Advice before I go crazy

[ekoostik]

I've been reading way too much. After a week's worth of research I was all set to get the Asus P7P55D from MicroCenter. Then today they jacked up the price $10. Add taxes to that and it's the same as the cost of the P7P55D PRO from other places.

So I went out to order the board online, and after seeing one I hadn't seen before (Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3L), I ended up comparing the available boards all over again. Now I'm caught in information overload and can't make a decision.

These boards are so similar in specs. Other than price, how does one decide - rationally - between motherboards?

The 3 in particular I've narrowed it back down to are:
ASUS P7P55D LE $134.99 shipped
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813131410

GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD3R $139.99 shipped
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128401

ASUS P7P55D $149.99 shipped
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813131404


EDIT: I've narrowed it to these b/c I don't plan to do CrossFire/SLI. That decision helped me knock out the upper end boards. Keeping it under $160 is also a preference. Now I'd like to get bang for the buck but, as you can see, am struggling. I also plan minimal OCing, if any at all.

 

[lopri]

I'm afraid it's too early to have a consensus. Purely from the looks of them, I prefer the Gigabyte's offering. Caps/ports seem more organized. But I have no idea how that affects performance/stability so that's probably a irrational thinking.

Gary indicated in 860 review that P55 round-ups are imminent, so I'm looking forward to them.

 

[ekoostik]

Yeah, I jumped the gun hoping/assuming the reviews would be up by now. The chips have been out for 2 1/2 weeks already! I guess no one anticipated those 'issues' w/ the nvidia card performance. Anyway, I already have some parts in hand and don't want to wait too much longer. Any chance you know when his review will be out? If I knew it was going to be tomorrow, say, or even Monday I could hold off. But if it's going to be much later then I need to just start building and make sure my parts work.

I waited for months while I saved and waited for the lynnfield chips to come out. I was going to go Phenom II if Lynnfield turned out to be a dud. Reviews were so positive and I was so tired of waiting, well you'd think I could have waited just a couple weeks longer!

 

[vailr]

Newegg combo deal:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?ItemList=Combo.258608

 

[ekoostik]

Thanks vailr. But I already have my RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231277 (was on sale for $79.99 when I bought it)

It's really come down to this motherboard decision. I have no need for CF/SLI. Last night I was leaning towards the ASUS P7P55D LE. But I decided to re-evaluate the Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2 this morning. Originally had ruled out mATX b/c I wanted plenty of room to work with. I had been operating under the assumption that bigger = better but I know that's not necessarily true.

So now, how to decide between the ASUS P7P55D LE and the Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2? Gary seems to like the UD2 (I keep refreshing the main page hoping his reviews show up!). UD2 wins in price. What else ....

 

[RussianSensation]

What processor are you pairing it with? Are you going to be overclocking to 4.0ghz?

Any of these boards will do 200 Base clock.

However, the UD2/UD3R currently does not allow you to use EIST Turbo multiplier for overclocking.

For example, if you have a Core i5 750, then you will only be able to use a multiplier of 20 on the UD3R and not have access to 21 like you would have on the Asus.

So from a perspective of overclocking the lower Core i5 750, I'd go for the Asus board to get the upper multipliers and ease the chances of being limited by Base Clocks.

Other than that, Asus P7P55D vs. UD3R:
- 2 PCI Express x1 slots on the Asus vs. 1 for the Gigabyte board
- Gigabyte board has 4 PCI slots vs. 3 on the Asus (but who needs that many?)
- Gigabyte's audio chip is slightly superior to the VIA on the Asus board from what I read on Techreport, but if you have a dedicated sound card it doesnt matter
- Asus has a 12+2 phase power design vs. 8+2 on the Gigabyte board

I think you'll be happy with either board. However, if you aren't going to be overclocking, a cheaper board will suffice, like Gigabyte UD2, or anything similar for $100-110. UD2 is getting awesome reviews. I wouldn't buy the LE over the UD3R though because it lacks any power circuitry cooling for only $5 less than the Gigabyte board.

So you'd have to compare UD2 to some other cheaper boards.

 

[ekoostik]

Pairing it with the i7 860. Don't plan on overclocking unless there's some simple, riskless tweaks I can do.

I'm really leaning UD2 at this point. Most of the differences are in expansion capabilities. If I only I knew my future needs now. But between the LE & UD2:
- 2 PCIe x1 slots on LE vs. 0 on UD2 (this lack of PCIe x1 expansions bothers me, but I don't know if I'll really need it anyway)
- 3 PCI on LE vs 2 on UD2
- 0 IEEE 1394 on LE vs 1 (back panel) on UD2
- 2 PS/2 ports on LE vs. 1 on UD2 (I hate to use this as a consideration, but my mouse & keyboard are PS/2 so if I get a GB board I'll have to by a new mouse or keyboard which obviously affects the total cost)


Thanks for pointing out the LE's lack of power circuitry cooling. I hadn't noticed that before. If I'm considering the Asus LE vs. the GB UD2, what else should I take into consideration?

Edit: Does the UD2 have power circuitry cooling?

 

[SmCaudata]

The ASRock P55M has a blend of what you pointed out here.

Features:
2 eSATA/USB combo ports vs 1 eSATA on the others.
2 IEEE 1394
PS2 mouse and keyboard ports
1 PCI Express x1
1 PCI Slot
DDR3 2400 memory rated


The ASRock uses the VIA chipset for sound. It should be equal to the realtek.


For a small bump in price you can get the full ATX Pro ($115 at the egg)
8 phase power (The ASRock power phases turn off and on depending on load for efficiency, not sure if the others do that)
Clear CMOS switch
2 PCI Express x1
2 PCI
DDR3 2600 Memory rated

Also, the ASRock boards have holes for the 755 coolers if that is what you are upgrading from.

I'm looking in the same ballpark as you. If I wanted to spend $170 on a board I'd go i7 920. I really like what ASRock is putting into their boards now and with the reviews of the x58 extreme and the p55 deluxe I am betting these cheaper boards are well built as well. You certainly cannot touch them on feature for price. The only thing I don't know is their BIOS options on the cheaper boards as I haven't read through the manuals yet. That is my goal for the weekend. This shouldn't matter for you though as you don't plan to OC. Personally I think I am going with the full sized p55 pro for the power component cooling, the adaptive power phases for efficiency as well as just a touch more room.

ASRock P55 Comparison shows the features and doesn't bury the things like power phases and such.

 

[Jumpem]

I'm planning P7P55D or P7P55D Pro.

 

[RussianSensation]

Originally posted by: ekoostik

Edit: Does the UD2 have power circuitry cooling?

No. But it's only $110 vs. $135 for the Asus.

As far as PS/2 /USB, a connector is usually $5.

Unless you are doing serious overclocking, it's more about your experience with the boad such as updating the BIOS (in Windows vs. USB thumb drive), how frequently is the BIOS updated on the website, features you want, length of warranty.

I had the MSI P55-CD53 and hated it (besides BSOD issues with OCZ Gold low voltage). I prefer Gigabyte's BIOS interface over MSI's. In the last week, the Gigabyte's BIOS has been updated from F3e to F3f already.

You can easily flash Gigabyte's and Asus BIOS in Windows while MSI LiveUpdate was useless in detecting latest bioses in Windows 7 64-bit. I had to buy a USB key to get it to update its BIOS. Also MSI board was doing 1.20V and my Gigabyte board runs the same cpu at 1.152V. Gigabyte also has Smart6, which allows quick boot (by putting your computer in 'sleep' state) lower power consumption, Turbo overclocking with 1 setting and restart, etc (although CD53's OC Genie is better). Then there is 2oz of copper for better singal and lower impedence. Asus' top boards use 2oz as well. For MSI, I'd go for GD65 not CD53.

I know I am being picky but I find Gigabyte's website a lot easier to navigate to find the latest information for my board. All this contributes to a better overall experience of owning the board for me since I visit it frequently. Asus has quick updates all the time too.

I decided to try the new MSI boards from great previews/reviews but I wasn't happy. I ended up spending $20 more for the Gigabyte UD3R (get 2 eSATA vs. 0 for CD53), 8 power phases and power circuitry cooling. My last 2 Gigabyte boards were rock solid for E6400 @ 3.4 and Q6600 @ 3.4ghz.

I had my Q6600 since August of 2007 so $20 for a mobo over 2 years of ownership for 860 isn't a biggie for me. You may think about cost in terms of time as well to ease your decision.

You can go for the Asrock Pro board noted since they make good boards as well.
- it has ACL890 realtek vs. 889 for the Gigabyte
- 2 Powered eSATAII vs. non-powered eSATA for Gigabyte
- V8 power phase design with power circuitry cooling
- 2 PCI Express 1x slots

Seems like the best compromise between the Asus LE board and the UD2.

 

[ekoostik]

Well I decide enough was enough and I pulled the trigger. Bought the GA-P55M-UD2. Funny yesterday at noon I thought I was set on the P7P55d. I'm off to pick it up from the store now. Did one last check in to update before I walked out the door. Russian, thanks for the additional comments. Makes me a little more comfortable about my decision.

 

[RussianSensation]

Are you going to buy a Microcenter? Because they have a 30 day return policy just in case you don't like it.

Check the Related Link column on the top right hand side <--- here you will find everything you need for your board.

I forgot to tell you that the Gigabyte has dualBIOS so you never have to worry about a corrupted BIOS when flashing.

Don't forget to enable X.M.P. Profile for DDR3 memory (if your memory supports that) so the board will detect the SPD settings automatically. Just don't pair this board with 2x2GB DDR3 1333 RAM (CTWkit25664BA1339). Right now G.Skill kits are best priced imo and you get awesome performance at low voltage for them.

Enjoy your purchase.

 

[ekoostik]

I did get it from MicroCenter. Can you return it from there within 30 days just because you don't like it? That's a nice policy.

Well, I did it. First build, and it went fairly smoothly. I'm sitting here watching Win 7 RC install now and I'm a little amazed it's all working. Wow.

Thanks for the tip on X.M.P. The RAM initially was read at 1333, but I got XMP turned on and it looks like it correctly id'ed my G.Skill 1600's. I haven't dug into the rest of the BIOS yet. But now I'm going to want to tweak things and check settings and performance, monitor the system, etc. Is there list already of recommended settings or a forum more specifically geared to the new Gigabyte's that'd be a good place for me to learn more about the BIOS settings and everything?

Thanks again for the help.

 

[RussianSensation]

I am pretty sure that:

- 15% restocking fee if you just want to return the mobo within 30 days if you already opened it.
- 0% restocking fee if you want to return the product within 30 days and haven't opened it.
- 0% restocking fee if you want to return the product within 30 days and it was faulty.

I returned my faulty MSI CD-53 within 30 days and was fully refunded with 0% stocking fee.

----------------

Understanding Core i5/i7 bios settings

Bit Tech - Overclocking Core i5 750 on UD4 and UD5

Anandtech - Overclocking Core i5 750 on UD2

If you don't get access to all the settings in the BIOS for advanced MIT Intelligence screen, you may have to hit Cntrl+F1 at the main BIOS Home screen.

Basic Summary Screen in the Gigabyte BIOS

The only thing is the limited smart fan control in the BIOS. You can download EasyTune6.
2 Key Tabs

Tuner Tab:

(1) Quick Boost Tab - you can select #1, #2 or #3 for preset overclocking scenarios. Just make sure your heatsink can handle it and that your memory voltage has not been set to above 1.65V.

(2) Advance Tab - you can change Base clock frequency, Memory frequency and PCI Express Frequency, CPU Ratio and Voltage for CPU/RAM, etc.

Smart Tab:

You may have noticed the less than sophisticated Smart Fan Controls in the BIOS. Here you can select Advanced Smart Fan and adjust the fan speed vs. temperature with a greater flexibility.

You also have dynamic CPU overclocking options, which will overclock your cpu depending on loading (an alternative approach to the Quick Boost Tab which gives the highest stable overclock through Gigabyte's software).