Maximus II Formula (P45), GA-X48-DQ6 (X48), or other?

[mk_ln]

Hi, I was in the process of upgrading my mobo and was wondering what you all would recommend. If you recommend 'other' then I'd appreciate it if you could specify. budget is $300 CDN.

Thanks in advance

 

[Cold Storm]

The Maximus Formula II board would be a good choice. Its a P45 board that should oc very well, and the ATI crossfire on it should be top! I love my Max board. If this was out before, I'd get it!

 

[paybackdaman]

Personally I like the Rampage Formula. I haven't had any problems OCing it. Runs fairly cool, plus has all the features the Maximus has, with a better chipset, IMO.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131284

 

[mk_ln]

oops, i forgot to add that im looking for a mobo with at least 8 Sata ports. otherwise, i would have opted for the rampage formula. thanks

 

[paybackdaman]

Oh no worries dude. I would go with the Maximus. Then again I am biased. I love Asus. Never used anything but Asus with all 8 of my builds...except one. I used MSI. They are good quality boards as well.

 

[farlex85]

The only reason I say go w/ the x48 is b/c the p45 runs in 8x-8x cf. That usually doesn't matter as much w/ amd, but the newer cards have higher bandwidth, and I would think this may begin to restrict it. The p45 would likely be a better proc ocer though.

 

[mk_ln]

i suppose i should also add the P5Q Deluxe into it as well (too bad i cant edit a poll though)

the only reason i was considering the Max II Formula over the Deluxe was b/c of the SATA placement - the deluxe would have 1 SATA port blocked if using a long vid card.

the prices would be something like this:

Maximus II Formula (P45 ~$270)
P5Q-Deluxe (P45 ~$210)
GA-X48-DQ6 (X48 w/ DDR2 ~300)

...my main concern with the gigabyte would have been the backplate (im using a tuniq tower and the mobo backplate would be a problem i think).

 

[Cold Storm]

Well. the P5Q-deluxe is a great OCING board. I can't say there isn't any non love making with that board.. If you want a ocer then that's the board... I say the max for crossfire support

 

[mk_ln]

i was also leaning that direction, but since both have the same chipset (P45), dont they just have x8 in crossfire mode vs x16 for the x38/x48?

 

[BATOFF3]

Backplate can be removed as you are also provided with the necessary screws to retain the remaining silent cool pipe. Backplate removal is included in the manual.
I love my X48-DQ6.

 

[mk_ln]

aw, only 4 votes so far?

 

[Ruse]

I don't have either of those boards currently, however I am upgrading soon and will be buying the X48-DQ6, so I voted for that. There are some decent reviews out there that suggest the board is good for overclocking/crossfire. Sorry I can't be of any more help

 

[erocker]

Rampage Formula. Best x48 board there is and two full pci-e x16 lanes for crossfire. It will take any processor where it needs to go, plus the bios is great for tweaking!

 

[mk_ln]

thanks guys, but iirc, there were some issues with memory with the Asus x38/x48 offerings...am i right about that?

 

[erocker]

I don't think that's the case with the latest bios'. Heck, I just ran 3dMark06 with four sticks of ram at DDR2-1230 and 2.2v's!

 

[mk_ln]

wow, what is your current OC on that Q6600?

 

[ckoons1]

what about BIOSTAR new I45 board . WR FSB

 

[Cold Storm]

wow, what is your current OC on that Q6600?

Well, I believe that is his Bench oc. I all ways run my chips at 3.5 24/7... I can do 3.8 but there really isn't any need for it. As long as you got good cooling.

 

[mk_ln]

i'd prefer to stay with the more popular brands so the biostar is a no-go

3.5 on a maximus x38 flashed to x48....hm i wonder if it IS my mobo limiting my OC as i can get right up to the boot screen up to 3.5, but it just BSODs immediately after. still though, i think i may get a QX6850 w/in the next month or so.

 

[Cold Storm]

I don't know if its your Mobo or the fact that you have miss matched ram timmings.. You have one kit at 800mhz and another at 1066. You have one kit pushing in order to get to where the other is. Unless your clocking down... But that's really not a better way to go. IMO...

 

[oli_ramsay]

For a 1 card config I would go with the P45.

For xfire, go for x48. There is a big difference between 8x/8x and full 16x/16x,(http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/1472/intel_p45_vs_x48_crossfire_performance/index.html)

If you plan to overclock the I would go for the P45 as they've been known to get crazy FSBs.

 

[mk_ln]

the thing is, i've tried the sticks individually as well (800 in dual channel and 1066 in dual channel), and have not come out with a better OC, which is why i believe that my mobo is the limitation rather than RAM.


oli_ramsay: i've read the tweaktown review and that is what worries me. but i would like to see other reviews as well. i've seen one on bit-tech but they were using 3870's which don't saturate the bandwidth. it would be great to get some more reviews where they are comparing crossfire with the new generation of cards using x8/x8 vs x16/x16 PCI-E 2.0 spec.

 

[ckoons1]

anyone familar with info about CPU INIT error being common on X48 chipset boards or is that not correct?

 

[Cold Storm]

the thing is, i've tried the sticks individually as well (800 in dual channel and 1066 in dual channel), and have not come out with a better OC, which is why i believe that my mobo is the limitation rather than RAM.

Well, if its not been any better with two sticks.. I'd say it's ether Ram related or Board. Ether way your going to spend money.. I'd try the board out since your looking into a new one, but if it doesn't do it, then I'd also try new ram. Only thing I'd have more to say is my max board is very temperamental on ram, I just hope the Max II isn't!

Ckoons: I don't have one yet to even say...

 

[erocker]

anyone familar with info about CPU INIT error being common on X48 chipset boards or is that not correct?

Not correct. The common problem that I heard of especially with the earlier bios' of the Maximus was a DET_DRAM error, which has now been fixed.