Conroe Options...

[stocky]

I'm being stupid and looking into changing my mind for one of these Conroe rigs. One of the reasons being is the price/performance and the other is that the new motherboards look like they have a load of useful extras! (P5W!)

What processor would be best to go for, and what is a good price for each type?

E6600 = £200?

E6700 = £300?

 

[lamboman]

E6600 oc's further on air

 

[maverik-sg1]

6700 = more headroom for extreme or water cooling, although there are better boards soon to be released

 

[stocky]

6700 = more headroom for extreme or water cooling, although there are better boards soon to be released

What board's might these be? :B

 

[maverik-sg1]

The Asus P5WDG2 WS Professional - I believe there is an ASUS P5W64 coming out too.

DFI will have a lanparty series and the NF590SLI mobo's are due out shortly.

The P5WDH performs better if modded but it is the reason why the 6700 is unable to stretch its legs over the 6600 right now.

For single GPU performance the Asus P5B Delux is a better choice for overclocking and really does show the difference in CPU performance of the 6700/6600.

Thats not to say that if you are on air cooling the P5W DH is a bad board, its actually quite good - just if you want the best, this aint it.

Mav

 

[stocky]

Cheers for that - I was very close to jumping on the band wagon and going for it! Do you know any ETA's on these boards?

 

[maverik-sg1]

All part of teh service my friend.

Most new boards available within 2-4weeks

 

[stocky]

I don't quite understand the differences/ advantages between the P5B Deluxe and the P5W DH?

What do each have to offer over each other?

 

[stocky]

I see that the P5B Deluxe = 965

and the P5W DH = 975

Surely this will mean that the 975 will perform better?

 

[boardy]

965 is the newer chipset but is pants for SLI or Crossfire. 975 has been proven and is one of the best overclocking Intel chipsets on 775.

Boardy

 

[Blindfitter]

Are you saying the current motherboards are ok e6300, but the higher cpu's namely e6700 and xs6800, motherboards comming which will enable much improved performance.

because i was wondering as to why the 6600 can take on and beat the 6700 and even, the 6800 in most instances.

is the memory important to which conroe cpu you choose? ie speed make ect.

 

[stocky]

is the memory important to which conroe cpu you choose? ie speed make ect.

I'd also like to know which memory options are the best

 

[maverik-sg1]

Most of the branded RAM are using the same chips (ie: Micron D9's).

Gskill's HZ 1GB Sticks seem to offer great performance for the price.

I think unless you know of a specific golden sample (like Thickies Patriot RAM) then you have to be looking at PC6400 or higher - these are speed rated chips that should clock nicely and run at least 1:1 with (if not faster than) you CPU FSB up to around 450mhz.

If you intend to run higher than that then you have to consider either ram dividers, expensive higher rated RAM, or trust that your PC6400 ram will run slack timings 1:1.

I am running 4gig of OCZ XTC PC8000, 450mhz 4-3-4-10 - great ram

 

[stocky]

How much do the timings affect the overall performance?

From the architecture I imagine it must be significant...

 

[maverik-sg1]

How much do the timings affect the overall performance?

From the architecture I imagine it must be significant...

CAS is not as critical as AMD, but it's the other timings can really make a difference.

Example: superpi running RAM 3:4 (920ish mhz) at 4-4-4-12 was 28s slower than same CPU clocks/divider and 4-4-3-10 - but running RAM 1:1 (720ish mhz) @ 4-3-3-10 was 50s slower than 3:4 @ 4-4-3-10.

Mav

 

[crazy_g1zm0]

teh dh edition is a crossfire board as far as i know

 

[boardy]

I think you'll find all conroe boards are Crossfire atm.

Boardy

 

[maverik-sg1]

I think you'll find all conroe boards are Crossfire atm.

Boardy

Except those based on teh 965 chipset as the 2nd pci-e lane is only x4.

Mav

 

[boardy]

Except those based on teh 965 chipset as the 2nd pci-e lane is only x4.

Mav

Still Crossfire enabled mate as the P5WD2-Premium I have is crossfire i955x chipset which also has 1 16x and a 4x slot.

They can do it but the performance isn't there which is why all the big 3D benchers are on the P5W-DH as that's i975x chipset

Boardy

 

[maverik-sg1]

Still Crossfire enabled mate as the P5WD2-Premium I have is crossfire i955x chipset which also has 1 16x and a 4x slot.

They can do it but the performance isn't there which is why all the big 3D benchers are on the P5W-DH as that's i975x chipset

Boardy

It dont say on the box 'crossfire ready', it's not advertised as 'Crossfire Ready' - and if its hampered performance, I guess its not true Crossfire Ready.

Although I take on board what you are saying, if you can only afford 2x X1950XTX, a 965 board and a conroe chip then you can run Crossfire - but then if you could afford all that, you really want a 975 board that is certified crossfire ready and helps you realise the full value of your two new cards...... wouldn't you?