Ok, so P35 supports DDR2/3?

[Mr. Stryker]

Title says it all, but I need to clear up on some things. I noticed DDR3 is 240-pin too, but the other question is can a P35 board for example the ASUS P5K take DDR3 memory too? Or do you have to buy a different P35 board that natively supports DDR3?

 

[calebb]

Different boards DDR2 and DDR3

With one exception so far!

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1197523

(I think Cliff made a typo - there are 4x DDR3 and 2xDDR2 slots)

Its finally listed in the North American site. So I'm assuming it will be available in US and CA.

Only 2 slots per DDR type, which will force you to get 2GB modules if you want to run 4GB with any x64 OS.

Looks essentialy like the P5K-E. (look at mosfets and 1Gb NIC and heatpipe)

Maybe it will be out on June 4 or 5, when *official* NDAs expire for P35.

http://usa.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=534&l4=0&model=1694&modelmenu=1

*I just picked up the Deluxe....not for any reason, but I've never had a premium board. Wanted to try it and all the frills this time around.

 

[Leadslinger]

Sorry for the nub question:

Is there a distinct functional difference between mobo's that are labled "crossfire" vs "SLI" or is that pretty much marketing hype?

I really like the looks of the above listed board for a new build but ain't going near ATI for a graphic solution got GTX's waiting for a mobo.

 

[JohnleMVP]

Yes Intel currently doesn't have SLI boards because Nvidia wants to sell their own chipset. Rumor has it that Intel recently got an SLI license but that doesn't effects their current products.

 

[Leadslinger]

I guess what I should ask is if a board is labeled "crossfire" you cannot run two 8800's in sli or can you?

 

[calebb]

I guess what I should ask is if a board is labeled "crossfire" you cannot run two 8800's in sli or can you?

That's correct - crossfire compatible does not equal sli compatible.

The P35 chipset, for example, only has (electrically), 1 PCI express 16x and 1 PCI express 4x (in a 16x connector).

This works for crossfire, but not for SLI.

 

[Leadslinger]

ahh ok, I appreciate the clarification. I'm at that point where I didn't build a new box when the C2D's were "new" and now newer "better" stuff is just around the corner...ugh. stuck watching the technology train go by again trying to find the best time to "jump on".

 

[calebb]

I decided to go with the P35 since I don't ever see myself using SLI. (With the driver situation, it always seems like a bigger headache than just going with a faster single card, IMHO).

The X38 chipset is right around the corner, will be higher performance than the P35 and I've started to hear rumors that there might just be some SLI capable x38 motherboards... but Intel just recently licensed that technology so it might be awhile before we see it on an Intel board. (plus the P35 and X38 chipsets will support Penryn CPU's - 45nm - possibly lower power consumption quad core proc down the road)

680i is an outstanding chipset - there were some driver issues initially, but from what I've heard, most people with 680i's are happy.

 

[BUFF]

I've started to hear rumors that there might just be some SLI capable x38 motherboards... but Intel just recently licensed that technology so it might be awhile before we see it on an Intel board. (plus the P35 and X38 chipsets will support Penryn CPU's - 45nm - possibly lower power consumption quad core proc down the road)

We've already seen it e.g. abit's AW9D would run SLI with hacked drivers.
SLI support is primarily about the gfx driver support & a little bit of BIOS work, as far as the mobo hardware is concerned apart from allowing adequate slot spacing (also true of Crossfire) there is no extra work needed.

680i is an outstanding chipset - there were some driver issues initially, but from what I've heard, most people with 680i's are happy.

I've used a lot of nForce mobos but imo nF6xxi is still buggy (& hot) ...