Help me choose a motherboard for an E6750

StApostol · Post by **StApostol** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 10:18 am

I'm looking for a motherboard to pair a Core 2 E6750 with. I am looking for something that is overclockable, supports undervolting and is stable. Fan control would be nice too, but it's not a high priority. I am not really interested in RAID or SLI/Crossfire.

It seems that Gigabyte parts support all these, so I'm leaning that way (although I'm open to other recommendations, too). Right now, these are the choices:
* Gigabyte P35 DS3L (94 euros)
* Gigabyte P35 DS3 (104 euros)
* Gigabyte P35 DS3R (122 euros)
* Gigabyte P35 DS3P (131 euros)
* Gigabyte P35 DS4 (143 euros)

The only thing holding me from choosing the least expensive option is that I've had bad experiences from budget motherboards in the past (budget Albatron + NForce4 = SATA data corruption). The DS4 is probably overkill as is the DS3P (although the wider PCB may indicate higher quality?) This leaves the three top: the DS3R which has RAID (I don't particularly care about) and a newer disk controller (ICH9R) (can this affect stability?). The DS3L uses an older controller (ICH7 I think), and I'm a little worried about that. Also, the DS3R has a better sound card than DS3L. I honestly don't know the difference between these and DS3 vanilla.

And now I'm lost. Anyone has any first hand experience to offer, especially on the stability front? Which motherboard would you prefer for your own build?

Moreover, what memory would you choose for these motherboards? Does 800MHz memory offer a significant advantage over 667MHz? CL4 vs CL5? Will memory affect overclocking ability, or do memory dividers take care of that issue?

I know, lots of questions here. Please offer some advice because I'm seriously lost here!

Arvo · Post by **Arvo** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 11:37 am

DS3L has ICH9 as well.

I'd buy DS3L, unless I had use for RAID, eSATA, more than 4xSATA, 2xPCI-Ex16 or IEE1394. And I'd buy DDR800/CL4 - just to know that my system is potentially 0.5-1% faster than some other system

P35 chipset has fixed RAM dividers set, thereby you cannot use any DDR or FSB frequency while overclocking (thus missing another 0.5-1% of maximum possible performance). Oops, we are on SPCR - unfortunately I have no data about undervolting/underclocking capabilities of Gigabyte P35 boards

My friend bought P35C-DS3R - mainly for DDR3 support. IMHO not relevant at all

Another co-worker bought S3L (not DS3L!) - no problems either, although this board has built using electrolytic capacitories (fortunately CPU power is stabilized with solid capacitories though).

StApostol · Post by **StApostol** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 12:32 pm

DS3L has ICH9 as well.

Aha, nice! One review said it had the ICH7, but I should have known to check the actual specs first. The DS3L looks more a lot more attractive now

When you say the P35 has fixed dividers, do you mean 1:1 only, or are there others like 4:5, 3:4 etc? Also, would you suggest some specific brand or should I just pick one listed in Gigabyte's site?

mrinsane19 · Post by **mrinsane19** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 12:57 pm

DS3 unvervolts very well

Arvo · Post by **Arvo** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 1:10 pm

From xbitlabs gigabyte ds3r review:

Intel P35 chipset offers relatively small set of FSB:MEM dividers including 1:1, 5:6, 4:5, 2:3, 5:8, 3:5 and 1:2.

About RAM brand - I don't know.
But my co-worker bought the almost cheapiest one, available here - A-DATA 2x1GB DDRII Over Clock Extreme Edition DDR2 800+ - and let it run at 433MHz (DDR866) without single problem. He's not overclocking guru anyway

-- edit --
About onboard audio - seems that expensive models have better audio. You may search for reviews - usually onboard audio is relatively crappy and noisy, but maybe better chips can give good sound.
I personally prefer separate audio card, Chaintech AV710 for stereo (what I've got myself) or some Creative X-Fi for gaming - but I've not heard sound of ALC 889A (DS3P/R audio codec) yet.

Smoken Joe · Post by **Smoken Joe** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 11:16 pm

Look at the Abit IP35 or one of the Asus P35 chipsets. I have the Abit and it does a very good job of automatically under clocking/ under volting the CPU evan at default. With the small difference in price there is not much reason to get less than 800 DDR2 just avoid the over clocking memory as they often need extra volts to stay stable even at stock speed. The mainstream offerings from OCZ Corsair etc should do fine. I have the Abit IP35-E and it needs minimal cooling I was able to run with only one case fan running at stock speed with the E6600. I did need to add a low speed fan to the heatsink on the Q6600 if I was maxing out all 4 Cores for extended periods of time.

StApostol · Post by **StApostol** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 12:21 am

Thanks, everyone. I just ordered the DS3 with Kingston memory (it was an immediate need, as my server died - I'll relegate my current Athlon64 to a silent 24/7 server and upgrade my workstation with these parts).

Unfortunately, I couldn't find 800MHz memory from a trusted retailer that was listed as compatible and was not ridiculously expensive (*), so I went with 667MHz KVR (which I've had good experience in the past - my 400MHz DDR1 can run at 500MHz without a hitch). I won't be overclocking memory, so that's not an issue either.

I went with the DS3 instead of the DS3L because it had a bigger chipset heatsink, and better integrated audio. I didn't want to add an aftermarket heatsink to a brand-new motherboard, so I guess this will work better in low airflow conditions.

Wish me luck with the new build, and I'll post some pictures when it's done!

(*) 2GB OCZ Corsair are sold at 86 euros here, vs KVR667 which are 55 euros.

@Smoken Joe: What heatsink do you have on that Q6600? I thought this processor was hot!