this is a fairly open question but does anyone think its worth getting the X38 mobo's at the mo? they are so expensive but is it worth it for performance/future proofing or should i go with a P35 to get the most 'bang for buck'?
I'd say P35 unless you need dual-GPU support. If you don't plan on running crossfire, then there isn't much that X38 offers over P35.
Yep, CrossFire only but in x16 and x4 not dual x16s. I've not found any real performance difference - check the last motherboard article (Gigabyte X38)
P35 is fast enough. only get X38 if you want crossfire (p35 only have one x16 and a x4, so crossfire in it is worthless). the performance difference for single card doesn't worth the extra money.
plenty of P35 mobos support dual PCI-E video cards - just that the 2nd slot usually runs at x4 electrically (Asus Blitz can run dual x8 though due to an addon chip).
On a related note, I am looking at either a P35 or X38 board as well, and I am also wanting to run 2 graphics cards. However, my need of a second GPU is purely for running a third monitor, not for SLI / Crossfire. Can I get away with running two cards on a P35 board in this instance. NB, if I am gaming, I deactivate all but one of my screens, so I won't be trying to game using the 4x Lane, only the 16x.
In that case... and for around the price of a [good] new mobo or second graphics card anyway... you could get a Matrox TripleHead2Go instead
I looked at that, but the maximum resolution that it supports isn't enough, as it equates to 3 1280x1024 screens, and whilst the outer two screens will be that resolution, I was looking at getting the 24" Dell Widescreen which runs at 1900x1200 and is therefore too big. It is a right bummer, as the Matrox would have made life a lot easier.
Yea, the P35 will do you just fine - you don't need bandwidth for just 2D-ing and connect your middle monitor to the x16 card and you'll be fine.
