Topic: Blue Screen, possible GC drivers?

[gmax]

I like the look of the "abit IP35 Pro" it's been getting very good reviews, http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mainboards/display/abit-ip35-pro.html

Give it some thought it looks to be a nice board

[mistybear]

Thanks gmax, I thought trying to decide between Gigabyte and Asus was bad enough, now I have another one......

Just kidding, I did in fact look at them, but thought I should stick to something like Gigabyte for their reputation and "with all solid capacitor design".

I did notice in that review, they mentioned "abit Mainboard Family on Intel P35 Express Chipset".

Does anyone know the relevance of "chipsets".   

[gmax]

The P35, a member of the Bearlake-family, is Intel's latest weapon in their chipset arsenal and it is designed to support their upcoming Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme processors. These upcoming processors are designed to support the 1333MHz FSB (Front Side Bus), where as current processors use an 800MHz and 1066MHz FSB. Furthermore this new chipset also adds support for the upcoming DDR3 memory standard while also supporting the latest DDR2 memory standards.

Abit, have been around a long time, they have a good reputation.

[mistybear]

I know I'm probably being fussy, but this is a big investment, especially as this wasn't in the budget. And I'm not one to buy this sort of hardware without understanding how it works and what is the best value for Michaels needs.
I have spent hours on the Intel site trying to understand their processors and chipsets, only to become more confused. So it's very difficult to choose the correct motherboard.

But I have found an article that has explained a few things for me.

The chipset is made up of a series of chips integrated onto the motherboard, which, together, control the system and its capabilities. All components, from the memory to the peripheral devices, communicate with the processor through the chipset. If you think of the motherboard as the physical hardware, the chipset is the logic that underlies it. It is the part that dictates how different components actually talk to one another and is the most important component on the motherboard.

Because motherboards are designed around the capabilities of the chipset, users cannot upgrade the computer's chipset without upgrading the motherboard as well. Therefore the chipset and processor you choose will be crucial in deciding what motherboard is best for your system, and vice versa.The chipset uses the DMA (Direct Memory Access) controller and the bus controller to organise the steady flow of data that it controls.

Alongside the DMA and bus controllers, the chipset's many functions include the memory controller, hard drive controller, PCI, PCIe and AGP bridges, RTC (real time clock), IrDA controller, keyboard controller, the USB interface and mouse controller. The chipset manages the interaction of the various connectors. Nearly all new chipsets have a bunch of extras added in - integral support for sound output, networking and FireWire for instance.

A chipset is usually (but not always) split into two main parts - the north and south bridges. The north bridge takes control of the major functions such as the memory, cache, and AGP connectors (more on these below), while the south bridge controls the non-core functions of the motherboard, such as the PCI bus, integrated audio, EIDE, SATA, serial and USB controllers.

http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;641784313;pp;3#chipset

I still have a bit of reading to do, but I'm getting there.                    

[gmax]

The "abit IP35 Pro" has the latest intel chipset, i really don't know what you are trying achieve, with the latest chipset your pc will be more future proof. If you are getting a
intel cpu, an intel chipset on the motherboard would be best. Geez do you stuff around this much buying a car?

[mistybear]

No, I buy the blue one I see.     


Do they have colour coded motherboards, that might make it easier. 

[Baz]

No, I buy the blue one I see.     


Do they have colour coded motherboards, that might make it easier. 

yes      theres a  red one   http://www.infomaticsonline.co.uk/articles/bigpicture/2133488    or  a nice  pink one http://www.infomaticsonline.co.uk/articles/bigpicture/2133483 if thats what you are looking for


cant say if the boards are any good though 

[mistybear]

What, no blue ones. 

This is more a violet, purplish, not really pink. But very nice. Heck, if Michael doesn't like it, I think I'll have to get one for me. 

http://www.infomaticsonline.co.uk/articles/bigpicture/2133483

[mistybear]

The Abit IP35 Pro has gotten the thumbs up, and it's blue. 

I'm now having second thoughts about the CPU, as Fluidtek has the Intel Q6600 for $190 WHEN YOU BUY 2GB OF PQI DDR2 800 FOR $155.

But why would anyone buy 2gb of generic memory for $155?

Or

Intel core duo e6750 for $115 WHEN YOU BUY 2GB OF PQI DDR2 800 FOR $155

And I have just read this,

Someone has provided us with the new names for the 45nm Penryn line, coming from Intel.

The most well known is the one coming out first, the 3GHz 12MB L2 Quad-core QX9650, price on that part should be ~$1029.00, and available very soon.

The three new models that have popped up, official launch is 01/08 for the models below:

E8200 2.66GHz 1333MHz FSB 6MB L2 Cache $177.00

E8400 3.0GHz 1333MHz FSB 6MB L2 Cache $198.00

E8500 3.16GHz 1333MHz FSB 6MB L2 Cache $281.00

I'm sure there's more to follow, and based on early testing of the QX9650 - It looks like Intel is keen on driving yet another nail in AMD's coffin.

(Prices are street estimates US$)

http://jonnyguru.com/news_details.php?id=379

[gmax]

PQI  is budget ram, i would use better ram