I have an Intel 820, and can't decide on a MB

Here's my dilemma...I currently run a P4 3.4GHz w/HT on an Intel D915PBL (great board IMO), with 2x74gb Raptors running Raid0. I recently acquired an Intel Pentium D 820 processor and an Intel D945Psn motherboard, but this MB does not support raid. I plan on switching over to the Dual core mainly because TES:Oblivion supposedly benefits from dual processing machines, and I dont want one of my raptors to go to waste.

I've been looking through Newegg all night, and it seems the Asus P5WD2-E Premium is the ticket, but what main advantages does the 975x chipset provide over the 955x in the P5WD2 Premium?

Secondly, how easy and practical would it be to overclock this 820 running at 2.8GHz to around 3.4GHz or more? I dont really want to do any crazy modifications or cooling solutions. Which coolers work best on these Asus boards? I'm looking to stay quiet when Idle, but keep the CPU temp down when it's being used. Any advice/recommendations would be great. Thanks!

To be honest, there isn't much advantage to the i975 compared to the i955 chipset on these Asus mobos. A month ago, I would of said get the i975 so you'll have an upgrade path to Conroe, but now that looks like it's not true.

I would think that a 3.4 gig O/C is a reasonable goal, maybe up to 3.6 gig with good cooling and a bump in voltage. As for a good CPU heatsink, check out the cooling section.

batboy said:

To be honest, there isn't much advantage to the i975 compared to the i955 chipset on these Asus mobos. A month ago, I would of said get the i975 so you'll have an upgrade path to Conroe, but now that looks like it's not true.

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thanks batboy. I ended up putting in the order for the i975 last night, i figured whats an extra $40? But out of curiosity why? Does the i955 have conroe capability now?

As for cooling I ended up getting the Big Typhoon, seemed to fit my needs and budget perfectly.

No, the current i975 at one time was thought to support Conroe, but now we hear there will be a modified version of i975 (also i965 and i985). There might be a way to mod the current i975 to work. My point was since neither technically supported Conroe, it didn't matter which one you got.

batboy said:

No, the current i975 at one time was thought to support Conroe, but now we hear there will be a modified version of i975 (also i965 and i985). There might be a way to mod the current i975 to work. My point was since neither technically supported Conroe, it didn't matter which one you got.

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Not likley. Its not so much an update to the chipset, rather an update to v-reg circuits.