Comparison of different ASUS P67 motherboards

[Shangri-La]

I will probably get an ASUS P67 motherboard but am very confused by so many different variations. I want to get one that meets my needs but dont want to over spend on it. Can somebody help compare all these different versions please. Thanks.

 

[Zap]

Hello Shangri-La, and welcome to AnandTech Forums.

You need to help us narrow it down for you by telling us what YOU would like. Please answer the following questions:

Do you need integrated graphics at all?

Do you wish to use Intel quick sync for transcoding/encoding?

Do you wish to overclock the CPU?

Will you be running Crossfire?

Will you be running SLI?

Is your case ATX, micro ATX or mini ITX?

What is your budget for motherboard?

With that being said, here are some differences for the Asus P67 chipset motherboards:

P8P67 LE - cheapest one with no BIOS overclocking
P8P67 - adds BIOS overclocking
P8P67 Pro - adds SLI support and Intel NIC
P8P67 Deluxe - adds front panel USB 3.0 adapter, dual NICs
P67 Sabertooth - different product line that is supposedly more durable with fewer features for the price, has longer warranty

The more expensive ones do things like add NF200 for Tri SLI support.

 

[Shangri-La]

Thank you for the quick response, Zap.

My current P4 3.0/MSI 865PE is showing its age and has had a lot of problems even since I upgraded the memory to 2G. For the new system:

- No need for integrated graphics.

- Dont think I will do Intel quick sync. (just curious what difference does it make in hardware? )

- I'm looking to get the i5 2nd gen 2500k. May do some OC but nothing extreme.

- I will get one video card for now ($200-$300 perhaps). Crossfire is a possibility later on. No SLI. (I'm obsessed with ATI ) Will do some gaming.

- I have an ATX case. BTW are micro ATX motherboards cheaper, and what are the drawbacks? More crowed layout, less ideal heat dissipation?

- As for budget, from what I see now, P8P67 Pro is probably my upper limit. Also looking at the P8P67.

From your quick comparison list, the P8P67 may be sufficient?

Also, I did some quick search on the forum, ASUS P67 boards seems to have some problems like cannot boot up etc, especially the pro model? Is it still the same case now that the boards have been out for a couple of months?

Thank you again for the help.

 

[Zap]

From your quick comparison list, the P8P67 may be sufficient?

Mostly. It will do everything you have listed, but the Crossfire will be 16x4 PCIe lanes, so the second card bandwidth is not optimal. The P8P67 Pro does 8x8 so it is more balanced for multiple graphics cards.

Also, I did some quick search on the forum, ASUS P67 boards seems to have some problems like cannot boot up etc, especially the pro model?

There are some known issues that have BIOS setting workarounds, such as unable to wake from S3, and double POST. I do wish Asus will fix them with a BIOS update so you don't have to remember to change those two settings, but they aren't show stoppers.

A couple people have had faulty audio in various Asus boards, but those are just faulty boards that can happen to any brand.

 

[Mugenx]

....
Also, I did some quick search on the forum, ASUS P67 boards seems to have some problems like cannot boot up etc, especially the pro model? Is it still the same case now that the boards have been out for a couple of months?
....

I beg to differ. I originally had an Asus P67 PRO B2 and never had a problem with any of most have been experiencing with the dud Intel chipset. Now, I have an Asus Maximus IV Extreme P67 ROG B3 and an Asrock P67 Fatality Professional B3 with both running 2600Ks and also didn't experience problems like S3 sleep, BIOS resetting, booting problems, failed overclocks (testing purpose only, binning) and whatnot!

To be fair, I have been running everything on stock and am using dedicated hardware raid controllers for my drives and PCI-E x1 SATA for my BLUray player/DVD Burner.

-- Maybe that explains why, I ain't getting any of them problems. What do everyone else thinks?

 

[Shangri-La]

Thanks guys. So what exactly are the problems, where can I read more details about them? Zap listed 2 but Mugenx listed quite a few

 

[Zap]

Here:

2 known issues with Asus and P67:
1) Dual boot is fixed by enabling "wakeup from pci-e" in bios.
2) S3 resume from sleep is fixed by disabling "PLL Overvoltage" in bios.

I didn't have any BIOS resetting. I think I did have one no boot problem. No failed overclocks, but I'm after 24/7 overclock without +offset voltage, not record overclocks.

 

[src1425]

Here:



I didn't have any BIOS resetting. I think I did have one no boot problem. No failed overclocks, but I'm after 24/7 overclock without +offset voltage, not record overclocks.

I had dropped drives, random freezes, double boot, and no wake from sleep - only one I could fix was the double boot. Switched to a P8Z68-V Pro and have had no problems ever since, so I'm sympathetic to the complaints about P67.

 

[badnewcastle]

I beg to differ. I originally had an Asus P67 PRO B2 and never had a problem with any of most have been experiencing with the dud Intel chipset. Now, I have an Asus Maximus IV Extreme P67 ROG B3 and an Asrock P67 Fatality Professional B3 with both running 2600Ks and also didn't experience problems like S3 sleep, BIOS resetting, booting problems, failed overclocks (testing purpose only, binning) and whatnot!

To be fair, I have been running everything on stock and am using dedicated hardware raid controllers for my drives and PCI-E x1 SATA for my BLUray player/DVD Burner.

-- Maybe that explains why, I ain't getting any of them problems. What do everyone else thinks?

How do you like the Asrock Fatality Pro? Thinking about grabbing one of those instead of one of the Asus options. budget is $180-230 for mobo.