New Motherboard, P35 or 650i? Also need info on Abit IP-35
Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 9:42 am
Hi all,
I need to put together a new PC as my old motherboard blew up.
I've drawn up a list of motherboards (feel free to suggest others):
650i SLI Chipset
----------------------------
Asus P5N-E SLI Nvidia 650i
MSI P6N SLI Nvidia P650i Platinum
P35 Chipset
---------------------------
Gigabyte GA-P35-S3
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R
Abit IP35-E
Abit IP35
Abit IP35-Pro (a bit pricey)
1) Can I use the lower slot on these SLI boards? Will the gfx card run at 16x?
Reason being I want to get a passive zalman or thermalright heatsink for the gfx card which will work best if positioned above the card. I think the heatsink might interfere with motherboard components if the gfx card is installed in the top slot.
2) How much hotter does the P35 run than the 650?
Google returned a figure of 14,5W for the P35, but I can't find anything on the 650. From forums i've read it would seem it runs pretty hot - at least hotter than the P35.
3) Are there any limiting factors to these boards...like small vcore/vdimm range etc?
4) Which boards have decent fan control and/or are compatible with speedfan? The Abit's seem to be the best in this regard, but only the "Pro" version features the uGuru chip. Does the IP35 (non-pro) work with speedfan? Does it have any bios fan control at all?
I need to put together a new PC as my old motherboard blew up.
I've drawn up a list of motherboards (feel free to suggest others):
650i SLI Chipset
----------------------------
Asus P5N-E SLI Nvidia 650i
MSI P6N SLI Nvidia P650i Platinum
P35 Chipset
---------------------------
Gigabyte GA-P35-S3
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R
Abit IP35-E
Abit IP35
Abit IP35-Pro (a bit pricey)
1) Can I use the lower slot on these SLI boards? Will the gfx card run at 16x?
Reason being I want to get a passive zalman or thermalright heatsink for the gfx card which will work best if positioned above the card. I think the heatsink might interfere with motherboard components if the gfx card is installed in the top slot.
2) How much hotter does the P35 run than the 650?
Google returned a figure of 14,5W for the P35, but I can't find anything on the 650. From forums i've read it would seem it runs pretty hot - at least hotter than the P35.
3) Are there any limiting factors to these boards...like small vcore/vdimm range etc?
4) Which boards have decent fan control and/or are compatible with speedfan? The Abit's seem to be the best in this regard, but only the "Pro" version features the uGuru chip. Does the IP35 (non-pro) work with speedfan? Does it have any bios fan control at all?