New Cruncher Question

[[XC] flat-four]

So here's my predicament, I want to build a new cruncher that will hold me over till kent's are available. Right now, I want to build an allendale rig with a board that will support quad core, then switch the 63/6400 over when a m-atx mb comes out with some decent oc capabilities, and put the kent in the mb I pick now. I would like to get a m-atx now, but there aren't any with decent fsb's and get the r600(assuming they are as good as we're expecting). I need a m-atx mb, so I can move my old p4 m-atx to the closet w/o a case and keep my q-pack cruncher case. Any thoughts? Thanks

[Haltech]

all the current M-ATX boards wont do an Allendale, let alone a Conroe justice.

[rob725]

6300 or 6400 and how fast do want it to go?

[[XC] flat-four]

With the system I get today, i mainly want 400 fsb. Probably looking at the p5b deluxe, or the gigabyte ds3/5. My main concern today is compatibility with kentsfield. I'm hoping by next year, the m-atx line develops more when I move the allendale over to the m-atx, and put the kent in.

So I guess right now, I'm mainly looking for whatever board will do Kentsfield the best, as the 63/6400 will be going in another board.

[rob725]

400 should not be too hard on either of the boards you mentioned or on several of the 975 boards. The p5b is nice because you can drive a 6300 pretty high on it. It is not at all unusual to see fsb's in the 450-520 range. Kentsfield has an unlocked multi, I believe, so a high FSB is not so important for it. The 975's seem to be a little faster (at least in pi runs) and the ABIT seems to be a little faster above 400fsb than the asus models (again in pi), since it holds on to the 1066 strap longer. Also it does not suffer from the funky hard and double restarts that the asus boards do. On the other hand, it is laid out kind of strangely, and I haven't seen too many > 450 fsbs (prolly because it won't let go of the 1066 strap, which may be fixed with a bios). Those who have ASUS ws pro seem to like their board alot, but it's kind of pricey.

The bottom line though is that at 400 fsb, you have a choice of several boards and can pick one for its features/price. I plan on using ws pro for phase/kentsfield build.

[rob725]

If you haven't already seen this, some interesting updates on p5b and straps:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=114998&page=9