core2duo mobo

[nosbusch2005]

I'm going to be building my first computer soon and am deffinitely going to be going the Core 2 Duo route. What I'm looking for is an Sli motherboard that you guys would recomend for a first time builder. The primary use of the computer will be gaming. Also, am I able to use pretty much any DDR2 RAM or do certain mobos need certain types?

The rest of the parts that I've decided on are:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6400
eVGA 7900gt videocard
Thermaltake Purepower 600 watt psu
Western Digital Caviar 250 Gb hd
NEC DVD Burner

Thanks in advance

 

[Ronnie]

does it have to be an SLI motherboard i mean are you actually ever going to do SLI?

if the answer is no then get a Gigabyte DS3 its great and will overclock the E6400 like a beast

 

[nosbusch2005]

I tell myself that I am going to run SLi but I probably never will My next question is, on Newegg they have a 965p and a 965g DS3. Which one are you referring to?

 

[will h4x 4 food]

965p

 

[nosbusch2005]

One last question. On Newegg it say:

Notice: Only DDR2-800 memory supporting JEDEC approved 1.8V operation with timings of 5-5-5 or 6-6-6 is supported on Intel Desktop Boards based on Intel 965 Express Chipsets.

What does this all mean and any ideas of memory that fall in this category? Thanks again

 

[darkop16]

the only good mobo out for conroe and sli right now is the evga 680i , but if you can convience yourself that you don't really need sli...then the asus p5b-deluxe or gigibyte ds3 are good mobos. If you want to save money go with the gigabyte, but the asus seems better to me as far as reviews that ive read on here and other forums (ive only owned a p5b-d and not a ds3 so i can't say it really is better since i don't know from experince, just reading reviews).

For memory, i love my g.skill ram and ive heard good things about the corsair xms2 series , but if your not going to overclock, then get some cheaper g.skill or cosair ddr2 800 ram.

 

[darkop16]

One last question. On Newegg it say:

Notice: Only DDR2-800 memory supporting JEDEC approved 1.8V operation with timings of 5-5-5 or 6-6-6 is supported on Intel Desktop Boards based on Intel 965 Express Chipsets.

What does this all mean and any ideas of memory that fall in this category? Thanks again

Some ppl were having trouble with ddr2 ram that was rated for 2.0 or higher voltage on the 965 chipset. I got myn to work on the first boot, either i was lucky(and i had the old 0506 bios shiped with myn ) or the mobo companys fixed the problem cause i havn't seen a compliant about it for a while...at least on here. If it does happen to you, then go to best buy or some other nearby computer store and get some cheap ddr2 ram. Use it to set the right vdimm(ram voltage) and then swap it out with the ram you decide on. And you should be abel to return it for a full refund later(30 days for best buy).

 

[nosbusch2005]

Thanks for all the info guys