Request Suggestion Good for good Motherboard for Intel® Core™2 Quad Q9650

Good day. Previously I had tried to restore my sister's ancient HP dc5800 small form factor, which is describe in detail in the following threads:
1) Notebook Review Forum
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...-dc5800-small-form-factor-if-possible.795605/
2) HP Support Forum
https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Noteb...de-Questions/Hp-dc-5800-Upgrades/td-p/6051490

The spec of the HP dc5800 small form factor is available in the following link:
https://h10057.www1.hp.com/ecomcat/hpcatalog/specs/provisioner/05/AK818AW.htm

Below is the spec of my sister's HP dc5800 small form factor before the restoration:
1) Operating system: Windows Vista (but was downgraded to Windows XP since before it was bought by my sister).
2) CPU: Intel Pentium E2200 (TDP 65W).
3) Memory: 2GB DDR2 800MHz.
4) Storage: 60GB Western Digital HDD (already have some bad sectors before the time it was restored).

And below is the spec of my sister's HP dc5800 small form factor after the restoration:
1) Operating system: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit.
2) CPU: Intel Core2 Quad Q9650 (TDP 95W).
3) Memory: 8GB DDR2 800MHz (at that time I didn't know that HP Compaq dc5800 Small Form Factor can go up until 16GB DDR2 800MHz).
4) Storage: 1TBB Intel SSD.
5) BIOS is also upgraded to the latest version.

Since the motherboard is proprietary, I retain the original motherboard, which is based on Intel® Q33 Express chipset.

Unfortunately, the fan of the HP dc5800 small form factor produces a very loud and uncomfortable noise after Windows 10 is being installed, even though I tried to reinstall the previous Intel Pentium E2200 (TDP 65W) with the Windows 10 [and also Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 (TDP 65W) with the Windows 10]. There are two fans in the case - one is at the front of the case (functions as intake fan) and another one is at the rear of the case, together with the power supply unit (functions as exhaust). The CPU cooler itself is just a heat sink with no fan.

So far I notice that only the power supply exhaust fan is the one that is noisy. However, other experienced HP user told me that the even the power supply exhaust fan is connected to the same controller and sensor on the motherboard.

Previously, I had the intention to install an MSI GT 1030 graphic card on the HP dc5800 small form factor, but gave up because the noisy fan problem is still not yet solved. it is suspected that the driver for Intel® Q33 Express chipset might not be compatible with Windows 10. In addition, HP provides drivers for HP dc5800 small form factor only from Windows XP until WIndows 7, which is available in the link below:
https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-compaq-dc5800-small-form-factor-pc/3658082/drivers

Recently, one of my friends suggested me to replace the motherboard with chipset that is newer than Intel® Q33 Express chipset (but uses DDR3 memory instead of DDR2 memory). I think this might be a good idea, because co-incidentally I have the following spare items:
1) Two unused case (one is ATX size by iCute and another one is micro-ATX size bu Cooler Master).
2) One unused ECS NVidia GTX 570.

Below are some of the chipsets suggested by my friends:
1) P5G41C-M LX (based on Intel® G41 /ICH7 chipset)
https://www.asus.com/my/Motherboards/P5G41CM_LX/overview/
2) P5Q3 (based on Intel® P45 / ICH10R chipset)
https://www.asus.com/my/Motherboards/P5Q3/overview/
3) P5Q3 Deluxe/WiFi-AP @n (also based on Intel® P45 / ICH10R chipset)
https://www.asus.com/my/Motherboards/P5Q3_DeluxeWiFiAP_n/

The advantages of P5G41C-M LX (number 1 in the list above) are it cheaper and supports both DDR2 and DDR3 (only one type at a time). This means I don't have to waster extra money and can use the existing DDR2 from the HP dc5800 small form factor on the P5G41C-M LX to try first whether the desktop fan with P5G41C-M LX will still be noisy with Windows 10 or not. However, the P5G41C-M LX can only be installed with up to 8GB of memory (either DDR2 or DDR3).

The advantages of P5Q3 and P5Q3 Deluxe/WiFi-AP @n are they are based on newer chipsets than P5G41C-M LX, and can be installed with up to 16GB of memory (DDR3 only). However, it is twice the price of P5G41C-M LX and I have to purchase DDR3 RAM just to try whether the desktop fan of P5Q3 as P5Q3 Deluxe/WiFi-AP @n will still be noisy with Windows 10 or not - I will definitely waste more money if the desktop fan of P5Q3 as P5Q3 Deluxe/WiFi-AP @n will still be noisy with Windows 10.

Both chipsets (used items) can be obtained in my country at a very affordable price - the Intel® G41 /ICH7 based chipset can be obtained in my country at USD25.68 while the Intel® P45 / ICH10R based chipset can be obtained in my country at USD51.36. So far, I only surveyed the chipsets manufactured by ASUS and Gigabyte, but I think the one produced by ASUS is safer because ASUS provides driver for these chipsets up until Windows 8.1 while Gigabyteonly provide drivers for their same based chipsets only up until Windows 7.

I would like to ask you to suggest whether I should go for P5G41C-M LX or P5Q3 / P5Q3 Deluxe/WiFi-AP @n (or other better ATX and Micro-ATX motherboard that you know). Please also suggest if there is/are better manufacturers than ASUS.

Thank you.

 

List of Intel Core 2 chipsets
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_chipsets#Core_2_chipsets

 

Only thing I can recommend is to stay away from the Intel DQ45CB motherboard. I had a known good Q6600 and several GB of DDR2 that I wanted to put back in use and at the time it was the only board I could find that would support 4 sticks of DDR2. Apparently it was a workstation board with a crippled BIOS. Got it working, but still not happy with it. That said, it's a DDR2 only board, so I doubt you would have wanted it anyway.

Please update on what you end up with and how you like it. If its good I may pick up one to move that Q6600 onto.
.

 

Thank you very much for your reply. So far I have finalised ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe/WiFi-AP @n, which is based on Intel P45/ICH10R chipset with Intel® Fast Memory Access(FMA) support, which is shown in detail in the link below:
https://www.asus.com/my/Motherboards/P5Q3_DeluxeWiFiAP_n/overview/

I will choose other older motherboard, just in case if this ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe/WiFi-AP @n motherboard is difficult to be obtained with reasonable price. I will update you with my progress later.

Thank you and have a nice day.


P/S:
Anyway, I think I have found the culprit that causes the CPU fan of my HP dc5800 Small Form Factor to be very noisy. Few days ago I told about my HP dc5800 Small Form Factor's problem in my country's gaming PC community Facebook page. One of the members in the community suggested me to replace the thermal paste at the North Bridge heat sink of my HP dc5800 Small Form Factor because it is suspected that the thermal paste at that area has dried up. I think this suggestion makes sense because while the HP dc5800 Small Form Factor is on, I touch both the heat sink for CPU cooler and North Bridge - the heat sink for CPU cooler is normal while the heat sink for North Bridge is hot. Now I suspect that the North Bridge is the culprit all this time.

When I removed the heat sink at the North Bridge, I notice that there were no thermal paste at all on the die at the north bridge - the only thing that I saw was some kind of pink glue surrounding the die at the North Bridge. I suspect that this pink glue thing was not a dry thermal paste because it did not dissolve when I wipe it with alcohol swab and I have to scrape it from the North Bridge heat sink using a screw driver.

After appying the thermal paste on the North Bridge and switch the PC on, the HP dc5800 Small Form Factor's CPU fan finally no longer goes rampage noisily at an uncomfortable level. Sometimes the fan does throttle up, but not as terrible as before. Hence, it is confirmed that the main problem all this time has something got to do with the North Bridge.

Even now, the North Bridge heat sink is still hotter that the CPU heat sink, plus the temperature of my room increases whenever I use this PC for hours. I think I would like to send my desktop to computer shop tho ask the shopkeeper to diagnose more in detail about thy the North Bridge heat sink is always hotter than the CPU heat sink.

 

Sounds like the northbridge heat sink actually works but the CPU heat sink doesn't transfer heat from the CPU as well as it should, maybe try replacing thermal paste on it too.

 

The thermal paste for CPU heat sink has been replaced few times before (because I keep on switching Pentium E2200, Core 2 Duo E8600, and Core 2 Quad Q9650). However, I only start to apply fresh thermal paste at the Northbridge few days ago.

Even though the CPU fan is less noisy after fresh thermal paste is applied to the north bridge, the Northbridge heat sink is still hotter that the CPU heat sink. I posted about this same finding at HP forum and one of the seniors in the forum suggests that the Northbridge might be overheating due to the usage of the Intel Integrated Graphic. That senior suggests me to install a discrete graphic card to lessen the burden of the Northbridge.

Last year I had intention to add NVidia GeForce GT1030 graphic card to my HP dc5800 Small Form Factor, but I postponed it because of the noisy problem (plus I thought that noisy problem was related to other unknown reasons). This year, the price of NVidia GT1030 (and other graphic cards) have been increased because graphic cards are difficult to be obtained in the market at the moment due to cryptocurrency mining. At the same time, the Ampere-based architecture graphic card will be released by NVidia this year, so I would like to wait if there is any slim-profile Ampere-based architecture graphic card available by that time. Even if I can't afford to buy the new slim-profile Ampere-based architecture graphic card by that time, I might still still be able to purchase the NVidia GT1030 at cheaper price.

 

Good day,

Below is the list of finalised motherboard that I have surveyed. I decided to stick with P45 and P43 chipsets. So far I only surveyed 3 brands: (1) Gigabyte (2) ASUS; and (3) AsRock. There are many P45 and P43 models (including the models that supports DDR3, DDR2, and both DDR3 and DDR2), but I only shortlisted the models that supports 16GB of DDR3 for future-proofing. The shortlisted models are listed below:

Gigabyte P45 Chipset
1) Gigabyte GA-EP45T-EXTREME (rev. 1.0) - Intel® P45 + ICH10R Chipset
http://www.gigabyte.my/Motherboard/GA-EP45T-EXTREME-rev-10#ov

2) Gigabyte GA-EP45T-DS3 (rev. 1.0) - Intel® P45 + ICH10 Chipset
http://www.gigabyte.my/Motherboard/GA-EP45T-DS3-rev-10#ov

3) Gigabyte GA-P45T-ES3G (rev. 1.3) - Intel® P45 + ICH10R Chipset
http://www.gigabyte.my/Motherboard/GA-P45T-ES3G-rev-13#ov

4) Gigabyte GA-EP45T-UD3LR (rev. 1.3) - Intel® P45 + ICH10R Chipset
http://www.gigabyte.my/Motherboard/GA-EP45T-UD3LR-rev-13#ov

5) Gigabyte GA-EP45T-USB3P (rev. 1.0) - Intel® P45 + ICH10R Chipset
http://www.gigabyte.my/Motherboard/GA-EP45T-USB3P-rev-10#ov

6) Gigabyte GA-EP45T-UD3P (rev. 1.1) - Intel® P45 + ICH10R Chipset
http://www.gigabyte.my/Motherboard/GA-EP45T-UD3P-rev-11#ov

7) Gigabyte GA-EP45T-UD3R (rev. 1.0) - Intel® P45 + ICH10R Chipset
http://www.gigabyte.my/Motherboard/GA-EP45T-UD3R-rev-10#ov

ASRock P45 Chipset
8) ASRock P45X3 Deluxe - Intel® - P45 + ICH10 Chipset
https://www.asrock.com/MB/Intel/P45X3 Deluxe/index.asp#Specification

9) ASRock P45DE3 - Intel® - P45 + ICH10 Chipset
https://www.asrock.com/MB/Intel/P45DE3/index.asp

ASUS P45 Chipset
10) ASUS P5Q3 - Intel® - P45 + ICH10R with Intel® Fast Memory Access (FMA) support
https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P5Q3/overview/

11) ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe/WiFi-AP @n - Intel® - P45 + ICH10R with Intel® Fast Memory Access (FMA) support.
https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P5Q3_DeluxeWiFiAP_n/specifications/


Gigabyte P43 Chipset
1) Gigabyte GA-EP43T-S3L (rev. 1.4) - Intel® P43 Express Chipset + ICH10 Chipset
http://www.gigabyte.my/Motherboard/GA-EP43T-S3L-rev-14#ov

2) Gigabyte GA-P43T-ES3G (rev. 1.3) - Intel® P43 Express Chipset + ICH10 Chipset
http://www.gigabyte.my/Motherboard/GA-P43T-ES3G-rev-13#ov

3) Gigabyte GA-EP43T-USB3 (rev. 2.0) - Intel® P43 Express Chipset + ICH10 Chipset
http://www.gigabyte.my/Motherboard/GA-EP43T-USB3-rev-20#sp

4) Gigabyte GA-EP43T-UD3L (rev. 1.4) - Intel® P43 Express Chipset + ICH10 Chipset
http://www.gigabyte.my/Motherboard/GA-EP43T-UD3L-rev-14#ov

ASRock P43 Chipset
5) ASRock P43 Pro/USB3 - Intel® P43 + ICH10 Chipset
https://www.asrock.com/MB/Intel/P43 ProUSB3/index.asp

6) ASRock P43DE3 - Intel® P43 + ICH10 Chipset
https://www.asrock.com/MB/Intel/P43DE3/index.asp

ASUS P43 Chipset
7) ASUS P5P43TD PRO - Intel® P43 + ICH10R Chipset
https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P5P43TD_PRO/overview/

8) ASUS P5P43TD - Intel® P43 + ICH10 Chipset
https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P5P43TD/overview/

9) ASUS P5P43T - Intel® P43 + ICH10 Chipset
https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P5P43T/overview/


Thank you.

 

Based on the list above, I think I would like to narrow down to only P45 chipsets (unless the used P45 chipsets is more difficult to be obtained than P43 chipsets).

I have no intention to do crossfire, so I might want to cancel out any model that supports crossfire from the list above.

So far I haven't decide whether to choose between Gigabyte, ASUS, or ASROCK. I notice that at least 1 model from ASRock P45 Chipset have FSB = 2000 Hz (not sure overclocked or not), but the memory frequency = 1600Hz unoverclocked. I also noticed that at least 1 model from Gigabtye P45 Chipset support memory frequency = 2000Hz (also not sure overclocked or not), but the FSB frequency = 1600Hz unoverclocked. Meanwhile, ASUS P45 Chipset have FSB and memory frequency = 1333Hz unoverclocked.

 

I discovered that the prices of the used P45 chipset based motherboard are usually 2 to 3 times the price of the used P43 chipset based motherboard, so I decided to switch to P43 chipsets.

At the same time, I notice that P45 chipset based motherboard have more than 1 graphic card slot for crossfire while the P43 chipset based motherboard only have 1 graphic card slot. I also decided to switch to P43 chipsets because I have no intention to do crossfire.

In the end, I've ordered Gigabyte GA-EP43T-S3L (rev. 1.4) - Intel® P43 Express Chipset + ICH10 Chipset, shown in the link below:
http://www.gigabyte.my/Motherboard/GA-EP43T-S3L-rev-14#ov

If I am satisfied with this set-up, I even fell like I want to purchase another P45 chipset based motherboard from different brand