Asus or Intel MB's

[nashd]

Hi Everyone,
Just joined your forum. Wanted to ask if anyone can help me decide on which motherboard to go for. I use to have an Asus P5K-E Wifi, but there was a problem with it, lasted only 6months, good thing I was able to get most of my money back. So now i'm back to searching for a good motherboard. Just to give you the basics of what I have and what i'm looking for.

1) Not much into gaming, on occasion only, when i've got the time, so looking for crossfire with the MB.
2) Don't do much overclocking.
3) I've got the following items already. E7200 Processor, 2 DDR2 1GB RAM, INNO3D 8600GT 512MB Video.
4) I use Corel and Adobe graphics program.
5) Looking to create a Video On Demand (VOD) system.
6) I've got at least 4 HD's Total size approx 1.2 TB.
7) Should have at least 10-12 USB ports.

I was looking at the following chipsets either P45 (Asus P5Q or Intel DP45SG) or X48 (Asus P5E or Intel DX48BT2). Can someone guide me if these are the right choices? or would you recomend any other boards.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

If you are going to stay under the 130$ mark, then why not get the Gigabyte UD3R or P

 

[nashd]

haven't really checked our gigabyte boards yet.. just been a complete fan of asus... how's their performance?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I'll start off by telling you this. Go with the board that gives you the features you need & want. In your situation that'll will suit you best.

Since you are asking. The Gigabyte UD3R & P boards are THEE best when it comes to overclocking quads out of any 775 quad overclocking board, which is pretty much the bar in performance & price PER performance. I didn't believe this until I tried it myself and that's all I'm going to say to avoid any arguments.

If you want a great dual core (wolfdale) overclocking board with tons of features see my sig; Asus and at a cheap price.

 

[nashd]

Just went through the gigabyte website, they have pretty nice boards, I'll have a check to see what's available here... but all in all what's the main difference between the P45 and the x48 chipset?

 

[Googer]

Intel boards are nice, because they are almost universally compatible with nearly all peripherals, there is little to none known issues between devices and Intel boards. Intel boards are highly automated and thus require little user configuration to work properly. I have even run unsupported processors on Intel boards and everything was fine. (D815EEA2U with SL657 and Single Stick of 512Mb (2x 256mb supported). Intel boards are known for their 24/7 -365 reliability and are often found in mission critical servers. However, their performance is typically average (Intel Badaxe is one of the few exceptions).

Asus boards are very high quality, but not as automated and from time to time issues like compatibility with some sound cards (X-Fi), certain ram modules, though these issues are not the norm. Asus tends to have a Bios that requires a lot of knowledge and educational background to make work well along with a dictionary to look up the proprietary terms they sometimes use.

If I given a chioce between two free motherboards and had to pick one, I would go with Asus. Since you don't overclock and may preferr system stability with lots of USB ports, Intel may be the right one for you.

 

[nashd]

Hi googer.. thanks for the insight on the two brands. but can you tell me if there is much difference between the P45 and X48? I don't upgrade boards often, and would much rather keep a system that can well last me 3-4 years before I decide to change again.

 

[lopri]

Much difference.. in what sense? (other than price, of course) The major difference between P45 and X48 is the number of PCIe lanes. Unless you have a need for such, then added PCIe lanes will only contribute to heat and power consumption. Performance-wise they're similar.

 

[MegaWorks]

Foxconn P45A-S, it's cheap and good for your needs plus Foxconn manufacture Intel boards meaning Intel quality.

 

[nashd]

lopri - Thanks for the advise, think i'll go wtih the P45 then.
MegaWorks - not sure about the foxconn, but i'll give it a check if I can get it here.

I'm leaning towards 4 motherboards - Asus P5Q / Asus P5Q-Deluxe / Intel DP45SG / Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P (rev. 1.1) - I know I can get the Asus and Intel here, but still looking for the gigabyte. Which do you think I should go for?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Gigabyte. Why ask

 

[nashd]

hehehe... I know... been going through a lot of reviews and they're pretty good... but what's the main diff between the GA-EP45-UD3P and UP3R? and I take is should get the ver1.1 right?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

The main difference is the R is a single slot PCI-express lane board the P is a dual PCI-express lane board. But wait, lets back up a minute. If you use the sleep mode alot then you may not want this board; its the Gigabyte's only fault. They have trouble coming out of sleep mode. I've just been testing mine. I usually never have it in sleep mode but I thought let me try it, and well, its true, they do have issues. Mine will come out of the mode 50% of the time trouble free. I never tested this before because the machine I am on now is my 24/7 machine on a Asus P5Q Premium. I couldn't care too much about performance on this machine, the other in my sig, I wanted the best performing mobo with a quad. So there you have it. Whats F*cked up about the two Asus boards I have (P5Q Premium & the Maximus II Formula) they were both in excess of 100$ of the price I paid for my Gigabyte board which I hold the highest regard for now.

You don't seem to be into overclocking and you are on a dualie so it seems all that I've gone through is pointless. I would go with the Intel MB just from bad experiences with Asus.

 

[nashd]

Hey BTRY - am beginning to like the ud3p/r boards, even though the sleep function doesn't work all that well, I don't really use it. I'll just pick either one that's available here. thanks so much for your help.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

You will really appreciate it when you start using a quad with it. Any board would be good for a Wolfdale (dualie) - it's up to you. Just remember, my point about them is they can stay in it for the long run with a quad better than anything else on the 775lga market; then make your decision.