Should I get the MSI 975X Platinum, or something else?

[freaksavior]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130051

is that a good board? i wanna go crossfire later and i need a new motherboard....so is it any good?

are the 975x good @ over clocking? i would be using a D 945

[anticlutch]

It seems to be decent. I recommended it to a friend, whom I built the system for. Was DOA so I never got to test out its OC functions, but the layout is pretty decent (we ended up getting a Gigabyte 965P-DS3 and returning the MSI board). One thing that I found that was kind of useless was the add-on led lights that displayed if anything was wrong with the system. Unlike Abit's motherboards, which have the LED's on the board itself, MSI made it as an add-on, which takes up a PCI slot since it needs somewhere to be mounted (doesn't physically plug into the PCI slot however).

[infrared]

due to the 975x chipset, you will have some awsome memory bandwidth. The maximum fsb will probably be around 400-430mhz, which will be more than adequate for your cpu.

Go for it! ;)

[freaksavior]

so that would be a yes for the board?

i've read 2 reviews and them seem to like them.....but non have tested crossfire on it.....

[anticlutch]

Go for it :)

The only thing to lose is a couple weeks or so (for the RMA)if you don't like how it performs :D

[freaksavior]

lol yeah.....i gotta sell some stuff and waiting on my moms ok to do it....btw the oem version is 65 less.....i would be ok with that right? I was planning on the oem...i don't need the cables or any of the extras

[anticlutch]

OEM should be fine, unless you absolutely *have* to have the cables and the extras that come with the motherboard :laugh:

[freaksavior]

btw here is the crossfire specs http://techreport.com/reviews/2007q1/msi-core2/index.x?pg=8

[freaksavior]

ok.....one more question....does this board do hardware crossfire or is is software? if it's hardware don't you need the bridge? or is that only sli?

[anticlutch]

It's hardware afaik. Newer ATI cards will have the internal bridges (i.e. the x1950pro), while older high-end cards will need an external dongle. I'm not too sure on what the lower-end cards use though... I'd assume there would be *some* software support but it didn't seem to be mentioned in the manual anywhere.

[freaksavior]

ok.....as in they come with it....i gotcha....ok well thanks for all the info!

[anticlutch]

Try researching more about the software support before you buy it though (unless you're planning put in a higher-end card) :D

[freakshow]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130051

is that a good board? i wanna go crossfire later and i need a new motherboard....so is it any good?

are the 975x good @ over clocking? i would be using a D 945



i dont know how well it will overclock a d 945 but this board has problems with overclocking C2D and it seems to get worst with every bios up date i have the board they will send the newer version to you witch is the powerup edition here is a link


http://forum.msi.com.tw/index.php?topic=99818.0

and another thing its very picky on ram

other thought i would go with the Abit AW9D instead way better for overclocking
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813127014

[freaksavior]

i like the looks of the msi board and i also like the fact it has 2 ide ports on the board....i would use them both and a sata II

The board surely overclocks better than the ecs p4m800pro

i couldn't get my 945 past 3.6 without it crashing and i read some people were getting the 945 to 4.5 and 4.6 so......as long as i can around 4ghz or so....i would be happy!

btw i like the board you posted but it's a bit expensive for me..

edit: does the board do harware crossfire? because thats what i am wanting mainly....i can only spend maybe $125 @ most

[freakshow]

i like the looks of the msi board and i also like the fact it has 2 ide ports on the board....i would use them both and a sata II

The board surely overclocks better than the ecs p4m800pro

i couldn't get my 945 past 3.6 without it crashing and i read some people were getting the 945 to 4.5 and 4.6 so......as long as i can around 4ghz or so....i would be happy!

btw i like the board you posted but it's a bit expensive for me..

edit: does the board do harware crossfire? because thats what i am wanting mainly....i can only spend maybe $125 @ most

975 will do crossfire setup but you probably get this board
http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_spec.asp?model=975X_Platinum_(Limited_Edition)&class=mb

just make sure u stick with 7.1 bios or 7.1 beta bios


and good luck let me know how it turns out

[freaksavior]

newegg doesn't show they even have the limited edition with the pipe cooling....they show the v.2 with the two single heat sinks on the north and south brige....

[freakshow]

newegg doesn't show they even have the limited edition with the pipe cooling....they show the v.2 with the two single heat sinks on the north and south brige....

yea i know i thought that too i thought i was going to get the one in the pic i guess not its the same board just a different version this one is v2.1 aka (PowerUp Edition)


edit: this board has giving me so much trouble were i was literally going to smash it when it comes to the overclocking it will get frustrating but like i sade before i dont now about the Pentium D on this board u might have good luck with it :)

[anticlutch]

My friend ordered that same exact one and got the Limited Edition one (the mobo with the fancy northbridge cooling w/ heatpipes and all).

[freakshow]

apperantly v2 is only available in the Europe but don't quote me on that...that's just what i heard

[freaksavior]

SO would you suggest something else? it sounds like it's not good overclocker!

[Pinchy]

iirc, 975>965 for memory bandwith - 965>975 overclocking.


If you want some serious overclocking boards, its gotta be the ASUS P5B dlx or Gigabyte DQ6. Ive had experience with em; they are great!

BTW - its not the board that determines whether or not its hardware or software crossfire, its the actual graphics card. As long as the board itself has crossfire, it can do whatever the graphics card supports.

[infrared]

iirc, 975>965 for memory bandwith

Deffo! :nutkick:

[freaksavior]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010200280%2050001315%20107171850%201073607588&bop=And&CompareItemList=N82E16813131164%2CN82E16813131045% 2CN82E16813131149

so what would you recommend then? as for as price i have gone up.....maybe around $150

[Pinchy]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131045R

If you dont mind OEM

Deffo! :nutkick:

Yeah there is no doubt with memory bandwith, but im pretty sure the 965's are better OC'ers (Then again, it depends on the specific board too, so you cant really compare)


But overall, im REALLY impressed with the P5b dlx and would recommend to everyone. A lot of people have it as well, and i havent heard of anyone that didnt like it :)

[tkpenalty]

iirc, 975>965 for memory bandwith - 965>975 overclocking.


If you want some serious overclocking boards, its gotta be the ASUS P5B dlx or Gigabyte DQ6. Ive had experience with em; they are great!

BTW - its not the board that determines whether or not its hardware or software crossfire, its the actual graphics card. As long as the board itself has crossfire, it can do whatever the graphics card supports.

No the new king is the Infinity P965... it outperforms the P5B.

[Pinchy]

No the new king is the Infinity P965... it outperforms the P5B.

In what ways?

On either boards you will probably get the same OC because the CPU wont be able to OC as much as the mobo. All the specs are basically the same.

+ I dont see any on newegg? :confused:

[freaksavior]

i was planning on a oem board anyway because there a lot cheaper and i don't need the cables anyway

the Asus p5 is a good overclocker? can i do crossfire if i wanted to? i want to do r600 cores crossfire when i can scrap up enough $$ for it....it's not critical it has crossfire but would be fun/cool to have/try

What is the point in have dual gigabyte Ethernet?

[TUngsten]

I'd say look at the P5W DH if you plan on r600 Xfire down the road. Otherwise, the P5B is a great choice too. C2D prices will be dropping soon, and they can both run quadcore @ 1333fsb as well.

I've had MSI boards in the past, and while they are pretty solid, they don't OC nearly as well as the ASUS boards.

[DOM]

i was planning on a oem board anyway because there a lot cheaper and i don't need the cables anyway

the Asus p5 is a good overclocker? can i do crossfire if i wanted to? i want to do r600 cores crossfire when i can scrap up enough $$ for it....it's not critical it has crossfire but would be fun/cool to have/try

ASUS P5B pci-e are X16 and other x4 or x8 dont remember

CF is a waste cuz there always going to come out with better cards

[freaksavior]

so forget xfire and get a good overlcoking board?

so in that case i should get the ASUS P5B Deluxe oem of course

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131045

Whats the point in having dual gigabyte Ethernet?

also....sense this is in the MOBO and MEM section which memroy should i get???? maybe about $150 (i can do rebates too :))

[Kursah]

I love my P5B Deluxe! It has a ton of features, great OC and Stability! Check my sig...my system runs great! I definately recommend the G.Skill 6400 hu2-2gbhz...I am at DDR2 960 speeds, 2.25v, 4-4-4-5 timings. Also recommend the Corsair XMS cooler for $20 as it cools my ram very very well. But even without it, the memory ran cool compared to my old Buffalo Firestix. Dunno about Dual Gigabyte Ethernet...I just use the first port anyways..but if I needed to hook up to a second network, pc it's ready.

[freaksavior]

Ok! it sounds like every one is in favor of the asus board.....my bro said i should get it because i tweak my stuff so much!

the dual gigabyte seems like a waste though...although it might be useful in a lan party!

[Kursah]

It's a great board, and is very tweakable! It will do what you need it to, and is easy to deal with. Go for it, and enjoy!

[freaksavior]

post a link to the ram you have....plz!

[Pinchy]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231087

Ive got that RAM. On my P5B, ive pushed it to 1000Mhz @ 4-4-4-12. At 5-5-5-15 at 2.3V, it overclocks to 1110Mhz. 2GB for $150...not too bad IMHO ;)


With the motherboard: The P5B deluxe HAS got crossfire ;) It OC's like a charm as well and it supports Quad Core :D

With the dual gigabit LAN, thats for a ring network, where computers connect to each other as opposed to a router. Also good for big LAN parties :)

[Kursah]

It's great ram! 4-4-4-5 at 960 speeds w/2.25v!! I read somewhere a dude hit 4-3-4-5 at 1000 speeds! I paid $230 and it was worth every penny, so much I don't care if it costs $180 on newegg ATM. And I put an XMS cooler on them (~$20 on Newegg), I have a temp diode on them, I was hitting ~40 idle, ~53load, after cooler, ~30idle and ~35 load!! A worthy investment for protecting your memory!!

[freaksavior]

Ok, cool i dk about ram to well, like i did hear ocz can't overclock well, and i found that out by trying, i can only get my dads around 940 before it gets unstable!

edit: i just noticed newegg doesn't have the asus oem anymore :( i wasn't going to spend $200 :(

[Pinchy]

edit: i just noticed newegg doesn't have the asus oem anymore :( i wasn't going to spend $200 :(

They should (well hopefully) have more soon...

[freaksavior]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131045R

it's still on the site!! :rockout:

as soon as my graphics card sells, then i can welcome it home!
lol btw i talked to a tech rep on new egg and they said the only thing you get when you get oem board is the board itself....:wtf: ...i would have though you get a manuel and the i/o shield at least :ohwell:

more question!!! Does the board have problems with audio? i read some reviews that said it had trouble with 5.1.....is that true?

[Kursah]

I don't use the surround sound, but I read that the newest driver releases resolve a lot of the complaints with the surround sound. I have absolutely no audio issues what-so-ever, sound is crisp, clear, great overall. And if ya don't like it, you can get a good sound card for not too much money...and PCI-E 1x sound cards are on the way soon enough. Even if I had crap sound, I would be content with this board, as it has so much to offer.

[Pinchy]

I had trouble with audio, but with a couple of settings, 7.1 was working like a charm :cool:

BTW - On Vista, only 5.1 works :shadedshu

Anyways, if you have any troube with the audio @ default settings, just PM me or make a thread and ill tell you wat settings to put it on to fix it ;)

[tkpenalty]

In what ways?

On either boards you will probably get the same OC because the CPU wont be able to OC as much as the mobo. All the specs are basically the same.

+ I dont see any on newegg? :confused:

An article said that it overclocks much more than the P5B, as well as outperforming it. No insults man, just some facts :laugh: Its new anyway.

[Kursah]

An article said that it overclocks much more than the P5B, as well as outperforming it. No insults man, just some facts :laugh: Its new anyway.

Can I see a link to that article? That is cool that a p965 board can keep up and possibly outpace the P5B...But I hope that more than one article states it. I didn't buy any of my equipment from reading a single article, or hearing one perspective, or taking advice from one opinion, but adding a bunch of all of them up and seeing how much the good outweighed the bad, and if it had what I wanted or not. There's also a lot of different setups, variables, and such that can lead to a "much more" OC compared to the P5B...mine can hit 500FSB oc pretty damn easily...hell I'm at 480FSB with all but DDRv at stock with my P5B Dlx and absolutely no issues!

The P5B is hitting a good status for p965 boards as Arctic Silver 5 hit in thermal interface...so I am interested in seeing a board made with a lot of the same stuff put up some more OC-ability, good stuff. :laugh:

[BXtreme]

wtf look at this!! :eek: This is insane :D
CPU FSB range is from 266 to 700MHz
http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/191/inf965b3sh3.jpg
DFI Infinity P965

[FOXCONN1115]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130051

is that a good board? i wanna go crossfire later and i need a new motherboard....so is it any good?

are the 975x good @ over clocking? i would be using a D 945


If you can afford the extra $30, and wanna go hardcore, I'd go with the Asus p5w-DH deluxe:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131025

Stick to the 975 chipset, it's killer compared to the 945, gives you better memory bandwidth and such.. Also the ASUS is crossfire ready and you get a WIDE variety of options and bells and whistles.

[Pinchy]

If you can afford the extra $30, and wanna go hardcore, I'd go with the Asus p5w-DH deluxe:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131025

Stick to the 975 chipset, it's killer compared to the 945, gives you better memory bandwidth and such.. Also the ASUS is crossfire ready and you get a WIDE variety of options and bells and whistles.

975 is better than 965 with regards to memory bandwith, but the 975's arent better overclockers ;)

wtf look at this!! :eek: This is insane :D
CPU FSB range is from 266 to 700MHz
http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/191/inf965b3sh3.jpg
DFI Infinity P965

Yeah that was my point above ;)

A CPU is never going to be stable @ 700 FSB, well not soon, so even if the mobo can get to 700...whats the point :p?

An article said that it overclocks much more than the P5B, as well as outperforming it. No insults man, just some facts :laugh: Its new anyway.

its ok TK, but im just trying to make the point that they would have had to use the exact same CPU to test which one overclocks better. + even if they did use the same CPU, i doubt they would have gone over 500-550FSB, which both boards would be able to take.



Another thing is - every board is different. You cant just rely on one source. Perfect example - Tigger. His board and CPU were just good overclockers...luck of the draw :D

[BXtreme]

975 is better than 965 with regards to memory bandwith, but the 975's arent better overclockers ;)

Yeah that was my point above ;)

A CPU is never going to be stable @ 700 FSB, well not soon, so even if the mobo can get to 700...whats the point :p?



what's the point ? OC records :D

[Pinchy]

Na my point was that a CPU wont clock past the motherboard. For example, if the motherboard can literally take 700FSB, a conroe with stock 266 FSB will NEVER hit that.

[BXtreme]

so true, but @least 500+ maybe on a E6600 :rolleyes: Gotta w8 for the ppl to show oc's with this monsta on youtube :D

[FOXCONN1115]

Yeah, I've heard some insane reviews for the e6600 and thats why I wanna get it. Lol

[Kursah]

I'm gonna wait till prices drop and snatch up an e6600 eventually...my 6300 is doing great.

On that 700MHZ FSB setting in that Infinity Mb's bios, that's great...but what's the point? You'd have to have top of the line everthing else and still some insane luck to hit that speed with today's technology, and when other components can handle that speed, that MB will be the gen before last...I think P5B's are good to 650FSb last time I checked..but you don't hear about anyone using it at that speed for the same reason...but it creates a good buffer to hit 500 easier than other boards that top out lower so I could see it hitting higher overall OC speeds with a little more stability...but the test of time will see if Infinity has what it takes or not. I hope I end up finding someone I know who OC's one of them...I'm curious to see real world results from one.

And it's true the 975 is better for mem bandwidth and not as good on OC as compared to the 965...so it depends on what you want...and still to an extent what kind of quality you're buying. I'm plenty happy with the overall performance of my 965 board and components.