I am putting together a new editing machine and am wondering about the new main boards and Intel chipsets.  There are several threads where Intel chipsets such as P35 and ICH9R southbridge are mentioned as being very compatible with Liquid (ASUS P5K series of boards is one example).  However, my "computer guru" has mentioned that ASUS now have boards with P45 chipsets and ICH10R southbridge (e.g. the ASUS P5L-E board).

I see no mention of these chipsets in the forum, so does anyone know if this is a good chipset for use with Liquid, or should I go with the P35 chipset?  Any comments are appreciated.

Igor,

I have long been as Asus fan, and after my AMD Asus board fried, I followed Fred Moore's lead and got the Asus Maximus Formula Mobo.  It is very stable and is so far a stellar performer with a Q9450 processor.  Just my $0.02 worth. 

Denny

Thanks for the tip, Denny.  I did look at the Maximus Formula, but in a review it was mentioned that it was a liquid cooled board.  I have no experience with liquid cooling (only Liquid editing!), therefore I was looking at the P5K series (P5K Deluxe specifically).  I want to go with a Q9450 like yours, and an ATI 3780 video card.

I was just wondering about the newer P45 chipsets and what they might mean for Liquid editing.

Igor,

There is a version of the Maximus Formula (I believe the Formula II) that is water cooled.  The standard Maximus Formula is NOT.  I have a Zalman 9700 NT cooler on it (Air Cooled) it is recommended at tomshardware.com as perhaps the most efficient cooler made for the intel chip.  My CPU temperature is 20 degrees celcius.  The only problem with the cooler is that it requires a wide case, as it stands several inches above the CPU.

Denny

dmfreeman:

Igor,

My CPU temperature is 20 degrees celcius.

At what room temperature Denny? Sorry, but this does not sound right at all ....

dmfreeman:

Igor,

There is a version of the Maximus Formula (I believe the Formula II) that is water cooled.  The standard Maximus Formula is NOT.  I have a Zalman 9700 NT cooler on it (Air Cooled) it is recommended at tomshardware.com as perhaps the most efficient cooler made for the intel chip.  My CPU temperature is 20 degrees celcius.  The only problem with the cooler is that it requires a wide case, as it stands several inches above the CPU.

Denny

 Denny,

It was the Formula II that was reviewed in the article that I read.  I had another look at the Maximus Formula MoBo.  It makes a big deal of its overclocking capability, making more of a gaming board, which does not interest me too much.  I could never understand overclocking.  If a board is capable of running at a higher rate without problems, why not simply make it do that out of the box?

I also see that the Maximus Formula uses the X38 chipset.  Do you know what the difference between this and the P35 or P45 chipsets is?  I would still like someone to comment on the compatibility of these chipsets with Liquid (or suggest an information source for a comparison between them).  The ASUS and Intel websites don't shed much light on this.

Guy,

The CPU temp is 21 C, and the system temp is 34 C. The room temp here in the USA is 73 F which is about 21 C I believe.

Denny

Denny, think about it! How can the CPU be running at a temperature lower than the system temperature? Or are you saying the delta T is 21 (ie the CPU is running at a temperature 21 above the surroundings?)

I would expect a CPU temp of at least 40C with a system temp of 34 ...

When I run PC Probe the recorded CPU temp is as of this writing 23 degrees C.  What can I tell you, that's what it says.  I would agree, that logically, the CPU temperature should be one of the warmest spots on the system.

Denny

It all depends on where the sensors are located. For example, if you've got the CPU temp. probe directly underneath a peltier cooler it's going to read lower than a probe in the case.

DStone:

It all depends on where the sensors are located. For example, if you've got the CPU temp. probe directly underneath a peltier cooler it's going to read lower than a probe in the case.

Dave,

Not meaning to hijack my own thread back, but do you (or anyone else) know what, if any, differences there are between the X38, P45 and P35 Intel chipset MoBo's as far as Liquid is concerned?

As far as Liquid is concerned, it makes no difference. I've not seen any reports of Liquid having issues with any of these chipsets.

DStone:

As far as Liquid is concerned, it makes no difference. I've not seen any reports of Liquid having issues with any of these chipsets.

Dave,

Thanks for that.  I will have a close look at both the Asus P5K Deluxe MoBo that looked good to me and the Asus Maximus Formula that Denny has had good success with.

The difference between the P35 and P45 is mostly support for higher FSB CPUs. The P45 is Intels replacement for the 35. One thing of standard concern, is the standard worry of the quirks that co exist with new stuff.

I generally avoid the hyper-featured boards. The extra stuff does nothing for Liquid, and adds tons to the cost. A modest overclock shouldn't hurt.

And the P45 supports crossfire...

TVJohn:

And the P45 supports crossfire...

John,

The P5K MoBo with the P35 chipset also supports Crossfire.  It looks as if the main difference between the P35 and P45 chipsets is the support for faster (DDR3) memory modules and PCIe 2.0 by the latter.

Sorry, the P45 supports crossfire -two sockets at x8 vs x4 for the p35.

TVJohn:

Sorry, the P45 supports crossfire -two sockets at x8 vs x4 for the p35.

John,

 What does the "x8" vs "x4" mean as far as editing with Liquid is concerned?  Also, do you happen to know what, if any, noticeable differences there may be between PCIe 2.0 and PCIe x16?