Gigabyte P35-DQ6 or eVGA 680i A1

[Computer-Ed]

Okay so the ease factor is a BIOS setting that keeps the RAM speed and such set no matter how the FSB is set? Your right that would be easier for many, no need to mess with multipliers. On my DS3 as I changed the multiplier it showed what the RAM speeed would be but the option you mentioned sounds like a one press method, thanks for the info.

Quakindude, I kind of figured it was a marketting gimmick mostly and so never really considered it an option worth be bothered about. I would still love to see a full review of it posted with some serious explinations of what it is supposed to do and what it actually delivers, thanks for the info.

[One4yu2c]

Originally Posted by Computer-Ed

Okay so the ease factor is a BIOS setting that keeps the RAM speed and such set no matter how the FSB is set?

Correct. OC'ing results aren't necessary better, and I think Rich even mentioned having slightly better luck on his P35 boards, but it's a nifty feature, particularly for those looking to get their feet wet with overclocking.

[Capper]

To kind of put this whole debate to rest.....the week after next I'll be posting a eVGA 680i vs Gigabyte P35-DQ6 article that will focus on CPU overclocking, memory overclocking, and overall performance. I will use air cooling, water cooling, and maybe phase change cooling to really stress the boards.

I'll be doing this to coincide with our new motherboard review format and to showcase our updated test bench.

[RA1D]

wow, can't wait!

[Yellowhello]

Originally Posted by RAID

wow, can't wait!

Stole the words right out of my head.

[dnorf87]

Originally Posted by One4yu2c

Not to answer for him, but I will.

'Easier' is subjective, but for those new to overclocking and wishing to tinker not just for the gains, but for the learning experience as well, I'm completely infatuated with the unlinking option. It can act as a gateway in learning about dividers, or in cases where bad luck or overlooked settings come into play (preventing a fruitful OC), the ability to unlink and lock the RAM at a certain speed (for example, telling your DDR2-800 kit to stay put at 800MHz) can be a very handy feature as you continue to push the processor's clockspeed.

In reality, most enthusiast level motherboards coupled with the Core 2 Duo line makes overclocking a mostly easier affiar, or at least much easier than in previous years. And along those lines, I'd love it if chipsets outside of the 6xxi started embracing the unlinking feature.

You got it. Exactly what I meant by easier to overclock. You also get some help from the EPP support...as long as you have RAM that supports it.

[Hellabyte]

Capper,

Any updates on when you plan on releasing the article between the head to head two boards? I am currently looking at both of these are possibly the lesser models of these boards respectively?

The thing is that I am building a computer to replace an old Socked A Athlon Mobile that is getting way too long in the teeth.

I don't need bleeding edge but from reading the forums and looking at your hardware recommendations I am probably going to be getting the following based on a roughly $1k budget the lesser the better.

So far, I am going to pick up the following:
Q6600 - G0 version
EVGA 8800 GTS
Crucial Ballistix 2gb kit
Seagate 350gb HD
OCZ GameXStream ATX 700W PSU
Lite-On SATA drive

Other motherboards I have also been looking at are:

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

GIGABYTE GA-P35C-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Any direction or suggestions regarding Mobo's would be appreciated.

I will game but am not looking to play cutting edge games like Crysis, but would like to be able to play Bioshock/Half-Life Orange and WoW off of the top of my head, since I also console game. I don't mind getting a "temp" mobo while waiting for the newer boards to transfer everything in at a later time.

Thanks for any help!

[Capper]

It'll probably be this next week, as soon as i can replace this E6850 with a processor that works half decent.

[RangerXLT8]

Originally Posted by Hellabyte

Capper,

Any updates on when you plan on releasing the article between the head to head two boards? I am currently looking at both of these are possibly the lesser models of these boards respectively?

The thing is that I am building a computer to replace an old Socked A Athlon Mobile that is getting way too long in the teeth.

I don't need bleeding edge but from reading the forums and looking at your hardware recommendations I am probably going to be getting the following based on a roughly $1k budget the lesser the better.

It also comes with 8 Serial ATA II ports, 6 of which can be used for Intel Matrix RAID and the other IDE controller supports both SATA and ATA RAID.

The bios options are practically unlimited.

So far, I am going to pick up the following:
Q6600 - G0 version
EVGA 8800 GTS
Crucial Ballistix 2gb kit
Seagate 350gb HD
OCZ GameXStream ATX 700W PSU
Lite-On SATA drive

Other motherboards I have also been looking at are:

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

GIGABYTE GA-P35C-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Any direction or suggestions regarding Mobo's would be appreciated.

I will game but am not looking to play cutting edge games like Crysis, but would like to be able to play Bioshock/Half-Life Orange and WoW off of the top of my head, since I also console game. I don't mind getting a "temp" mobo while waiting for the newer boards to transfer everything in at a later time.

Thanks for any help!

The P35C has shown me great results so far. I originally went for the Asus P5KC for the DDR2\DDR3 compatibility but the NIC card on the Asus was bad. So far I have gotten to 500FSB on the P35C. The P35C also supports future 45nm CPUs and Quad Core. The CPU PWM is soo efficient there is no heatsink on it. And at 150 bucks it really cannot be beat, with DDR3 for the future.