Motherboard Opinions please.

[cpiper]

I am currently running the following rig:

DFI LP UT NF680I LT SLI-T2
E6850
EVGA 8800 gtx x2 sli
CORSAIR XMS2 DOMINATOR 2GB DDR2 800
PC Power & Cooling S75QB EPS12V 750W

I find the dfi board to be unstable. I often get freezes in apps, have had several bsod's times, sli is not stable, often have to reboot to get things working again. I want a stable board. I am not going to overclock, I just want stability. The board in my sig was my previous build, but it was my most stable. Never had day 1 trouble from that Gigabyte board. Tell me what you suggest.

[jdrom17]

Firstly, that's what you get with an NVIDIA chipset. Get used to it. Especially with the 680i which was the worst IMO.

Get a nice Gigabyte or ASUS board that uses the Intel P35 chipset and you'll be fine.

[Comixion]

Why do NVidia based boards get such a bad rap?

[Grimreaper]

Apparently they are pretty buggy. I don't say this from personal experience, just what other people have said. The only Nvidia board I have owned was an Nforce4 which was supposed to be a pretty decent chipset. I never had any problems with that one.

[jdrom17]

NVIDIA made the best chipsets for AMD IMO. They just went downhill with Intel. My 650i SLI was buggered with various memory problems and so was the 680i.

[cpiper]

I've always used the nVidia chipset and never had a problem with it. Maybe that's what's going on here, but I don't know for sure. Like I said before, the Gigabyte board with nVidia chipset was the most stable I have ever used.

[AKHandyman]

What I heard and read about the nVidia chipset (for Intel) was there were several bugs (code) not quite working right in the southbridge which tried to emulate the Intel ICH8R/ICH9R, but fell short ... I could be wrong but there was something on the Internets about that some time ago ... :rolleyes:

[cpiper]

hmmm, I'll look around. I wonder if nvidia has a fix.

[Comixion]

... I could be wrong but there was something on the Internets about that some time ago ... :rolleyes:


Always forgetting what you read.....old man.:p

[Assimilator87]

Since you'll need an nVidia chipset to run SLI, you should get the MSI P7N Diamond (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130158). It comes with a Sound Blaster card and has a really great setup of expansion slots.

[Comixion]

Huh? you NEED and Nvidia based card to run SLI?

1. I'm switching to Intel
2. Intel and Nvidia chipsets dont like each other...so its said.
3. I plan on another 8800GT soon.

Please shed light on something I may be missing the point on.
(backing up)

[Zefram]

1. I'm switching to Intel
2. Intel and Nvidia chipsets dont like each other...so its said.
3. I plan on another 8800GT soon.

Please shed light on something I may be missing the point on.
(backing up)

Yes, SLi only work for nVidia chipset. I'm suprised you didnt know this, since the SLi issues been around since 06' ;)

I'm using nVidia-based chipset on my C2Q and no complains about it. Its a little bit hotter than Intel chipsets (my brother use MSI Intel P35 mobo), but i've watercooled the northbridge so no problem on that issues :p

[Comixion]

Yes, SLi only work for nVidia chipset. I'm suprised you didnt know this, since the SLi issues been around since 06' ;)


Thats one of those facts I never paid attention too. Plus the fact that I was out of computers for a couple years until just this past October.
So the technology passed me up.

[jdrom17]

Oh wow, totally missed that you run SLI. Well that just sucks for you now doesn't it.

I guess your only real choice is the 780i, unless you want DDR3, then the 790i.

BTW, you have SLI 8800GTXs yet I've never seen any benchies or pics from you, so does this even exist? :p

[AKHandyman]

Always forgetting what you read.....old man.:pSometimes what I read is forgettable ... :D

[cpiper]

Since you'll need an nVidia chipset to run SLI, you should get the MSI P7N Diamond (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130158). It comes with a Sound Blaster card and has a really great setup of expansion slots.

Assimilator, why the MSI? I have never used MSI so I have no opinion about it. Why would you pick the MSI over the board listed below?

I was looking at this: EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 LGA (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188024)

it has recieved a ton of positive reviews.

[cpiper]

BTW, you have SLI 8800GTXs yet I've never seen any benchies or pics from you, so does this even exist? :p

LOL, yeah it exists, but I have never run any benchmarks.

[Assimilator87]

I picked the MSI cuz it's a bit cheaper, comes with a Sound Blaster card, has one more x16 slot, and isn't just a reference design like the EVGA. The Asus P5N-T also looks good, but the Newegg rating is aweful.