Best mobo for E6600 rig with nvidia 7900.

[Asuka]

"Hey. I want to build a core 2 duo rig with 1 gig of ram (maybe more as per your suggestions) a 7900. Im thinking of getting the E6600 becauase it is the cheapest of the 4mb cache cpus. I would like to know which motherboard you folks have had luck with. Also, which psu's having been reliable with E6600's and 7900's. Thx"

- Posting this for a friend.

 

[Stigmata]

Get 2 gigs of ram. I know nothing of Core 2 Duo, but get 2 gigs of ram.

 

[Fliko]

P5W DH is pretty awesome IF you get the bios updated before you put in your CONROE chip.

Reason: Only certain BIOs support CONROE

 

[AtomicSpark]

I like Asus, but that's just because I'm biased. I've been reading that the Conroe chip is nice choice right now, so you're in the right area. I also agree that you should go with 2 Gigs of ram, especially if you're thinking about Vista/high-end gaming.

If I were going to upgrade now (I'm waiting till January), I would get ASUS P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe. It supports DDR2 800 & SLI. It's a little overpriced right now because its new-ish.

 

[The Brick]

The ASUS P5B Deluxe is the best performing motherboard with the newest bios update (0507). It can overclock really well. Note that the highest speeds with OCing are achieved with the E6300. If he's a fanatic overclocker, he might want to check that out. The 4mb cache over the 2mb cache is about 3 to 5% faster, I wouldn't spend double the money on that much of a gain.

Also, about the graphics card, ATI's X1900GT and X1900XT dropped in price significantly. The X1900GT from Sapphire can be found for €200 and it's as fast as the 7900GT (€270).

I also recommend 2gb ram.

 

[AtomicSpark]

ENERMAX GALAXY EGA1000EWL It's pretty, but is 1000W really necessary yet?

 

[Garfield_]

If P5B seems to expensive just go with the Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3, it can too overclock well and it's not that awfully expensive

 

[The Brick]

ENERMAX GALAXY EGA1000EWL It's pretty, but is 1000W really necessary yet?

No, not at all... not for a few years. I don't think computers will be much more energy consuming machines. The problem is heat, and the better solution is to make more energy efficient components, which is what I think will happen.

That thing is necessary only if you run a high clocked Pentium D with a quad 7800gtx setup.

 

[-Psy-]

ENERMAX GALAXY EGA1000EWL It's pretty, but is 1000W really necessary yet?

Wow. I guess this means that no-one is going to be rushing out to get a quad-sli system

 

[Warbie]

I'd also check out the asus board, 2 gigs of ram (doesn't have to be expesnive stuff. I'm getting 6400 Geil), and think about a 1900xt over the 7900.

I don't plan on overclocking a great deal, so am going for the 6600 for a higher starting point. Having thrashed my last 2 chips within an inch of their life i'm fed up with the hassle. Overclocking may be a great way to get performance for little cash, but don't be suprised with problems that arise in the future. Mark my words - many of these people with 6300's at 3 gig+ will be forced to lower their clocks eventually. Having said that, my xp-m 2500 still strolls along at 2.8 gig :cheers: My Winchester 3200, which used to be prime stable at nearly 2.8 gig, now struggles at 2.4 :/ (and it was always very cool with little vcore)

Also, the extra cache, while not making a huge difference with current games, should come into its own over the coming years, plus it's nice knowing it's there