I'll throw out another recommend for a different 680i board (the Gigabyte one is nice) most 680i boards though are using the Realtek HD, which has DTS-Connect and DD-Live, so you're covered there. I've become pretty fond of the FoxConn entry. the N68S7AA-8EKRS2H. First, everyone is so enamored with heat pipes, etc. but I've played with the Asus Striker and P5N32-E and I just have not been impressed with how freaking hot the chipsets get with their passive solution. While it looks neat, the longterm impact is poor, it just means you have to have incredible ventilation in a case.
The Foxconn solution is more old school, but it absolutely works. The heat scores on the northbridge and southbridge are INSANELY cooler then on any of the others, and if you're going to do water cooling, the fact that they use standard blocks means you aren't having to rip a board apart, removing them to add Water cooling blocks is much easier. The layout is clean, all aluminum capacitors is a plus, and for overclockers, it OC's better then any board I've seen stable. It's not the most spendy, but it's a great bang for the buck. CW -----Original message----- From: "Hunter, Gary" [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2007 10:53:27 -0700 To: "The Hardware List" [email protected] Subject: RE: [H] Upgrade questions > Thanks Greg, initially I probablly wont overclock but I have overclocked > every system I have owned so I guess I will eventually. > > I've seen a few mentions on the list of Gigabyte boards lately and was > going to look at them but I have had Asus for at least the last 8 years > and they haven't let me down yet so that was my preference. > > I was unaware that 2.2v was high for the the RAM, what is the standard > voltage for these chips? > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Greg Sevart > Sent: Thursday, April 26, 2007 6:32 AM > To: 'The Hardware List' > Subject: RE: [H] Upgrade questions > > 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 > > > > > The information in this electronic mail message is sender's > business Confidential and may be legally privileged. It is > intended solely for the addressee(s). Access to this Internet > electronic mail message by anyone else is unauthorized. If > you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, > distribution or any action taken or omitted to be taken in > reliance on it is prohibited and may be unlawful. The sender > believes that this E-mail and any attachments were free of > any virus, worm, Trojan horse, and/or malicious code when > sent. This message and its attachments could have been > infected during transmission. By reading the message and > opening any attachments, the recipient accepts full > responsibility for taking protective and remedial action about > viruses and other defects. Travelport Inc. is not liable for any loss > or damage arising in any way from this message or its > attachments. > >
