I did have a look at that board but I don't like where the 24pin power connector is, really makes everything look messy snaking a cable across the board. For me to buy it locally it costs the same as the DFI X48 board which does perform better and have better cooling. Thanks for pointing it out though, I will have another look at it.
Really? Usually it hovers around 45°C but sometimes it goes to 70-80°C on idle and sometimes when I play a game it goes up to 120-130°C! I have no stability problems. Could be a faulty sensor, though... In the beginning (when I first built this rig) it was 5-15°C after startup (which is not possible, ambient temp is 20-25). Behavior doesn't change during OC, currently I have it at stock (333MHz) and the same things happened when I had 400MHz FSB. I really would like to confirm the temp with some external thermometer, but I don't have one. I've tried touching it with my finger when it reports 100+°C and it felt a bit hot but not that hot.
Sounds like it might just be a terribly calculated sensor. At those kinds of temps you should definitely see stability problems.
that dfi board might be the wtg budgetwise.. I can't really recommend it because I haven't worked with that board- the reviews look alright.. bit tech's review said the bios is a little confusing, but I'd rather have the options myself.. if you don't plan on ocing anyway- probably go with that one
I will do a mild OC once I get my new HDD and I can free up some extra space on the HDD, just to be safe. I really do like the DFI X48 board, it does perform pretty well and has awesome Thermalright stock cooling. As for the BIOS, that's just DFI. I have worked through my boards BIOS which should be pretty similar to the newer ones as it is still the Genie BIOS system. I am still waiting to hear back from DFI. I am going to ask them if it is possible to exchange my broken board for the X48 board with the current repair cost or maybe a little bit extra, I don't really want to spend more than $150AUD. Thanks for all your help guys.
I have an ASUS mobo and the temps never get close to 45 C which is the temp the alert is set for. It stays in the 30 degree range. If I had to choose an Intel board to get I would choose the 750i chipset since it is cheaper than he 780i and has the same cooling. Is only has 2 PCI-e x16 slots. You said you werent going to go an sli setup but the board has the option if you want to. And on the OS point you will have to do a whole new install of the operating system and call microsoft to get it activated again unless you can get the same DFI board you had. The OEM version OS ties itself to the motherboard somehow. You wont have to pay for any activation from Microsoft due to your board going out. Now back to the motherboard issue. Im looking right now and I dont see that EVGA isn't selling the 750i F T W motherboard anymore, but there is an XFX 750i SLI Extreme motherboard for $129 USD. It also seems like you cant get a 680i in retail form so that means no backplate or assesories Just a little info and suggestions. I hope you get this resolved so you can get your computer going again.
Thanks for the UltraModder. I am still looking around at what is available in Australia and I admit there is not a lot. Nvidia have stopped making the 6** chipset so there is no hope of me getting my current board repaired or replaced. I have been looking at the 7** series boards but all the ones I can find in Australia are the 780/790i chipsets, I can't find a 750i. I am thinking my best bet is to see if DFI will allow me to trade up to an X48 T2R mobo. I can buy one of them brand new over here for $250AUD so it makes sense for them to be able to make the trade. I really don't want to buy a mobo from overseas. I could get the XFX 750i board but it would probably end up costing me around $200AUD for postage and insurance after the conversion from AUD to USD where as the DFI X48 board is only $50AUD more and performs better. I'd rather purchase something over hear and have better access to warranty and repair. Thanks for your input.
I know what you mean. I dont think they have DFI boards over here in the US or not. I havent seen them around any of the online retailers. How much are the 780/790i chipsets? Over here they are around 200 to 400 USD.
I can get an eVGA 790i Ultra for $569AUD, an XFX 780i for $389AUD and an XFX 790i Ultra for $540AUD, so to me they are out of the question considering I can get an X48 board for $250-$300AUD.
Wow that is a lot. I would deffinately look into what you can work out with DFI. See if you can get a credit to getting the X48 or another board that they offer. If you do get the X48 you have to tell Microsoft about the motherboard switch when you install windows again. Does ASUS offer any boards in Australia? I know that they have an NVIDIA 750i chipset for around 129 USD. That could be a good option since they are very stable and the 750i has a pretty good heatsink.
These are the boards I have at my disposal: http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=138_711_776 I can get them locally, slightly cheaper, I just use this site as a gauge of products and prices, really quite a good size. There are plenty of ASUS boards at my disposal, the only reason I was looking at DFI again was because they would give a discount towards a new one, I still haven't heard back from them. When looking at a replacement motherboard there are a few things I need to look for because I can't afford to extend my current front I/O connectors. 1. The board needs to be full ATX size. 2. The front I/O connectors need to be as close as possible to the bottom right corner of the board and there also needs to be a 3pin fan connector there. 3. There needs to be another 3pin connector on the bottom edge of the mobo so I can attach my pump to it. 4. The board needs a total of 4 (or more) 3 pin connectors. 5. I need a total of 2 PCI slots and 1 PCI-e slots that are accessible. The very bottom motherboard slot is blocked due to fans so I need to have access to those 3 slots minimum. 6. The board must perform well. That's about it lol. I have looked at the ASUS P5Q Pro and the P5Q-E-WIFI-AP and they look like quite good boards. I definitely will consider them if DFI can't offer me anything.
Asus boards are very stable. Some even come with chipset watercooling built in. If and when I build a new computer I will probably get an ASUS board ROG edition. And from what i can tell is that the P5Q pro board only has 3 fan connectors and 1 for the cpu. If you can get a discount from DFI that would be a little extra money in your pocket!
When I originally purchased my current (broken) DFI mobo I was almost sold on the ASUS Striker Extreme at the time. ASUS make good products and all but overcharge a hell of a lot for them. My DFI mobo is a 680LT chipset with all the bells and whistles of the full 680i which the Striker Extreme has, but my motherboard can keep up with it all the same, on par almost, cost $200 less at the time also. Personally I just think the ASUS ROG line is a gimmick, if they can produce products like that they should just get rid of all the gimmicky extras and release a quality board for far less. That's my 2 cents.
Haha... yeah. Most of the ROG boards have the watercooling option already integrated so no extra for a waterblock. Unless the onboard cooler sucks... I dont know much about watercooling. More into air cooling and I dont feel like I want to risk leakage around some of these pricey components. I looked at the website you posted and the DFI boards are in a good price range. It seems like things are around 100 to 200 dollars more but that could just be the exchange rate between AUD and USD. Does DFI have any hybrid sli boards out? Intel socket 775 has the onboard GeForce 9000 series. I dont know if they have it so its like the AMD boards like what mine is. It has the nForce 780a with onboard GeForce 8200. Something you could look into so you can save power.
Yeah the price difference is the exchange rate. I think your dollar is 70cents of ours lol. I don't think DFI make the Hybrid SLI boards, power saving isn't really something that concerns me in a gaming rig, for a laptop yeah but not really a gaming rig.
Yea my board has hybrid sli and i dont use it. I dont feel like setting it up haha. But all that the hybrid sli does is turns off the dGPU or dGPU's if you arent gaming so you can run simple stuff like the net and stuff of the mGPU. It was a thought since everyone is going "green" but i dont think it really matters. Im already ready to build another computer when my current one isnt even fully finished. i want to go with intel the second time around just to compair the 2. But i hope you get this motherboard thing worked out. Didnt you mention you were going to redo your case when you got the new motherboard. If so i want to see it. Im still trying to finish all my modding but lack of supplies is hendering that.
Yeah once I get the new mobo I will be redoing a photo shoot because I will be altering the water loop slightly. Once I get the new mobo if something else goes wrong I will replace the part and do a whole new mod to i7, hopefully nothing else breaks until the end of next year lol.
