Topic: New Motherboard

[FEVER]

 RE: [Quote "Zeus"]If you're looking for a new board, I'd go with an Intel P35 or X38 chipset as they have better support for newer Intel 45nm Wolfdale processors.  I know that some 680i boards don't support these new processors.[/Quote]

 Im not sure Im ready to leave my 7950GT's in SLI for crossfire just yet. Adding a 3rd could be a possibility though down the road, if I go 780i.
  My truck rear-end & air-conditiong compressor broke last week at the same time, and im currently selling off my $2500 worth of photography equipment to fund my pc upgrade, so something NOT buggy, & not bank breaking would be nice. SO.......
 Price is an issue here, to the point Im just considering going to 680i, just because prices are dropping, and theyre proven & tested. Both chipsets Ive had my eye on EVGA boards mainly for customer support ratings, but have read some 780i's have issues.
 Anyone heard anything bad about the MSI P7N Diamond 780i 775 board?
 Would this be a better choice over a proven 680i?
 Any suggestions?

 Still undecided about selling my E6600 on ebay & upgrade to Q6600 or not.....
 
   

[Zeus]

The 680i is a nice motherboard.  I've used it to take a E6750 to 4GHz.  That's at 445FSB, and isn't too shabby.  Their are a couple advantages the 780i has; support for 45nm CPUs from Intel (E8x00/Q9x00) and full 16x lanes on each of the three PCIe 16x slots.  The 680i only supports 16x / 8x / 16x and won't physically support a brand new Intel chip.  The 780i is a little more future friendly.

I've never heard much about the MSI P7N Diamond at all, but I'll keep my ears and eyes open.  Most of those 780i boards are nVidia reference design and they all should be pretty much the same.  I've got a 780i board that I couldn't get a BIOS for so I used an EVGA BIOS and this certainly isn't an EVGA board.  They are pretty slick that way - the 780i.

[FEVER]

 Thats pretty much what I was expecting to hear. Ive read quite a few people with BIOS issues from the start, (with flashing needed) So I guess they all have their own issues.
  I only mentioned the MSI board becuse (Ive heard) It doesnt have as many issues from the first boot??, and soli-state capacitors. I would rather go with soomething that doesnt look like grandmas purse in color, but I want to avoid headaches if possible with my first MB/OS swap.

UPDATE: Seems ebay has turned my luck around a bit. I MAY be able to take your origional advice after all Ben...would my antec truepower trio 650 work with the X38? PCI-E plugs on PSU universal with crossfire/sli?

[FEVER]

 I seem to have confusion about nvidia/ati physical differences. RE: would my antec truepower trio 650 work with the X38/P35? PCI-E plugs on PSU universal with crossfire/ATI?".
 
 I'll assume the PCIE plugs on SLI-PSU's are universal through ATI crossfire and Nvidia SLI linked cards...........
 I cant run SLI on a P35 or X38/X48 chipset...so....
 Can a single Nvidia PCI-E card be used on the P35/X38 board? (Ie: MSI P35 Platinum) with forceware,  until I purchase an ATI card?
 http://www.viperlair.com/reviews/cpu_mobo/msi/intel/lga775/p35combo/p2.shtml
 Reviewing a card here with an 8800gtx & forceware. (Didnt think this was possible.)
 Im confused.
  I like the $144 price over x38's.
 

[Zeus]

You can run a single nVidia card on pretty much any motherboard whether it is using an Intel, AMD, nVidia or even a SiS chipset.  Most PSUs that support ATI cards will work fine on nVidia cards as well.

Incompatibility between motherboards and graphics cards exists when trying to run either Crossfire or SLI.  You can only run SLI on an nVidia chipset, and Crossfire works on Intel / AMD chipsets.

You could even run the new 9800GX2 on the P35 motherboard without issues.  Just don't try and run two in SLI on that board. . .

[FEVER]

ok, done!
 MSI P35 Platinum Combo 

 Looks like a nice $150 transitional board. (zipyourfly)
 Grabbed myself a full/retail copy of vista basic also for $135 (fleabay)
 

 
 

[FEVER]

 Im getting closer & closer. Just waiting for some undisturbed free-time throughout my week to assemble.
 Configure BIOS, The New Full Retail OS gets installed over my old OEM OS,  then motherboard drivers & utilities, correct? I havent powered up yet as im not sure what order things need to be done, and my old OS is still on my HD, connected to the new MB.
 

 

[Zeus]

Backup all your data, including email, address book and then when you install, format the HDD and reinstall fresh.  When you install directly over-top without formatting you'll cause yourself a lot of headache down the road.

[FEVER]

  Ok, i think I understand what ur sayin. Im putting a 64 bit over a 32 bit, so I have to reformat with a  clean install. Unless you meant to "format c:" in DOS......then reinstall..?..

 Thanks for the help. Ive been waiting all weekend to build. Finally decided today was the day, & it really couldnt have gone easier ....so-far  Ebay makes me nervous for hardware especially when I cant run juice through it right away.

[Zeus]

You don't/didn't need to go and format c:.  You have/had the option to format the HDD when you installed the 64-bit OS.  I'm glad it wen't okay.

[FEVER]

 Actually, it was pretty smooth sailing......untill I decided to allow it to update automatically, then pop in the supplied drivers & utilities disk  Kinda froze on me during driver installation, then net conn. was lost. Was for the best though, cause I decided to reistall the OS, then saw the format selection you mentioned.....somehow I missed it the first time around.
 Now Im starting to get an idea first-hand of the compatibility issues with some software. First it was spysweeper, so I got free AVG, and paid version ad-aware. Then, I install Uniblue-Registry Booster, but It manages to find 700 errors in registry before scanning completed. I contacted uniblue for an answer on compatibility, but im guessing not. Finally, I figured I d move on again, now to BF2.......Warning! Only been tested on 32bit OS........LMAO Now things are finally getting exciting! 
 Im close to considering going back to 32 before I spend more money on compatable software.......unless I can talk myself out of it.
 At least Everest works fine.......and honestly, Im just glad I didnt have any hardware issues. Powered up fine first try.

[Zeus]

BF2 will work on 64-bit OS.  Most programs that don't have 64-bit extensions are put into the Program Files (x86) directory and work just fine.  Not sure about registry programs though.

If you've got 4GB of DDR and 1GB of video memory (SLI/Crossfire 512MB cards), 64-bit OS is the only way to go.

[FEVER]

 You talked me into it! I'll stick it out. Most errors during scan were found in "System Software Settings" - HKey_Local_Machine\Software\Wow6432Node...\...\...
 Dunno what all the invalid paths & entries are, but I guess theres only 1 way to find out  (besides waiting for uniblue to return an answer- and wheres the adventure in that? lol)