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P35 vs n680i

  • 16-05-2007 4:31pm
    #1
    DOTA_POWA
    Closed Accounts Posts: 11 ✭


    Want to build a new system. Which mobo would be better?

    With P35 even with support for DDR3 when DDR3 finally matures I do not think the current mobos would be able to support the matured DDR3 RAMs. Am I right?
    I do understand what they say abt crossfire. (x16 and x4 electrical in Crossfire Mode) What is that?

    n680i mobos support SLi but not Crossfire correct? Unless I am going for dual monitor setup I should stick with P35?

    Thx for your help.


Comments

  • #2
    8T8
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,757 ✭✭✭8T8


    DDR3 is pretty much useless the P35 also supports DDR2 so just get one of those and some DDR2 instead. When DDR3 becomes as cheap as DDR2 then it will be recommended but as of now there is no point.

    The P35 chipset can have two PCI-e x16 slot for graphics cards but electrically one slot is wired for 16 lanes & the other is wired for 4 lanes, it is not a true x16 slot. Generally the preferred arrangement is the single x16 slots 16 lanes to be split into two x8 lanes or have two x16 slots with dedicated 16 lanes to each.

    The Intel X38 chipset is supposed to have true x16/x16 configuration but the x16/x4 arrangement isn't really that big of a deal it only impacts performance by a small amount at very high resolutions.


    Only ATI dual GPU Crossfire setup's are permitted on Intel chipsets, NVIDIA do not support dual GPU on third party chipsets only on their own NVIDIA SLI branded boards. ATI also enable Crossfire on AMD chipsets as ATI were bought by AMD however NVIDIA chipset are not supported.

    If your goal is for multi-monitor support then it does not matter what motherboard you get as long as it has two x16 slots because the purpose of Crossfire/SLI is to band multiple cards together for performance.

    If you just want 4 monitors then all you need to do is buy any 2 graphics card though keep them from the same make e.g two NVIDIA or two ATI doesn't matter if different generation either e.g GeForce 7300 + GeForce 8600.

    If it's for gaming then dual GPU ATI graphics only on Intel/AMD chipsets or NVIDIA graphics only on NVIDIA chipsets.


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