Are you looking to overclock? If so, take a look at 680i based boards, such as the Gigabyte GA-N680SLI-DQ6. Absolutely wonderful board--I have one--but they're about impossible to find right now. The first production run sold out much faster than expected; stock isn't expected to return for another couple weeks. I love the fact that it has 10 on-board SATA ports and the onboard sound has DTS Connect--I was able to eliminate 3 expansion cards on those features alone.
The onboard passive cooling solution works pretty well, though I removed all of it to cool with water. I'd also strongly suggest looking for memory that doesn't require 2.2vdimm+ to meet rated speed. Almost all high-performance memory uses Micron D9GMH ICs, and these do not seem to handle high voltages (2.2v+) for long periods of time. Ideally, though, you would run a 1:1 FSB:MEM ratio and undervolt the memory. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Hunter, Gary Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2007 11:53 PM To: The Hardware List Subject: [H] Upgrade questions Hi, I'm after some advice, upgrading my old Asus A7n8x deluxe and XP2100. So far I'm sure I will go for: PSU: Thermaltake W0116RU 750W http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817153038 RAM: Mushkin Redline 2GB http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820146114 (I like Mushkin as they are based in Denver and I can just go to their office if I have any issues). CPU: E6600 http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115003 What I am unsure of is the motherboard, I want a feature filled board similar to my A7n8X deluxe so I was looking at: Asus P5B Deluxe http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131045 But there are some much more expensive boards that I can't really work out what practical extras I'm getting, are they really better? One of them is the Asus Striker board http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131074 it looks very cool but does it cost so much more just because of the lights and gimmicky things? Does that fancy cooling system really work or is it just for show. Money is not really a problem (for the first time ever)so I want to get the best but I don't want to waste money. All opinions are welcome. Thanks Gary
