CPU and Mobo needed

andyb · Post by **andyb** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 1:20 pm

As the last Intel system I built was a dual celeron setup on the Famous Abit BP6 it has been quite some time for me, and I require some assistance.

The mobo first.

I am a fan of Gigabyte and build PC's with their motherboards regulary, they are all however AMD systems. I know little or nothing about the differences between chipsets for Intel CPU's apart from their advertised specs.

The P35 chipset seems to be popular amongst the people on the SPCR forums, particulary the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3 range of boards.

How much faster is the P35 chipset compared to the G33 and G31, or indeed the various nVidia chipsets, and how much slower is it compared to its higher numbered brethren.?

I am not planning for the worlds fastest system, merely one that will be plenty fast enough for most people, with the possibility of a nice overclock, and Ideally dont want to spend more than Â£65 which will buy me a GA-P35-DS3. Is their any point trying to save Â£20 by buying a motherboard with a lesser chipset.?

The CPU.

As Intel are about to do a price drop on their entire range in a couple of days, I am quite open on this one.

I was originally looking at building a system around a 5000+, but as the Intel CPUs that just beat it in performance are not much more expensive, and have the ability for large overclocks I started looking at Intel CPU's, specifically the E4500.

Is this a wise choice for a CPU.

BTW, this CPU and mobo will be replacing my Asus A8R-MVP and 4000+ with 2GB of RAM. I am also buying 4GB of 1000MHz RAM which should help me gain a reasonable overclock. I am planning on buying the Xigmatek HDT-S1283, and running it with my Nexus @ 5v, this should keep the CPU temps within sensible realms even when overclocked a little.

Any and all suggestions are welcome.

Andy

andyb · Post by **andyb** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 3:20 pm

Am I on the right track with CPU + Mobo.?

Intel's price drop is on Sunday, I would like to order the CPU, and Mobo as soon as the price drop becomes affective, I have 3-4 days to make a descision.

And one more thing, does overclocking still work in the traditional way with Intel CPU's. Locked multiplier, RAM and mobo and bus speeds are limitations.

If that is the case, would I be better spending more Â£Â£Â£ on faster RAM, I was planning on 1000 MHz RAM as its quite cheap (Â£55 inc VAT for 4GB).

Andy

najames · Post by **najames** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 6:43 pm

I think you have some things mixed up Andy. I am normally an AMD guy, but the Gigabyte series you mention are P35 based, not G35. G=onboard graphics, P=you need to by a seperate graphics card. I might still look at a 5000 and 780G based board if you want onboard video unless you have specific needs. AFAIK, the ASUS P5E-VM board is the only G35 system out now, at least in the US.

Brand GIGABYTE
Model GA-P35-DS3L
Supported CPU
CPU Socket Type LGA 775
CPU Type Quad-core / Core 2 Extreme / Core 2 Duo / Pentium Extreme / Pentium D
FSB 1333/1066MHz
Chipsets
North Bridge Intel P35

andyb · Post by **andyb** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 11:08 am

I think you have some things mixed up Andy. I am normally an AMD guy, but the Gigabyte series you mention are P35 based, not G35. G=onboard graphics, P=you need to by a seperate graphics card.

Thank you for pointing out my mistake - just shows you how rusty I am with Intel stuff, I will modify my post to remove the error.

I am actually going to be re-using my current Graphics Card so on-board is not a concern of mine.

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Does anyone have any suggestions, hints or tips for me with my CPU/mobo ideas.???

Andy