in my temps at load.

The CNPS9500 didn't feel loose but you could twist it if you tried. It's because of the way it mounts using only one axis. The metal clip that holds the HSF down can bend out of wack after time too, but it may take a while for that.

 

[Skott]

At stock it idles at 35C and at load its 47C using CoreTemp. I'm just now getting around to overclocking it. Or at least trying. I'm new to OCing so kinda a noob about what to do but I'll get it figured out eventually. I had heard others talk about the twist of the 9500 but on mine it doesnt move much and you do have to force it. So, I'm not worried about the looseness of it. If you got it to drop 7C I'd say thats pretty significant considering all the popular HSF are very close to one another in temps. There was one thing I didnt do and I should do it. Remove the caps on the mobo that people been saying arent needed. There is a question though about which program to use for temp reading. Some say speed fan. Some say Core temp. Some say ASUS BIOS. I heard the BIOS doesnt read it correctly because the sensors are not in the correct places. SpeedFan has some really odd numbers that are way off. I notice the only time they look close to accuracy is when under load. Core temp has the highest temps so not sure if thats accurate or not either. Everyone seems to have a opinion on these programs with no concrete proof of what is best other than opinion. Right now I'm relying on CoreTemp because if i can keep them within specs then I figure everything is fine since they are the highest numbers. I'm learning this as I go like many others so I could be wrong in some assumptions.

I saw that 16x speed in my manual and didnt look at the next section down where it says 8x each. My bad and i do apologize. if i'm not mistaken though they work individually as 8x but work out as 16x overall. If I understand the explanation of it correctly. But the thing is though tests have proven that the only time you are going to see 16x/32x performing better than 8x/16x is in resolutions over 1600x1200. Testing showed little to no gain at 1600x1200 or less resolutions. And since I personally dont plan to use a LCD higher than 1680x1050 I'm not going to worry about it nor should anyone else IMO. The 8x/16x architecture hasnt even been fully maxxed out yet. So 16x/32x isnt really all that much as of yet except for those with really really big monitors(24"+). To be honest I dont think the manufacturers are all that concerned about 16x/32x acchitecture yet anyway. If they were all new mobos with dual cards would have 16x/32x pcie slots. This current rig will only have one card in it anyway so its going to run 16x in single card mode.


Edit: btw, the new revision mobos are released next week supposedly. So if rumor is true then we should see better Conroe 965 & 570 mobos. I guess right now what everyone has is the first version mobos. 2nd revisions are coming.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: Skott
At stock it idles at 35C and at load its 47C using CoreTemp. I'm just now getting around to overclocking it. Or at least trying. I'm new to OCing so kinda a noob about what to do but I'll get it figured out eventually. I had heard others talk about the twist of the 9500 but on mine it doesnt move much and you do have to force it. So, I'm not worried about the looseness of it. If you got it to drop 7C I'd say thats pretty significant considering all the popular HSF are very close to one another in temps.

The drops in temp are likely attributed to my ability to put a 103cfm fan on the heatsink now. That totally kills the puny Zalman.