Updated Question: Whats the best Bargain Conroe MB..

[HeadRusch]

.....with 1 PCI-E 16 slot that I can run an Nvidia 1950 GX2 board in??

I'm looking to overclock a Conroe with some reasonable results, and slap a GX2 board in there to drive my 1080p Monitor.

I decided I didn't want to wait, and didn't want to PAY for, a super-expensive SLI ready motherboard that is ALSO a decent overclocker if I Could get myself a cheaper MB that will still be a decent overclocker and allow me to at least run one of the GX2 boards.

My primary application for all this tech will be gaming. My 6800GT AGP isn't really cutting the mustard lately :(

Thanks!

[Evilsizer]

GigaByte 965-S3 $119 at newegg

[rainless]

Don't know anything about the S3... but if it performs like the DS3 for 149 then why not?

Don't get the 775Dual-VSTA... It automatically clocks your ram at 711mhz or higher (DDR2 1422mhz!) and it's just a freakin weird board all around. (Though it is 50 bucks.)

Yeah... I'd say the S3 or higher. The DS3 if you can afford it. The Biostar TP Force if you're in Finland. I was looking for one of those while I was in Sweden. But the two little shops I was at wouldn't have had anything like that.

[Evilsizer]

Don't know anything about the S3... but if it performs like the DS3 for 149 then why not?

Don't get the 775Dual-VSTA... It automatically clocks your ram at 711mhz or higher (DDR2 1422mhz!) and it's just a freakin weird board all around. (Though it is 50 bucks.)

Yeah... I'd say the S3 or higher. The DS3 if you can afford it. The Biostar TP Force if you're in Finland. I was looking for one of those while I was in Sweden. But the two little shops I was at wouldn't have had anything like that.
indeed, S3
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=114156

[rainless]

indeed, S3
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=114156

That's just plain STAGGERING.

I actually tried to boot my system at 500FSB. It wouldn't quite work :)

But Gigabyte is coming back with a VENGEANCE. Too bad they're merging with Asus. I think with all the money they've gotten from their 965 series they probably could've BOUGHT Asus.

[HeadRusch]

I can't seem to find the difference between the S3 and the D3....??? What accounts for the price difference?

If its a decent feature I'd spend the extra money.....

One of these looks like its going to be on my list however ;)

[Daleon]

I'm sure Evil could tell ya :)

[MadMan007]

Afaik the hardware difference is the solid capacitors for the CPU power regulation circuitry on the DS3, whereas the S3 uses standard electrolytic capacitors. The 'D' stands for 'durability' and solid capacitors are meant to last longer and not be prone to possible manufacturing defects like electrolytics - not that that's a problem now like it was a few years ago.

Of course it's possible Gigabyte could do other stuff like nerf the S3s Bios options or abilities to segment it as a 'budget board' but it doesn't seem like they're doing that atm and it seems as if they don't really hurt the board's oc'ing ability if the few people at xs are to be believed.

*edit* Looking at the Gigabyte website it seems like they update the S3 Bios less frequently and at longer intervals. For example the S3 F3 Bios looks to be the same as the DS3 F4 Bios - same release date and improvement information. Not necessarily a bad thing in the long run as long as they eventually do the same things for both boards, but until they do the S3 is at a slight disadvantage for that reason, if they don't make them equivalent then it would be a moderate disadvantage of the S3.

[HeadRusch]

I have one of those in my cart...2m cache E6400 as it seems to be a stellar overclocker.

I'd go with a 4m chip but I dont think it'll buy me much on a gaming box...

I need two more answers:

I want 2 gigs of ram....what speed and brand can I be assured of solid performance with, and lastly....how far can I go on a stock HSF, and how high can I go with an aftermarket HSF....and, if so, which one.

I prefer to stay on the budget side, and not on the exotic side of the pricing scale....so if I can get away with $200 ram instead of $400 ram and still get a hefty overclock, that would be nice. If not, I'll spend the bucks on the Ram.


Advice please... my newegg cart just needs some ram and a case...

[Evilsizer]

here is your ram ocing nicely from the what i have seen over at xs forums.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820220095

well the case im eyeing is this one and going to mod for dual rads in the top 5.25bays. nice full tower ALU case with dual psu housing.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811112105

[HeadRusch]

IDEALLY I wanted to build this box in a desktop mediacenter type of case, but from what I've seen none of them will give me adequate cooling if I go with a 7950 GX2 setup....I figured I'd need an aluminum case with 120mm's front and back to keep the noise down.

[Evilsizer]

IDEALLY I wanted to build this box in a desktop mediacenter type of case, but from what I've seen none of them will give me adequate cooling if I go with a 7950 GX2 setup....I figured I'd need an aluminum case with 120mm's front and back to keep the noise down.
well i like this case i found when doing a bit of looking for HTPC's
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811163055

there just are not the chioces in ATX Desktops like in the Towers.

[Dragoon42]

I have one of those in my cart...2m cache E6400 as it seems to be a stellar overclocker.

I'd go with a 4m chip but I dont think it'll buy me much on a gaming box...

I need two more answers:

I want 2 gigs of ram....what speed and brand can I be assured of solid performance with, and lastly....how far can I go on a stock HSF, and how high can I go with an aftermarket HSF....and, if so, which one.

I prefer to stay on the budget side, and not on the exotic side of the pricing scale....so if I can get away with $200 ram instead of $400 ram and still get a hefty overclock, that would be nice. If not, I'll spend the bucks on the Ram.


Advice please... my newegg cart just needs some ram and a case...


If you want solid performance, i'd get teamgroup ram. Couple of friends have the ddr2 667mhz and they've ran these things and ddr1000mhz speeds. 5-5-5-12 i think?