Check my build + Help with Motherboard

Hi, i posted this build before, but after hearing some comments i've made a few changes and now considering a diffrent m/b to go with it. Here's the main build, i'll list the m/b's i've been considering at the bottom.

Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI

Antec Twelve Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case

Kingston HyperX 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-8500C5 1066MHz Dual Channel Kit

Kingston 1gb (2x512mb) Ddr2 1066mhz Hyperx Memory Cl5

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 CPU

Cooler Master Hyper TX2 775/754/939/940/AM2

Zalman ZM850-HP 850W ATX 2.2

2x Samsung SpinPoint F1 750GB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM

Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10000RPM SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM

Getting a second HD 4870 and going crossfire in the later on. The 850w psu is for any other expansion i do in the future. 2x 750GB hd's will hold data and raptor will be for os and programs since it's so fast. Im also running xp so thats why i only have the 3GB ram. Here's the m/b's now.

Asus P5Q Deluxe Intel P45 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard

Asus Rampage Formula Intel X48 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard

Gigabyte GA-X48-DQ6 Intel X48 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard

I was going for the P5Q Deluxe origanally, but someone pointed out that I wouldn't get the max outta my Crossfire since 1 card would be at x16 and the other x8. The X48 series are also ment to be better at overclocking, though i haven't been able to find out why that is, someone fill me in? Im not very experienced with overclocking (Though i may as well learn now) and i hear the DQ6 is a bit difficult to overclock unlike others. The X48 also need constant bio's updates from what i've seen and till now i ain't needed to update mine since my m/b's never played up on me. Anyway which do u lot think is the best and easiest to handle in terms of the problems that can come up? Maybe u know another brand that would better suit me? Any further advice on my build or suggests would be welcome!

Ditch XP for Vista 64 and go with 4GB of RAM. You will be sorry if you don't.

I'd go with the cheaper P45 as there has yet to be a game a single card can't max out at up to 1680x1050 anyways. Overclocking the newest processors is something people just do for show these days as they don't need it to perform well, so you can quite live without it.

With P45 both cards would be at x8.

Why not get 2x2 GB of ram ? It doesn't matter if Windows can't use them all, afaik there are no stability problems.

And i would get the Asus hd4870 for the fan control software and a better looking sticker than Gigabyte's ugly purple one.

IT would be a better idea to get vista 64 bit, I have it and it runs like a charm, also it will come in handy to have more than 4GB of memory for your system(this includes VRAM btw).

Now for your GPU I recommend waiitng for the release of the 4870 X2, its basically a native 4870 crossfire but at a higher clock frequency. THis is a better idea because your case wont get as hot with a 4870 X2 compared to crossfire 4870. You save a large amount of money buy not having to get a crossfire X MOBO and you get the cheaper antec 900 case instead of the antec 1200. THe 4870 X2 comes out in mid august-early september, it is definetely worth the wait to save all that money.

Case antec 900

PSU

Is the fan control software actually worth having? It would be more expensive then my current Gigabyte one.D_Knight_Nik

If it's 5-10$ more then i think it would be worth it. If the price difference is bigger then no, just use the fan fix.

[QUOTE="D_Knight_Nik"]Is the fan control software actually worth having? It would be more expensive then my current Gigabyte one.matrixian

If it's 5-10$ more then i think it would be worth it. If the price difference is bigger then no, just use the fan fix.

Yeh it is, so i'll make do with the fix.

So can anyone here give me a suggestion on a m/b?

With P45 both cards would be at x8.matrixian

That doesnt really matter atm, does it? With 16x/16x u get like 5-10% performance boost at most running CF compared to 8x/8x since 2.0 doubles the bandwith anyways.

Thx filmography. 1 thing about that board though, i heard that the 2nd PCI-E x16 slot is physically x16, but apprently only x4 electronically. Can anyone comment on that?

Yeh your right about the 5-10% boost u get. But when it comes to things like crysis you'll start seeing 30-40% drops in performence from what i can remember.

Thx filmography. 1 thing about that board though, i heard that the 2nd PCI-E x16 slot is physically x16, but apprently only x4 electronically. Can anyone comment on that?

Yeh your right about the 5-10% boost u get. But when it comes to things like crysis you'll start seeing 30-40% drops in performence from what i can remember.

D_Knight_Nik

Thx filmography. 1 thing about that board though, i heard that the 2nd PCI-E x16 slot is physically x16, but apprently only x4 electronically. Can anyone comment on that?

Yeh your right about the 5-10% boost u get. But when it comes to things like crysis you'll start seeing 30-40% drops in performence from what i can remember.

D_Knight_Nik

Link to your "facts" about 30-40% performance boost in Crysis please. Otherwise check this.

I think it was this site. Though i might have been wrong about the 30-40% drop. not sure tbh.

http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/1472/7/intel_p45_vs_x48_crossfire_performance/index.html

I think it was this site. Though i might have been wrong about the 30-40% drop. not sure tbh.

http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/1472/7/intel_p45_vs_x48_crossfire_performance/index.html

D_Knight_Nik

I think this difference is due to very high settings IMO. But who can play with such a framerate anyways.

[QUOTE="D_Knight_Nik"]

I think it was this site. Though i might have been wrong about the 30-40% drop. not sure tbh.

http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/1472/7/intel_p45_vs_x48_crossfire_performance/index.html

domke13

I think this difference is due to very high settings IMO. But who can play with such a framerate anyways.

Not me thats for certain =P