Help me upgrade my system

I'm looking to upgrade to a Core 2 Duo system, and I'm hoping for some advice that could help me narrow down my choices.

I'm leaning toward the E6600, but could drop back to the E6400 if that money would be better spent on a better mobo, for example. While I can't afford the best of the best, I do want to come up with a package that will afford me very good OC capabilities, as well as a comprehensive feature set. I would prefer a board that sports the ICH8R so that I can take advantage of SATA RAID.

Also, though I really don't see myself going SLI, I would like to go with an nVidia video card, likely an 8800.

All that said, I'm looking for the motherboard that will provide me the most bang for the buck.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Oh yeah, COLTS ROCK!!!

My vote is for the P5B Deluxe.

well if you go with the E6600 i would suggest the Abit AW9D-max. moving to the E6400 would be the abit quad gt over the asus p5b-dlx. in the sli side really not that much more costly would be a Evga 680I mobo. the 680i can be had for about the same as the quad gt and p5b-dlx.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813188010
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813188009
then compare the p5b-dlx's/quad gt

no-wifi
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131045
with wifi
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131028

quad gt
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127019

Or the badaxe2 for the E6600
http://www.microcenter.com/byos/byos_single_product_results.phtml?product_id=251723

greenmaji said:

Or the badaxe2 for the E6600
http://www.microcenter.com/byos/byos_single_product_results.phtml?product_id=251723

Click to expand...

I've heard that the Intel boards, while some of the most dependable, aren't exactly accommodating to the overclocker. Is that true?

The Badaxe2 just so happens to be one of if not the best 975X chipset motherboards for overclocking & performance currently..

Previous Intel branded boards were not overclocking freindly, Intel has changed there marketing stradagy in that regard recently. (955X IIRC was the first overclocking freindly board out of them)

greenmaji said:

The Badaxe2 just so happens to be one of if not the best 975X chipset motherboards for overclocking & performance currently..

Previous Intel branded boards were not overclocking freindly, Intel has changed there marketing stradagy in that regard recently. (955X IIRC was the first overclocking freindly board out of them)

Click to expand...

so intel did away with the 433 max fsb then? last time i saw a ss of the BX2 433 was the max... but the board had me drooling over the wide range of voltage options for the cpu/ram. omg i lost count how many steps....i think they were in .1v steps but been a while since i saw the bios of that board.

Something else to think about is that if you go with the E6400, you will have to pay a little more for RAM if you want to go higher than 3.2Ghz.

I just went C2D...my system is a P5B Deluxe, E6400, Teamgroup D9 based RAM, Tuniq Tower for cooling.

Still waiting on everything to show up...but I'm really shooting/hoping for 3.6Ghz

Well, I've just about narrowed it down to the ABIT AB9 Pro. I've always had pretty good luck with ABIT boards, and this one seems to strike a pretty good balance between cost and features. Any thoughts on its OC'ability?

Also, if I may, I have a few additional questions:

1) What's with all the higher end DDR2? Most of the boards I'm looking at list the standard RAM to be DDR800 (PC6400 IIRC), but I'm seeing all kinds of crazy expensive stuff, PC8000 and up. Should I even concern myself with the higher-end stuff? Would it even work on the AB9 Pro?

2) I've seen of a few boards include the following in the spec sheet: Notice: Only DDR2-800 memory supporting JEDEC approved 1.8V operation with timings of 5-5-5 or 6-6-6 is supported on Intel Desktop Boards based on Intel 965 Express Chipsets. How does that affect my available RAM choices? Does it mean I shouldn't even bother with anything with better CL and timings than 5? Also, does it have a bearing on point #1, above?

3) Some of the Crossfire (not sure about SLI) boards list 2- x16 PCI-E slots, but that one only operates at x4? Is that pretty much standard? Does that mean that the second GPU would be utilized much less than the first? That would kind of make an already extravagant expense (IMO) even moreso, I would think.

4) Lastly, but perhaps most importantly - for me anyway - why might I consider the 975 chipset over the 965? It seems like a bit of a split here on the forums - possibly simply a matter of personal preference? The 965 is newer, as I understand it, and offers the more recent southbridge version, but I've seen the 975 referred to as the more performance-based.

To focus a bit here, my primary considerations are as follows (in order of priority):

1) Feature set - I would like to end up with a board that covers as many bases as possible with regard to available ports and slots (though, I should reiterate that I have no interest in SLI or CF - just too cost prohibitive for my situation). Dual-NIC's seem cool, though I really don't know how much they would improve my gaming experience. On-board audio would never get used, so that's pretty much irrelevant. Makes me wonder what all those PCI-E x1 slots are for. /shrug

2) I intend to utilize VT quite a bit in my application development efforts. I don't know if that makes any difference at all from a MB point of view, or if the Core 2 Duo is all I need for an optimal VT implementation (wish I could afford Quad core :/)

3) Cost - I don't want to build this on the cheap, but any money I can save on the MB will be applied to the processor or video card. I'm thinking something in the neighborhood of $120-199.99, though I *could* see myself going over $200 for a phenomenal board.

I would also love to hear thoughts on memory options for suggested boards.

Thanks a ton for everyone's help so far! Make the jump from one generation of PC tech to the next (or especially when it skipping a generation or two) is always really exciting for me, though it usually involves me seeing, once again, just how far out of the loop I've gotten.

450FSB possibly a bit more out of the AB9-Pro

1. I would not worry about the expensive high end fast RAM. Decent DDR2-800 will be enough.

2. Some of the RAM with tight timings that needed higher voltage had compatibility problems with some motherboards at first (like OCZ). The RAM makers have relaxed SPD and the motherboards have updated BIOS that should solve most of those early issues.

3. Some Crossfire motherboards run the second PCI-E slot at 4X and others at 8X. If you are considering Crossfire, I strongly rcommend getting an i975X chipset, like Abit AW9D or Asus P5W DH.

4. The i975X will generally outperform the i965 by a small margin in most benchmarks. But, the i965 will often run higher FSB. If you are getting an E6600, then I would recommend an i975X. However, if you don't need all the features of the i975X, then a mobo like the AB9 will work fine too, not to mention it's way cheaper.

In regards to feature, VT, and cost... The Abit AB9 Pro should have everything you are looking for. Just update the BIOS after you are up and running.

Is VT even affected by the motherboard? I thought that was a CPU thing. I know that the E4300 does not have VT instructions, but the other C2D's do.

VT is a feature like SSE, if VT worked or not is not affected by the motherboard. i would say think of like when intel did MMX on the pentuims. you had both MMX or non-MMX either would work on the motherboard. just that if you had software that could use MMX but the cpu didnt have it. the software may not work, a few games i can think of that use MMX in the past would not run on non-mmx cpu's.

Ack! More research - more waffling. Now it's looking like the Abit Quad GT. At this point, I'm planning to go with an E6400 with plans for an upgrade to quad core at some point (should be a boon for VT).

So, thoughts on the Quad GT would be appreciated.

Aside from that, I think I'm gonna treat myself to a GeForce 8800 GTS for some high framerate and beefy texture goodness. Also some decent (but nothing fancy) RAM - probably Crucial.

I do plan to take advantage of the Matrix raid capabilities, so I'm now trying to pin down a good drive to buy, like, three of. I've heard good things about the Hitachis (7k500, I think?), but will certainly be looking for a 16MB cache version. Raptors are just too pricey for me to squeeze more than one into this kit, unfortunately. Anyone got any recommendations?

Lastly, I'm gonna need a new case. I want something in the way of a mid-tower that provides the basics (snap-in drive rails, adequate airflow, pleasant absence of knuckle-shredding sharp edges, etc.). A friend suggested about anything brom Lian Li. What is everyone else using? I'm hoping to get something at as reasonable a price as possible, though I'll obviously need a PSU as well.

Thanks for all the suggestions, folks!