View Full Version : What is the best Conroe board RIGHT NOW?
computerpro3
05-28-2006, 04:45 PM
Well, I've been thinking a bit and I decided that I'm bored and want to go back to intel. All I really have to do is change mobo, chip, and ram since my psu is more than capable for any system out there today (modded zippy 700w).
So basically, I'm building a conroe system right now and dropping in a budget intel chip until the conroe is out en masse. I have about 1000 bucks to put towards the chip, ram, and motherboard, so keep that in mind.
As of what is on the market right now, what's the absolute best motherboard and memory out there that will support conroe? Also, what budget intel chip do you reccomend for the time being?
Whatever I get will be overclocked on my top of the line watercooling system.
Thanks.
afireinside
05-28-2006, 04:54 PM
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=249607
Out of stock but it looks like the best bet. Not sure when they will have any for sale. Only other I'm aware of is the badaxe 304.
Memory you want 2*1024 D9 or that EPP(?) stuff. D9 is long out of production but it's #1. GL finding any at a reasonable price.
computerpro3
05-28-2006, 06:13 PM
Hmmm...I've never used a MSI board before. One of the things I loved about intel was the no questions asked stability. The damn things just worked when you got an Asus board. Is the MSI likewise stable?
Also, is it a good overclocker? I thought that board had no vcore options in bios?
dnottis
05-28-2006, 06:34 PM
Wait until Asus releases a board that officially supports Conroe.
kyleslater
05-28-2006, 06:41 PM
Wait until Asus releases a board that officially supports Conroe.
What he says. Well that or DFI...
NickS
05-28-2006, 06:41 PM
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=249607
Out of stock but it looks like the best bet. Not sure when they will have any for sale. Only other I'm aware of is the badaxe 304.
Memory you want 2*1024 D9 or that EPP(?) stuff. D9 is long out of production but it's #1. GL finding any at a reasonable price.
Yep :D.
Hmmm...I've never used a MSI board before. One of the things I loved about intel was the no questions asked stability. The damn things just worked when you got an Asus board. Is the MSI likewise stable?
Also, is it a good overclocker? I thought that board had no vcore options in bios?
It's very very stable. I've loved all of my MSI's, lol see my avatar too. :slap:
Anyway, iirc you cannot change vCore in that BIOS but you can vMod it. It's the only Conroe board out and boy does it OC :D.
Nick
afireinside
05-28-2006, 07:30 PM
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=100587
The only reason I recommended it. Otherwise wait for an ASUS.
vintage_guitar
05-28-2006, 07:36 PM
I'm never spending over 200$ for a board. I'll wait for 965.
JumpingJack
05-28-2006, 08:42 PM
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Cebit2006/Day5/2 - CBIT pics 965 MB
http://uk.asus.com/news_show.aspx?id=2477 UK news release/announcement
thunderstruck!
05-28-2006, 08:46 PM
There's a very easy answer to this. Don't buy a board now. There are only 2 to choose from. Wait for the DFI board to come out. What is the point of buying something to support a CPU that won't be released till June/July.
You could buy RAM though. Get some 2*1GB D9 or elpidia based ram. Both are really fast and go very far.
afireinside
05-29-2006, 12:27 AM
There's a very easy answer to this. Don't buy a board now. There are only 2 to choose from. Wait for the DFI board to come out. What is the point of buying something to support a CPU that won't be released till June/July.
You could buy RAM though. Get some 2*1GB D9 or elpidia based ram. Both are really fast and go very far.
Why wait for DFI? We have NO IDEA when they will have a 975 board out and we have no idea if it will even be worth buying. DFIs previous 775 and 478 offerings were junk compared to ASUS.
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=249607
Out of stock but it looks like the best bet. Not sure when they will have any for sale. Only other I'm aware of is the badaxe 304.
Are you sure that msi is Rev 2B?
b0bd0le
05-29-2006, 01:37 AM
There's a very easy answer to this. Don't buy a board now. There are only 2 to choose from. Wait for the DFI board to come out. What is the point of buying something to support a CPU that won't be released till June/July.
You could buy RAM though. Get some 2*1GB D9 or elpidia based ram. Both are really fast and go very far.
why wait you ask? well for me, my old athlonXP system is starting to fall apart... and i have the upgrade itch REALLY BAD.
at this very moment it is horrible to have, anything i buy now has reached it's "end of the life"
939 5 minutes from dying
i975 non-existant
am2 i am not being price gouged
things would be very simple if i could just buy a conroe supporting board and pop in some cheap 775 chip to get me bye until then.
Jagz64
05-29-2006, 01:48 AM
does any one know how much the 965 mobo's will cost?
stone_cold_Jimi
05-29-2006, 02:01 AM
I'm going to wait for a mobo... but I'm committing to a Conroe rig now: RAM bought today. Hope it's good for the purpose, damn cost enough!
http://www.crucial.com/store/partspecs.Asp?IMODULE=BL2KIT12864AA1005
dogsx2
05-29-2006, 02:15 AM
: RAM bought today. cost enough!
Yea but: Free Shipping :D
dnottis
05-29-2006, 05:48 AM
Why wait for DFI? We have NO IDEA when they will have a 975 board out and we have no idea if it will even be worth buying. DFIs previous 775 and 478 offerings were junk compared to ASUS.
I've got one great reason for waiting for DFI - CMOS reloaded!!
I have the DFI Ultra-D now and I absolutely love saving my different BIOS configs, what a great feature!!
What is it with Intel mobos costing an arm and a leg? I remember paying $230 for my Asus 875 back in the day. Its going to be nice to get a CPU under $200 from Intel but their mobo prices are outrageous ($230 - 250). On the other hand we pay $300 for an AMD chip and the boards are $120. When you think about it we are still taking it on the chin either way....the 975x boards are just too much money to drop on a mobo.
dnottis
05-29-2006, 05:49 AM
I'm going to wait for a mobo... but I'm committing to a Conroe rig now: RAM bought today. Hope it's good for the purpose, damn cost enough!
http://www.crucial.com/store/partspecs.Asp?IMODULE=BL2KIT12864AA1005
Jimi - are you f'n nuts man!!?? $569 for PC8000!!?
OCZs same size and PC-8000 is $100 less...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227091
Caubecari
05-29-2006, 06:45 AM
why not buy this?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145033
ludeboy12
05-29-2006, 06:56 AM
the above 2 have crappy timings....id rather have these g.skill here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231077
msi is the top company for intel boards as asus is for amd, if you want to c stability and moon overclocking check out the coolaler's sticky he hit 4.6 on a 2.6 conroe.
I've got one great reason for waiting for DFI - CMOS reloaded!!
I have the DFI Ultra-D now and I absolutely love saving my different BIOS configs, what a great feature!!
What is it with Intel mobos costing an arm and a leg? I remember paying $230 for my Asus 875 back in the day. Its going to be nice to get a CPU under $200 from Intel but their mobo prices are outrageous ($230 - 250). On the other hand we pay $300 for an AMD chip and the boards are $120. When you think about it we are still taking it on the chin either way....the 975x boards are just too much money to drop on a mobo.
not really. look at the new dfi boards like the cfx3200 and the a8r32mvp
Elisha
05-29-2006, 07:20 AM
msi is the top company for intel boards as asus is for amd, if you want to c stability and moon overclocking check out the coolaler's sticky he hit 4.6 on a 2.6 conroe.
you're joking right? MSI now and then brings out something really good but has never been the top board.
SturmoV
05-29-2006, 07:26 AM
I'm going to wait for a mobo... but I'm committing to a Conroe rig now: RAM bought today. Hope it's good for the purpose, damn cost enough!
http://www.crucial.com/store/partspecs.Asp?IMODULE=BL2KIT12864AA1005
I hope you didn't buy it for the price listed on their website. Newegg's prices are at least 100$ less.
thunderstruck!
05-29-2006, 08:04 AM
Why wait for DFI? We have NO IDEA when they will have a 975 board out and we have no idea if it will even be worth buying.
Oh really? How about you go ask andreyang here. Here is the DFI roadmap for boards supporting conroe. http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=100512
DFIs previous 775 and 478 offerings were junk compared to ASUS.
Ok, so previous bad performance and you write them off in your book? You go do that, you're just limiting your choices, unless you're an asus fanboy.;)
afireinside
05-29-2006, 09:14 AM
Oh really? How about you go ask andreyang here. Here is the DFI roadmap for boards supporting conroe. http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=100512
Ok, so previous bad performance and you write them off in your book? You go do that, you're just limiting your choices, unless you're an asus fanboy.;)
I've used 7 DFI boards since the NF2 came out and only one other (a chaintech when nf3 250 launched) so I highly doubt I'm as asus fanboy ;) The only reason DFIs A64 boards were considered the best was because they built all the voltage options you'd normally have to vmod for into the BIOS and allowed you to change all the memory timings that you usually need A64 tweaker for. Plus the fact that no other company cared in the least bit to provide competition.
If DFI puts out a good 975 conroe board, I'll buy it. If not it's whatever is the best for me.
What is it with Intel mobos costing an arm and a leg? I remember paying $230 for my Asus 875 back in the day. Its going to be nice to get a CPU under $200 from Intel but their mobo prices are outrageous ($230 - 250). On the other hand we pay $300 for an AMD chip and the boards are $120. When you think about it we are still taking it on the chin either way....the 975x boards are just too much money to drop on a mobo.
With AMD you still have to spend 175/215 for an expert/CFX3200. With a good 975 board you're buying a feature loaded board that won't give you a myriad of problems. And more importantly you won't have to buy 10 f'n CPUs to find a good one that doesn't cold bug since the memory controller is built into the north bridge. That also raises the cost of the board.
Haltech
05-29-2006, 09:39 AM
I think everyone knows Asus is top dog for Intel, but their AMD boards are horrible.If someone says otherwise, they are full of it.
I thought the new MSI plat rev B. that coololar is using has cpu voltage selection without volt mods being needed?
DFI has to prove to the Intel crowd what they did for AMD. This is why you're seeing resistance here. I'm sure Oscar will release a kickass board. I just hope it doesn't have an attitude like their past 5 AMD boards.
Just sit back and wait, otherwise you may make an expensive mistake.
Stelios
05-29-2006, 03:52 PM
As long as i remember , one reason for buying intel CPU's in the past , was for also getting a nice Intel chipset (problem free) . Now with options from Nvidia & ATI , i'm getting confused ... I would like much better a board with Intel chipset.
grimREEFER
05-29-2006, 05:01 PM
msi is the top company for intel boards as asus is for amd, if you want to c stability and moon overclocking check out the coolaler's sticky he hit 4.6 on a 2.6 conroe.
asus is the top company for intel!!!!!!!!!!!
M.Beier
05-29-2006, 05:18 PM
Well, Im full of crap then... Think Abit usually's better then Asus @ Intel... But hey, thats just me..
freecableguy
05-29-2006, 05:32 PM
asus is the top company for intel!!!!!!!!!!!
We'll see what Oskar has to say about that. :p:
CCUABIDExORxDIE
05-29-2006, 06:25 PM
With AMD you still have to spend 175/215 for an expert/CFX3200. With a good 975 board you're buying a feature loaded board that won't give you a myriad of problems. And more importantly you won't have to buy 10 f'n CPUs to find a good one that doesn't cold bug since the memory controller is built into the north bridge. That also raises the cost of the board.
umm...what about 130nm? no coldbug there. now are ya gonna tell me that the mem controller was on the northbridge with 130nm? :slapass:
and its the clockgen that coldbugs...not the mem controller.
robberbaron
05-29-2006, 06:27 PM
That also raises the cost of the board.
How does that raise the cost of the board?
thunderstruck!
05-29-2006, 06:27 PM
umm...what about 130nm? no coldbug there. now are ya gonna tell me that the mem controller was on the northbridge with 130nm? :slapass:
It certainly couldn't handle LN2 temps. Not all of them.
CCUABIDExORxDIE
05-29-2006, 07:12 PM
It certainly couldn't handle LN2 temps. Not all of them.
i know they could handle -100ºC and lower. maybe not -180C or whatever LN2 is, but gains are minimal from there on out.
xombie2000
05-29-2006, 07:53 PM
Well, Im full of crap then... Think Abit usually's better then Asus @ Intel... But hey, thats just me..
As I recall, and I could be mistaken, Abit had some quality issues a few years back. Now thas no indicator of design, just manufacturing.
V I P E R
05-29-2006, 09:46 PM
We'll see what Oskar has to say about that. :p:
Yeahhh right .... he is going to use Nvidia chipset in their top model. I've always used Intel CPU with Intel chipset because it gave me kick ass stability and it workes without any single problem even when it is highly overclocked. I've used a lot of Nvidia based boards for AMD and there was only problems with them. Oscar can not do anything if the chipset is crap, and the previous version of Nvidia chipset for Intel proved that NVIDIA has a long way to go, before make a good chipset for Intel.
lawrywild
05-30-2006, 04:31 AM
http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?sku=317061&cks=ACC
supports conroe?
FireDragon
05-30-2006, 04:43 AM
msi is the top company for intel boards as asus is for amd, if you want to c stability and moon overclocking check out the coolaler's sticky he hit 4.6 on a 2.6 conroe.
Dont know where u have been but for oc'ing DFI is on top for ANY board...nothing will allow u to push your entire system further...Asus is good for being stable...but as far as oc no...MSI some LOVE them others hate them like me...i have found that the boards taht i have had from MSI are pretty much junk...
BTW u can get a rev 302 badaxe and fallow perkams guide on the front page to mod it if u have the skills...ppl on here can do it for u like me but i have way to much to do...just ask around...Hipro, Perkam, and quite a few others...
Dragon
http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?sku=317061&cks=ACC
supports conroe?
I asked that one in another thread-no reply :(-im gonna give Komplett a ring and find out whether its they have the 2.b version that supports conroe,the 2.a needs to be modded (???),dont know of its the same way as the bad axe though.(???)
Anyone?
EDIT:Rang them up and they said they couldnt be bothered to look basically:(
grimREEFER
05-30-2006, 07:01 AM
what exactly happens when u put a conroe in an asus board with a 975 chipset, it just doesnt boot?
Stelios
05-30-2006, 01:14 PM
Well, Im full of crap then... Think Abit usually's better then Asus @ Intel... But hey, thats just me..
Asus always had vdroop problems (from 478 boards) . If they don't fix it , i don't think i'll get one of their boards.
you're joking right? MSI now and then brings out something really good but has never been the top board.
true but they usually have great boards for intel, am i wrong (compared to other companies)
Dont know where u have been but for oc'ing DFI is on top for ANY board...nothing will allow u to push your entire system further...Asus is good for being stable...but as far as oc no...MSI some LOVE them others hate them like me...i have found that the boards taht i have had from MSI are pretty much junk...
BTW u can get a rev 302 badaxe and fallow perkams guide on the front page to mod it if u have the skills...ppl on here can do it for u like me but i have way to much to do...just ask around...Hipro, Perkam, and quite a few others...
Dragon
yeh, but i dont agree that dfi has better boards for intel. but for amd theyre miles above anyone. im not saying that other companies have bad motherboards (im not even a fan of msi)
afireinside
05-30-2006, 06:15 PM
How does that raise the cost of the board?
Needing a memory controller on chipset = harder to make = more expensive
umm...what about 130nm? no coldbug there. now are ya gonna tell me that the mem controller was on the northbridge with 130nm? :slapass:
and its the clockgen that coldbugs...not the mem controller.
They crapped out around -130c. It's just not many people got low enough to find out. Some chips memory bugged. My first 3500+ venice did.