Hey guys, I am looking into building my first system... but wanted to be clear on some things:

I went to tigerdirect and saw some bundles. They have a lot of bundles with dx38bt mobo and q6700 cpu. The thing that confused me was the bus speed on both devices. The dx38bt motherboard has 1333mhz fsb while the q6700 has 1066mhz bus speed.

Now, does that mean that since I have a slower bus speed on the cpu (1066) that the motherboard isn't utilizing the rest of its 1333 mhz capabilities? in other words am i losing 267mhz of bus speed? are they different and doesnt matter with each other?

if this is true, why would they bundle a system that isnt optimal?

please clarify. Thank you.

You are not loosing any performance. The 1066FSB(stock) is bound by the CPU and not the motherboard. You can later upgrade to a FSB1333 CPU if you want on that board.

Few questions:
1. Do you plan to DIY? If so what is the max budget?

2. If DIY is it for gaming or video editing,etc. ?

well, im saying... is it a waste of money to even buy a 1333mhz motherboard when my cpu is bound to 1066mhz fsb? maybe im confusing myself but i thought they should match... like you should get a cpu thats 1066mhz fsb matched with a mobo thats 1066 mhz fsb. otherwise, you've spent more money on a higher fsb motherboard and isnt utilizing all of its capabilities... am i making sense?

btw im building it myself but my boy is helping me build it...

my max budget is around 750

im not planning on oc-ing ever.. at least i dont see myself doing it at the moment

i want a quad core set up for when i get some CAD software in the future... i needed a new computer for a while... i tiger-knee'd my last computer accidently and it broke ... it was time to upgrade anyways.... plan on playing some games, maybe some light video editing, watching movies

i want intel mobo and cpu only

thank you. ps sorry for the noobness

No it is not a waste. It enables you to upgrade to FSB 1333 CPUs later. Post a new thread about building as people will offer suggestions for better performing parts for the money. PM me or link me that thread and I will help you. Give requirements and budget in that thread and we will help you.

Germany is wasting a lot of money in thheir no speed limit highways because I'm driving a SUV that tops at 100 MPH, that's basically what you're saying.

The fact that you're not using the full bus width does not mean you're wasting money or losing CPU performance, because the CPU only needs 1066 MHz, having a 1333 MB means 2 things, that your mobo will be able to accept newer 1333 MHz CPUs and/or that you can OC your old CPU.

Any way you look at it there is no waste.

alright thanks guys...

but one more question ....

i know fsb is good for gaming.. but are they talking about the fsb on the cpu or the motherboard? basically, i want 1333 mhz fsb for gaming... so am i limited now, cuz of the cpu's 1066mhz?

thanks again.

It allows you to overclock the cpu. 1333mhz fsb means 4x333mhz fsb, as current generation Intel bus is quad pumped. 1066mhz fsb = 4x266mhz. A q6600 has a multiplier of 9x, that's 9x 266.5=2.4ghz. Bump up the fsb to 1600mhz (4x400mhz) and you get 9x400=3.6ghz, which is the most common overclocking setting for the cpu.

Aside from that, I would look at that fsb rating again. X38/48 boards should be 1600mhz fsb stock, and 2000mhz oced. 1333mhz stock doesn't look right.

I get what he's saying though, unless your planning on upgrading or ocing (which he said he isnt planing on) then the higher fsb on the mobo is a waste, it sounds to me like he's not planning on upgrading but thats guessing etc,

First of all there is no way having a motherboard that supports 1333 fsb can be a waste because this motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128337
$89.99

$89.99.......and it supports 1600Mhz FSB...thats dirt cheap for its performance

no firewire though or pci express 2.0

This board is more future proof
ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131299
$149.99
P45 motherboard which is intel's newest chipset, PCI Express 2.0, 65nm chipset instead of 90nm of P35, firewire

I would get the Q9450 instead of the Q6700 if I were you..its $339.00 12mb L2 cache compared to 8, 1333 FSB and 45nm compared to 65nm

I looked at the bundles on tiger direct and if that motherboard takes DDR3 memory then you for sure dont want it...DDR3 is a rip off and only has single digit percentile gains over DDR2 af 2-3 times the price

You should be able to overclock the Q9450 quite well to around 3.6ghz and get its FSB speed up to 1800-2000Mhz which the P45 motherboard should be able to support without any trouble at all

^+1

bingo!

i guess i should have clarified.... i do not plan on upgrading like simon1980111 guessed... i plan on using the system until it breaks... i imagine around 7 yrs of use... hahaha

well guys, everyone was so helpful - and i thank you guys so much for that!

to wormy - thanks for the comments - im really considering ddr2 now that you brought up that point... i was going to opt for dx38bt mobo with the q6700 cpu... but intel's dx38bt requires ddr3 only... although i still want pcie2.0.... and q9450 you say? hmmm im sort of on a budget... around 750 for the entire system... i dont know.... whats everyone's insight on q9300? i see that its l2 only has 6mb? why is this? its less than the q6600.... does the new 45nm arch. make up for this? i see that their speed dropped down to 2.5ghz as well...

mind you i want cpu and mobo from INTEL only - they make me feel safe

sorry for rambling....

thanks again guys

the q9300 is 7-10% better than the q6600 and the q6700 is about the same as the q9300...q9300 is just more effecient but really its a toss up between the q6700 and q9300...the q9300 is crippled by its multiplier and lower cache...its more of a bargain quadcore cpu for its generation of chips

intel motherboards are not the best or highest rated motherboards...if you look on new egg you will notice that...Gigabyte and ASUS are very good brands...ASUS is just higher and may offer a few more features that you may or may not need.

^+1