Does motherboard make a huge difference?

SimonShaw · Jan 7, 2008, 01:08 PM

My Pc uses an asus p5b vanilla, which I bought as it was cheap at the time (18 months ago).
Its stable at overclocking, as its taken my core2duo to 3.2Ghz with no issues.
If I were to get a better motherboard, say one based on the 650i, would it increase general performance noticeably, or does motherboard not make much of a difference?

Cheers

**ChaosMinionX** · Jan 7, 2008, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SimonShaw

My Pc uses an asus p5b vanilla, which I bought as it was cheap at the time (18 months ago).
Its stable at overclocking, as its taken my core2duo to 3.2Ghz with no issues.
If I were to get a better motherboard, say one based on the 650i, would it increase general performance noticeably, or does motherboard not make much of a difference?

Cheers

Depends on your other components, but yes a good mobo will make a world of difference in OCing and benching, also overall system performance.

Do not get a 650i.... if your going to upgrade, P35 or X38/48 is the only way to go now, unless your looking for SLI then 680i/780i or wait for 790i, as 780i is only a 680i with a new MCP to support better quad OCing, and Tri-SLI.

SimonShaw · Jan 7, 2008, 03:28 PM

Thanks, that might just persuade me to buy a new board. I dont think i'll get a 650/80i then in that case, no need for SLI tbh.
Any difference in x38 and the P35 to make the price worth it?

**kris23** · Jan 7, 2008, 06:42 PM

besides PCI-E 2.0 and crossfire, no

P35 is a very stable chipset, its really good!

**Vikingod** · Jan 7, 2008, 07:26 PM

If I had the choice in upgrading spending $100+ on my mobo/hard drive/cpu/RAM/video card, the last I would spend the money on is the mobo. Unless you're into OCing, I would save the loot, you just arent going to see the performance difference. This can be seen in most reviews, the vanilla boards might score a few points/fps less then their much more expensive counterparts.

In my opinion, if you aren't having problems with your board, don't spend the money.

SimonShaw · Jan 7, 2008, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vikingod

If I had the choice in upgrading spending $100 on my mobo/hard drive/cpu/video card, the last I would spend the money on is the mobo. Unless you're into OCing, I would save the loot, you just arent going to see the performance difference. This can be seen in most reviews, the vanilla boards might score a few points/fps less then their much more expensive counterparts.

In my opinion, if you aren't having problems with your board, don't spend the money.

Is that even with my specs? If so fair enough, i'll save the dough, i just assumed that the massive price difference and newer chipsets meant that they would be faster.
Thanks, might have saved me some cash as mine works fine, just thought I could squeeze some more out of it

**Vikingod** · Jan 7, 2008, 07:47 PM

I'm not saying they won't be faster, but I don't think you would notice the difference enough to justify the purchase.

You have the same CPU, GPU, and RAM, which would effect gaming performance far more than the mobo. If you want to spend the money and get more bang for your buck, sell the GPU and get the 8800GT, or sell the CPU and go quad core.

PangingJr · Jan 7, 2008, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SimonShaw

i just assumed that the massive price difference and newer chipsets meant that they would be faster.

you just assumed wrong.
for the most part, Viking is right in his last reply.

SimonShaw · Jan 7, 2008, 08:01 PM

Ok fair enough, cheers people

Kazeko · Jan 13, 2008, 05:09 AM

Just a bit of a late side note....

I went from a 680i SLI chipset, to the X38 chipset, and scored an additional 800 points in 3dmark06 - So, yes. It will make a difference, even from P35 to X38 or similar.

What I would suggest, however, is a neutral ground - if you're looking for SLI in the future, or Crossfire, base your decision on future hardware support. -- Almost exactly what Viking said.

Sure, I saw a pretty significant performance gain going from 680i SLI to X38, but it's really all about where you intend to go. While the 800 points in 3dmark06 is nice, the translation to real system performance may have been a few frames (or ns) that I (or you) won't even notice in the long term. - I went with the Maximus Formula, for Penryn (45nm) support, and CrossfireX support. The extra few points was just a perk.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Feb 4, 2008, 01:48 PM

Mobo's can make a giant difference, if not in performance than definately in features and overall usability. Being that it's the foundation of the whole system (second only to the PSU really), it makes sense not to cheap out on it and get something that's reasonably high end. That said, the P5B itself is a great example of how motherboards have become alot better in the midrange to budget sector.