[Cew27]

sweet so the x48 mobo will support a 38 cpu??
i dont know what that linux boot internet in 5 seconds thing is but it would sound kool when bragging lol

[mcbee]

Cew just check the detailed specs for each motherboard. If it is a socket 775 mobo and it states Quad core ready it will support the Q6600. If you want the best mobo it may well be the Asus Maximus.

[Cew27]

ohh reading up on that motherboard it boasts some excellent features. and because it is x48 it means i can upgrape the processor to the extreme if i wish (as far as i understand)
the linux option boot seems ann exelent idea meaning if your os is caput you can still acess the net and get the tools or files to repair it

[alex]

I've read this thread with interest, and to be frank no-one has answered Cewy's query.

What is a chipset?

A chip-set is basically as it sounds; a set of chips (not the frying kind) that connect to each other and communicate with every component that make's up a computer.

Put simply Cewy chipsets come in two parts; the northbridge and the southbridge. The northbridge has wider bandwidth than the southbridge, well, because it needs to have as it's connected to the cpu through the fsb (frontside bus). It also communicates with the graphics and the ram. High-bandwidth hungry components.

The soutbridge communicates with the ports on a motherboard; usb, firewire etc and also any add-on cards such as soundcards.

You'll see different revisions of motherboards (p945, p965, p31, p35, x38 etc) because as time (and technology) moves on support for faster cpu's, faster ram, raid etc is required.

The Northbridge gets it's name purely because it's higher up than the Southbridge on a motherboard, hence north and south.

[Cew27]

thanks for that
i am certain now i deffo want the asus p5e3 or whatever it seems the dogs
but just one more question ... it says it is crossfire certified but does this mean i am tied down to an ati readion graphics card
oh and will the wireless arial make any difference >?
cheers again

[alex]

Very good choice of mobo.

You're not tied to AMD cards, you can install Nvidia but should you want a dual-card setup you have to have AMD (crossfire) as NVidia (SLI) isn't supported.

I don't understand the wireless question.

[Cew27]

ok thanks so i can have single nvidea or single and dual ati ?
and the motherboard come with antennas for the onboard wireless will it improve recieption with these?

[alex]

Correct on the cards.

Re the wireless: Supposedly, although I wouldn't count on it. A lot of other factors come into wireless networks.

[Cew27]

kooool oh and one last question i forgot to ask last night
will i be able to run ddr2 ram in it untill i can afford ddr3 or am i tied down to ddr3

[alex]

You're tied down to DDR3, and the current prices of said ram.

But.

Add a quad into the mix and you'll have a balls-to-the-wall pc. DDR3 has much higher bandwidth potential than ddr2 ever did.

Just that, currently, it's hard to see why you need to pay, in some cases, 5x more for your ram.