Hello everyone. I am very confused by all of the differant motherboards and chipsets available... I am looking for a bare bones motherboard that doesn't have anything fancy on it. It would need to provide the best SLI performance possible too.

I will be putting a E6600 CPU / Geforce 8800 GTX on it. Oh and i need it to be able to accept DDR and DDR2 memory.... what motherboard should i get?

Thank you everyone

ddr and ddr2 and sli...

sure you don't want to add rdram to that list? how about agp and pcix too!

good luck

... i dont understand.

Exactly!

why do you want to include ddr in your list?

Because i currently have 2 gb of pc 3200 DDR memory installed and would like to continue using it if possible

ddr is totally obsolete... Don't even consider trying to build a kick-butt game machine for a few more years.

Your best bet is visit the hp, dell, and/or gateway sites and pick out the most expensive one that still fits within your financial constaints. You'll wind up with a _much_ cheaper system and a _much_ better game machine.

good luck

Did you just recommend that buying a pre-made system is cheaper then updating a few components???

based on your demonstated knowledge, your experience is likely extrememly low (i.e. you are just throwing out words that have no meaning).

So, absolutely YES; in your case only I am recommending that to have a functional kick-butt system, "buying a pre-made system is cheaper then updating a few components"

Those two statements are contradictory.

Any SLI capable board is going to have alot of bells and whistles. SLI is high performance enthusiast level which means it's only for people who have alot of money they don't need.
If you want the "best SLI performance" you'll be paying for a high end board.

Just in case you're confused, "SLI" means running TWO video cards together in the same machine. The two cards work together to create one picture. By working together they can double your graphics processing power but it's an expensive option and totally unnecessary for any current games.

For Nvidia SLI you will have to buy a board with an Nvidia 680i Chipset. A 650i board might be an option too but I'm not sure.
And you'll need TWO of those Geforce 8800 GTX video cards.

You can forget about the DDR ram too. You won't be able to use it on any SLI capable board with a E6600.

I priced out a high performance 680I system with 2x 8800GTX and couldn't do it for less than $3700. Not worth it IMO.

You have to forget either SLI or DDR. Also if you have more than two sticks of DDR memory, forget DDR + DDR2 alltogether. There is only one mboard i know that supports DDR and DDR2

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview. [...] l-VSTA&s=n

although you cannot have both at the same time installed. If you want my advice, sell your older memory, buy 2 gigs of DDR2 800 memory (should cost you around $120) and go for an Nvidia 680 mboard from a respectable manufacturer. Good luck!

Thank you BigBlack, at least not everyone on these boards has a nail stuck in their ass.

and most are more honest and direct when they are confused with technical issues instead of going with a near challenge...

good luck mongoosed...

I think one of the purposes of this forum is to help newer users begin to understand the fundamentals of information technology. I think harping someone for asking a question, however inexperienced a question, is contradictory to that goal.

SLI isnt just available on the 680i chipset, nor with the 8800 GTX cards.

There are some very respectable older nVidia chipsets that support SLI, a 680i is only really recommended if you want an intel rig.

There are some quite reasonable (and likely more appropriate) older 7900 SLI cards that are just fine. More reasonably priced, also.

A 680i reference board can be had for around $225- try New Egg and eVGA 680i a1.

Oh, and 650i doesnt support SLI. It's not pointed at the enthusiast segment, thats a chipset for the midrange boxes.

But is the performance of 2x 7900 equivalent to that of a single 8800GTX? Is it worth the trouble anyway with SLI? I have no personal experience and have seen no tests either, so if you have any source please share it. Thank you...

Now that you mention it, I believe a single 8800 GTX can crush a pair of 7900s...

Now I feel stupid

I am sorry, didn't want to make you feel bad. But is there a consensus about SLI? Is it any good to use 2 older cards to beat the performance of a new one, or is it just marketing? I think i will open a thread with that question...
Cheers!

mongoosed: SLI is rather overrated, and does not work as well as it should. I think an 8800 would suit you better.

For an obsolete memory standard, it is amazing how ddr400 is still able to keep up with DDR2. It says more on how bad DDR2 actually is. I own a Asrock 4CoreDual-VSTA, with DDR400 memory, and a E6600 CPU, and with just 2 WD Raptors set at RAID 0, I beat all the other E6000 benchmarks. This is with a "substandard" motherboard and "obsolete" memory. You will get better performance with the best hard drives and video card, than you will with a motherboard and memory.

Joke: it is a shame you do not know what the heck you are talking about, worse, you let people know you do not know what the heck you are talking about.

I guarantee your substandard POS won't come close to my benchmarks. Put some real numbers to your claim even if they are only theoretical, how about ddr400 and 4.6GB/s vs ddr2-1066 and 8.5GB/s. On the real side, where have you posted your raptor-ass fire-breathing raid 0 specs? Mine are in my sig...

So, maybe I don't know what I'm talking about but you are definitely stuck in the past, those ddr2 latency claims were totally put to rest many years ago. You need to find a new ddr-claim to fame and quit showing the world just how ignorant you really are.

Speaking of shame, you are the shameful one; hiding your insults underneath a post meant for another person.

Hunter_Green32, just to be fair, 650i ULTRA does not support SLI, while 650i SLi does support SLi, as it name states. The 650iSLI mobos are Asus P5N-E SLI, Gigabyte N650SLI-DS4, Abit FP-IN9SLi, ECS650iSLIT-A. They run in 2 x 8 mode, not in 2x 16PCIe mode, which is theoretically different, but in practice is very close, as reviewers show. However, most of the 650i sli mobos show many BIOS problems. From some forums it may seem that 680i boards have memory problems as well. The least critical review on 650i sli is about Gigabyte.

Mongoosed, with all that I agree that with one 8800GTX card there is just no need for SLI. Two cards like that are an overkill, money badly spent.

Thus my opinion - better buy one 8800GTX and... maybe a stable mobo with an Intel chipset. I am not sure, but it seems that 965P Intel chipset has good reviews (Asus p5b deluxe, Abit ab9pro, gigabyte 965p-ds3p or ds4) or if you are willing to experiment a bit you may want to try a brand new, just on the shelves, boards with the Intel P35 Bearlake chipset which is the successor to 965P (and 965P might end of life very soon). The P35's are now exibited by Gigabyte.

It's difficult to advise (always the two sacramental questions pop-up - PC is what for? and How much I am willing to spend?). Plus, I am afraid giving recommendations - end up blaimed by others for their bad experience after your advice. Well, I wrote above what I thought about it and here is the DISCLAIMER - no my liability in case of a bad mobo (it happened in P4 times with me and my MSI865PE Neo2v)...

Good luck! 8)

the MSI P6N Platinum and P6N SLI-FI both support 2x8 SLI as well

Just thought over a couple of things and I am sorry guys to go off the topic of this thread a bit, but well, things need to be cleared:

Primo - I though it is still good to explain once again in brief and