Legit Reviews

I know everyone is tired of reading the "what should I buy?" threads but what the heck...

I built a new system last Xmas but want to build/upgrade this year. Since I'm buying a new Mobo I figured that X38 would be the way to go, mainly for the immediate PCI-E 2.0 compatibility and the future possibility of Xfire should AMD get their act together. While I probably will stick with single card for some time you never know...

I was torn between the Asus Maximus Formula SE and the Gigabyte X38-DQ6 (note that Santa CAN NOT afford DDR3 and, from the reviews I've read, the gain is probably not worth the current cost) but I think the DQ6 is the way to go for the medium overclocking I will do, the Asus has a better bundle but is a bit more expensive.

A co-worker has pretty much committed to buying my "old" stuff with the exception of the 8800GTS. but I think I can sell that as well to help defray the cost of the upgrade (worst case I keep the GTS, still a good card). I know the 8800GT isn't hugely faster then my existing 8800GTS 640 but If I can sell the old one, well why not?

So, to replace my E6600 (@ 3.2g), Corsair XMS2 2G, Badaxe2 (great mobo BTW), and GTS 640 I picked (prices USD as of 11/22 at the Egg):

- GIGABYTE GA-X38-DQ6 LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Ultra Durable 2, Ultra Cooling Intel Motherboard - Retail
Model #: GA-X38-DQ6 $269.99

- EVGA 512-P3-N805-A1 GeForce 8800GT KO 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Model #: 512-P3-N805-A1 Out Of Stock $309.99

- Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.0GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6850 - Retail
Model #: BX80557E6850 $279.99

- G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ - Retail
Model #: F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ $149.99

I'm hoping to swap the board etc into my existing case with my existing Vista Ultimate 32 bit (I know only 3.5G of RAM will be usable but I'll be going 64bit soon) install and just update drivers. If this doesn't work I'll be doing a fresh 64bit Ultimate install.

My question is, has anyone used the above combo and will I see an increase in performance or have a ton of headaches?

TIA...

I'm scoping boards for a similar setup myself. I like the gigabyte board but I wish it had eSATA ports. I'll let you know what I find. BTW, I was considering getting the E6850 but am prolly gonna wait for the E8500 in Jan. Will be about the same price.

OK, I see now that the gigabyte board comes with a bracket for eSATA. That works but I'd rather see 2 of these on the back panel and 2 less USB ports. Who needs more cables and another slot blocked?

Exactly, most good intel gigabyte boards come with esata bracket. 2x esata + power connection. Which means you can connect externally even a bare drive without a powered case. In the ones with non raid intel southbridge you have to connect it to the gigabyte sata 2 (jmicron) controller, because this southbridge doesnt support hotplug. But, DQ6 should have ich9r so you can connect it anywhere you wish

I think in alot of cases one bracket slot is empty anyway. I mean it doesnt belong to a pci,pci-e slot

Still, more cables means less airflow and it's more of a hassle. They belong on the back panel IMHO.