Motherboard?

[Someguy]

I need one that is compatible with Intel's new 45nm processors as well as current C2D's and Quads.

I also need it to support 2 8800 GFX cards, I would also like support for DDR3 but it's really not necessary.

Budget is £70, I will go higher but would prefer not to.

Thanks

[MarkE19]

I think the Asus P5KC MoBo should do all you want. It is a little over budget, but I have found it for a little less than the linked web site.
The Asus P5KC is probably the MoBo I will be using when I build my new PC in the new year

Mark.

[tinners]

Does the P5K support SLI ? The Asus P5N SLI would work but it's not cheap or the best motherboard around, or maybe the XFX nForce 680i ? Again it's not the cheapest or the greatest but sadly that's the trade off with SLI support.

[MarkE19]

I don't have much of a clue about the SLI/CrossFire thing as I don't use my PC for games. All I know is that there are only a few current MoBos that offer DDR3 support, but the P5KC is one of them and it does have 2 16x PCI-E ports

Mark.

[jetinder]

Heres a review
:-
http://www.custompc.co.uk/reviews/12...sus-p5kc.html#

Sounds like a great motherboard.

Here's the average price :- http://computers.pricegrabber.co.uk/...ds/m/42155283/

Sounds like a good deal for "new" technology

If i wasnt on such a tight budget i would have bought this as it is future proof.

Hopefully with the P5kc coming out prices of DDR2 motherboards especially on e-bay will start to drop but we will see what happens.

Currently on e-bay its impossible to get a decent 2nd hand motherboard with out paying prices close to new motherboard levels as every one is going mad over "old" technology with no warranty etc.

Only people who benefit from all this are the sellers who are now printing money....... us buyers are as usual being left out in the cold by " loadsa money " bidders with e-bay fever who dont care how old the technology is they just have to have it no matter what and out bid any one in the processs

This is pushing up prices of things which you should be able to buy for peanuts....... and every buyer suffers

[Someguy]

Just to note I don't want SLI. Weird I know, I just want to have 4 monitors, I was all set with my MOBO but then I heard of Intels new chips in Jan and things changed.

Tar for the suggestions anyway fellas.

x

[jetinder]

Have you tried to looking at :- http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/

That has great reviews.

[tonyk79]

Check out the other thread by shakey21 about an htpc motherboard. We are looking at the Gigabyte p35 DS3R board was has all the features you are after like support for 45nm cpu's and also the ability to take either ddr2 or ddr3 on the same board.

Appologies, it does not support crossfire. I thought it did. If you are looking to run 4 monitors have you thought about a graphic card with dual dvi outputs and then using a DVI spliter cable?

[Someguy]

I'm planning on getting 2 dual output DVI cards, I could use a splitter but would that not just duplicate the images?

Not allow me to do different things. I may have this wrong however.

[tonyk79]

Wh ydo you want to run 4 monitors? I have setup up a dual screen system using an ATI x1300 and a DVI spliter cable. You can either select image duplication or you can have you desktop stretched across 2 screens. If you click fit to screen it will snap the window to fill one screen and then you can fit a second program running on the 2nd screen.

As an example Microsoft Word opened on 1 screen and Outlook on the other screen.

[Someguy]

So a splitter will not duplicate the image, cool. Will I lose any quality though?

It's just for example I want to be able to do the following....

Monitor one - Webpages
Monitor two - Lets say an HD video podcast is running
Monitor three - (my 40" Samsung) - Will be running a game e.g. Gears
Monitor four - This will be a touchscreen built in to my desk, I'll be using it for things such as Google Earth etc......

So, will i lose quality if I used a splitter? I'd prefer to spend the bit extra if I'm going to lose quality.

Thanks

[aerobic247]

Originally Posted by Someguy

So a splitter will not duplicate the image, cool.

a splitter will definitely duplicate the image
if you are waning 4 independent images then you will need 2 grafix cards with dual outputs
and set each card to DualView on both cards

[MarkE19]

Have you had a look at the Matrox range of graphics cards? I don't think they work as high end gaming cards, but they do offer solutions for multiple (4+) monitors. Have a look at their range Here.

Mark.

[Someguy]

I've heard of Matrox but I just think it will be alot easier to get 2 dual output cards !

[MarkE19]

I don't know about easier!
I have never tried to set up 2 independent graphics cards on a single Motherboard, but I would think there is likely to be some issues. Where as the Matrox cards are designed to work with multiple monitors, so the drivers would be written to work this way and so should work with no (or should I say less) issues.

Mark.