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Replacement Mobo for Q6600

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K

KooK

New Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2010
Really would appreciate a little help on this one; motherboard just up and failed on me. I've only had this processor for about 2 years so I'm not looking at upgrading my whole system quite yet so an i5 or i7 is out of the question at the moment (Unless there are some screaming deals).

So, I'm looking for the following in this board:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
2 PCI Express x16 slots
1 PCI Express x1 slots
DDR2 Ram (Supports at least 8gb)

Looking to overclock to around 2.8ghz and I'd like something reliable and semi-easy to work with. It's going in a Cooler Master full size tower backed by a Corsair 850TX so room and power isn't a problem. For some reason I'm doubting it'll be over $200 so please, just toss me ideas if you can, if I left anything out that you need to know about let me know.

Thanks in advance!
 
GIGABYTE GA-EP45T-USB3P LGA 775 Intel P45 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

$130

Probably your best bet... PCIE 2.0 is only 16x0 or 8x8 but this should be top notch for what you want to do otherwise.

BTW - This board is DDR3... a step in the right direction :D

EDIT: Its going to be hard to find big places carrying a mobo with the specs you are after... Maybe go to some local shops where they keep inventory/stock for a while, you might find something that suits you - but expect to pay much more money for that. I say get this mobo and spend for the DDR3...
 
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^^^ diaz is on point. When a new platform comes out the top of the line boards become hard to find and the lower ones become almost non existent. Computer repair shops buy up the stock for future repairs because those boards become obsolete, but people still need to repair their computers w/o upgrade. (Like you).
 
That board is DDR3 and he specifically mentioned DDR2...I would see if you could find this Gigabyte EP45 UD3P board. Its a nice one that will suit your needs, but will be 16x/8x which shouldnt be a big deal as even with 2 5870's in Crossfire, its a 1-2% performance loss. If for some odd reason you REQUIRE 16x/16x then you need to look to X48 based boards.

For the record, its not PCIe2.0 that makes it 16x or 8x/8x, its the board/chipset. I believe X48 and the Nvidia chipsets (780/790i) can run 16x/16x and they are PCIe2.0. ;)
 
Looking at adding some more ram, I didn't even realize DDR2 was STILL this expensive. I was goina toss in two old 1gig sticks and two new 4 gig sticks, the new 4 gigs (pair) are still $300+ for a corsair or a crucial. So I guess my question is at this point, is DDR3 worth it? Considering the price difference isn't THAT much and I'm already getting a new board, I guess it's worth looking into.
 
4GB single sticks are REDICULOUSLY priced and for 95% of people even here, 8GB is overkill. 4GB will be fine unles you run VM's or are into heavy photo editing, encoding and rendering.
 
I have those and just upgraded. Im getting ready to put those in the classifieds as a matter of fact!!!
 
EarthDog said:
For the record, its not PCIe2.0 that makes it 16x or 8x/8x, its the board/chipset. I believe X48 and the Nvidia chipsets (780/790i) can run 16x/16x and they are PCIe2.0. ;)
Click to expand...

Good luck finding an X48 board or a 790i that isn't in the $250-300 range. I looked, but ended up settling on the aforementioned GA-EP45-UD3P. Overclocks very well and runs cooler than most too.
 
Alright, I'll stick with 2gb sticks max. I've got a few people that have recommended me to G.Skills so I'm tempted to try them out.

But considering I'll probably be getting new ram anyway, would you guys say DDR3 is worth it over DDR2? I honestly have no idea the differences between the two.
 
Not really worth it unless you go for an i7 processor due to the lack of an integrated memory controller. That's where the performance improvement really is.
 
wingman99 said:
Here is a sli board with DDR2
DFI LP DK P45-T2RS PLUS LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136053
Click to expand...
Thats not a SLI board. Its a P45. :shrug:

SLI boards in that generation are 650/680i(old and barely support that quad), 750i (cheap doesnt overclock terribly well), 780i (overclocks OK, but has limits), 790i (ddr3 version of 780i). Like I believe was mentioned before, this Nvidia chipset wasnt exactly their best and I would only use it if I was stuck on S775 and REQUIRED SLI.

Alacritan said:
Good luck finding an X48 board or a 790i that isn't in the $250-300 range. I looked, but ended up settling on the aforementioned GA-EP45-UD3P. Overclocks very well and runs cooler than most too.
Click to expand...
How about a good one for $86 and new for $120?

And here is a 790i for $120 as well.

It just takes a couple of seconds to look! :thup:

I used to own a UD3P, its a GREAT board for the price, no doubt.
 
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You know, should I just update my CPU as well? I've been kind of thinking about the i7-860. I'm mostly waiting for Blizzards new lineup (Diablo 3, Starcraft 2) and I play a lot of FPS games. I mean I'm sure my CPU is able to handle a lot of these, but I just keep thinking to myself, I'm going for new Ram and a new Motherboard anyway...
 
Actually right now I'm running BFG GeForce 9 series' and I'm not opposed to getting new cards here.
 
wingman99 said:
Here is a crossfire board with DDR2
DFI LP DK P45-T2RS PLUS LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813136053


oops I meant to say crossfire. He did not specifi what he wanted except two 2 16x slots and the lanparty has PCI Express 2.0 x16 2
Click to expand...
P45 also splits to 8x/8x. The only way on S775 he can go 16x/16x is with X48 chipset or 780i/790i (for SLI).
 
KooK said:
You know, should I just update my CPU as well? I've been kind of thinking about the i7-860. I'm mostly waiting for Blizzards new lineup (Diablo 3, Starcraft 2) and I play a lot of FPS games. I mean I'm sure my CPU is able to handle a lot of these, but I just keep thinking to myself, I'm going for new Ram and a new Motherboard anyway...
Click to expand...

KooK said:
Actually right now I'm running BFG GeForce 9 series' and I'm not opposed to getting new cards here.
Click to expand...

i7 860 is an awesome choice, thats what I'm getting (still shipping :bang head) - Give us your budget, and we can recommend motherboard, graphics card and ram.

Which 9 series do you own?

Important: What case (mATX/ATX, model name) and power supply (wattage + model name) do you have?
 
EarthDog said:
P45 also splits to 8x/8x. The only way on S775 he can go 16x/16x is with X48 chipset or 780i/790i (for SLI).
Click to expand...

Yea my bad, I thought it had the NF200 chip on it when I read the speciation in newegg it said pciE 2.0 16x2:eek: 1-2% is not a bad loss with 8X8X and high end vedoe cards. however he needs sli board for nvidia.
 
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