New System ?

[CarlPo]

Hello everybody.

I plan on building an inexpensive but dependable computer for our small business. I have built a number of great systems for myself over the years. My sig included. I plan on using an E8400 and an Asus M/B. I have had great O/Cing experiences with Asus boards, but I am open to other brands. I plan to O/C this machine to about 3.6G. I also plan on using DDR2 Memory. My P5K Deluxe is rock stable but there are many new boards out there to choose from. All suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[ctal]

You may have seen my recent "My New Build" thread, My New Build There's lots more detail there, but the bottom line is that the Gigabyte GA-EX38DQ6 has worked out very well for me with an E8400 and DDR2, overclocking to 3.8GHz with very reasonable temperatures and voltage. Gigabyte appears to have done everything right with this board, in terms of performance, features, and quality. See the user comments for it at NewEgg, where unfortunately its been out of stock lately: Customer Reviews Of GIGABYTE GA-EX38-DQ6 LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Regards,
-- Al

[CK8-04]

Since when do the words "business", "dependable", and "overclocking" mix? IMHO, you're better off with an Intel motherboard and no overclocking at all if you want dependable.

[3 of 7]

My choice for a Mobo for this purpose would be
NCIX.com - Buy Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L ATX LGA775 P35 1333FSB 1PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 3PCI SATA2 Sound GBLAN Motherboard - GA-P35-DS3L In Canada.

I used to be a pretty strong Asus fan but the last 2 I built were frought with problems and the Gigabyte products are rock solid lately, not to mention latching sata cables..

[CarlPo]

Originally Posted by ctal

You may have seen my recent "My New Build" thread, My New Build There's lots more detail there, but the bottom line is that the Gigabyte GA-EX38DQ6 has worked out very well for me with an E8400 and DDR2, overclocking to 3.8GHz with very reasonable temperatures and voltage. Gigabyte appears to have done everything right with this board, in terms of performance, features, and quality. See the user comments for it at NewEgg, where unfortunately its been out of stock lately: Customer Reviews Of GIGABYTE GA-EX38-DQ6 LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Regards,
-- Al

I checked your post out. You built a nice system for yourself. Something like I would want for my next personal build. I Like the lian Li you chose. My last 4 builds were in Lian Li cases. Lian Li has some really nice new additions including the midtower you were originally considering. As far as the Gigabyte M/B is concerned, its a bit to pricey for a machine that will be used at my business only.

Thanks for your help.

[CarlPo]

Originally Posted by CK8-04

Since when do the words "business", "dependable", and "overclocking" mix? IMHO, you're better off with an Intel motherboard and no overclocking at all if you want dependable.

CK8-04
I was considering not O/Cing. Which Intel board would you recommend?

3 of 7
That particular Gigabyte board looks like it would be a good choice.

Thanks much!

[TQ]

Originally Posted by CarlPo

As far as the Gigabyte M/B is concerned, its a bit to pricey for a machine that will be used at my business only.

If you plan to overclock your business machine (though I tend to agree with CK8-04's opinion on that) I'd think you'd want to spend whatever it takes to insure a successful build. If it were me I'd use ctal's thread and build an identical machine, seeing as how he's already done the hard work of due diligence.

Otherwise I'd build an Intel P35-based box and leave well enough alone.

[TQ]

Originally Posted by CarlPo

I plan to O/C this machine to about 3.6G.

You weren't considering overclocking?

[CarlPo]

Originally Posted by TQ

You weren't considering overclocking?

I gave thought to O/Cing and possibly not O/Cing. Sorry about that.

[Sir Skully]

CarlPo look at my sig this is a solid rig oc'ed @ 4gig....with 8gig memory.

[CarlPo]

Originally Posted by Sir Skully

CarlPo look at my sig this is a solid rig oc'ed @ 4gig....with 8gig memory.

Looks like an excellent overclocker and is priced fairly.

Thanks.

[CK8-04]

Originally Posted by CarlPo

CK8-04
I was considering not O/Cing. Which Intel board would you recommend?

Thanks much!

Before you buy an Intel board, with the exception of the Extreme Series, you need to make damn sure that you're not going to overclock because Intel boards don't allow overclocking. They are built for stability. With that said, do you plan on having a discrete graphics card or do you plan on using integrated graphics?

[CarlPo]

Originally Posted by CK8-04

Before you buy an Intel board, with the exception of the Extreme Series, you need to make damn sure that you're not going to overclock because Intel boards don't allow overclocking. They are built for stability. With that said, do you plan on having a discrete graphics card or do you plan on using integrated graphics?

I would use a graphics card whether I overclocked or not. I probably will overclock even though I considered not doing so. My present system (my sig) is rock stable at a moderate O/C. I would feel safe to use my computer at my business. The two Gigabyte M/B's mentioned above look like they are both excellent choices except for the fact that the first one mentioned is quite pricey.

I am still curious though, which Intel board would be best if I were not overclocking.

Thanks.

[CK8-04]

The Extreme series boards are overkill and are way over your budget ($200+), so the only board that Intel really has that suits your needs would be the DP35DP. I've used it before and it is a solid board. It has everything you need (except maybe a floppy and PS/2 ports) and nothing you don't. This means no fancy LCDs or useless onboard microwave ovens, but it still has things that you would actually use such as a quality audio chip that rivals ~$100 discrete cards in sound quality (kicks the crap out of the Realtek garbage that comes with Taiwanese boards [Asus, Gigabyte, etc.]) and Intel's own LAN chips which is far superior to anything I have seen on other non-server boards. On top of all this, driver and BIOS support is top notch. BIOS and drivers are released regularly until the board is EOL and I have rarely, if ever, had a problem with drivers. BIOS updating is as easy as downloading a file, executing it, clicking next, and clicking OK. I used to be a die hard Asus fan, but after using the D865PERL and D875PBZ for the Pentium 4 CPUs, I will never use anything but Intel motherboards when I'm building a machine based on an Intel processor.

[CarlPo]

Originally Posted by CK8-04

The Extreme series boards are overkill and are way over your budget ($200+), so the only board that Intel really has that suits your needs would be the DP35DP.

I will give that board a good look.

Thank you very much.