Gigabyte EP35C-DS3R vs Asus P5K/EPU

[T0bias]

Hi,

I have two questions:

1. Which of the above mentioned motherboards would you pick? They're at the same price where I live. I won't use DDR3 ram at the moment, but as they're priced the same I could just as well pick the gigabyte with support for DDR3?

2. It appears that EP35C-DS3R rev 2.1 supports Q9450 (which is the CPU I'm gonna use) out of the box - but can I be unlucky and get an older revision, or isn't there any other revisions than 2.1 of this motherboard? And is it correct that it supports Q9450?

It's important that I am sure that the motherboard supports the CPU out of the box, as I have no old LGA775 cpu to use in case of bios update. I would have to make the retailer update the bios at a small fee before they ship it.

Thanks in advance.

 

[T0bias]

No one able to help?

Im just about ordering my system, only need this decision to be made, some help is very appreciated

 

[Drsignguy]

Don't know much about Asus but as for the EP35C-DS3R Good choice, but I would recommend getting the EP35 version as you said you won't be using the DDR3. This board has lots of options and a good OC'r.

Edit: added smiley andLinky to gigabyte cpu chart

 

[T0bias]

But as the price is so close, why not just take the option of DDR3? I wont get more than 8GB DDR2 ram anyways (most likely)

Can you (or someone else) by the way confirm that Q9450 is supported right away with the gigabyte motherboard?

 

[Drsignguy]

DDR3 is very expensive and DDR2 is very inexpensive these days and you really won't see much a differance in performance anyways. I have this board because, I Can, but in reality, It does me no good as for the DDR3 will only be 4GB and I just don't have the need for it right now. Just an FYI, you can only use DDR2 slots OR DDR3 slots not both at the same time. 8GB max for this board anyway.

 

[T0bias]

Yeah I know I can't use them at the same time I just think I go with P35C anyways, even though I might end up not using it - I wont need all the DDR2 slots on P35 either.

But I hope someone can verify that Q9450 works out of the box? It would be a hazzle to update bios myself since I don't have any old LGA775 cpu. I really want to order my system now, I just need to be 100% sure of this detail

 

[Drsignguy]

Here is a link for the P35C for the Q9450 support. And yes it will support it with the F10 bios.

 

[T0bias]

That was the P35C without E, sorry I mistyped before, but it was EP35C we talked about

I looked here:
http://www.gigabyte-usa.com/Su...el.aspx?ProductID=2638

It says F2, that should be the oldest possible bios you could get right?

 

[Drsignguy]

Yes, this board should come with F2 bios...And the Q9450 will work.

 

[Qbah]

My Q9450 worked in my GA-EP35-DS3R out of the box. Recognised correctly and works like a dream. I updated the BIOS though, to the newest one. But that was a few days after I got the system together. Ohh and it had an old BIOS btw, from last year I think. F1 as far as I remember and still, everything worked correctly Running F3e now. No problems so far ! CPu running rock stable at 3.2GHz and stock voltages

Edit: Wrong BIOS

 

[T0bias]

Sounds great, though It sounds weird if you had F1 - F1 shouldn't support any cpu's at all according to Gigabyte's site

Btw, there are no firewire ports on the motherboard, but as my case got a firewire port, I can still use that right?

 

[Drsignguy]

No, this board (EP35C-DS3R) does not have a firewire header but you can get a firewire card.

 

[Qbah]

Well, the most important thing is everything worked fine without me needing to do anything And I'm sure it wasn't the F3e BIOS in there. Perhaps it was the F2 then, my memory is kinda shaky there

And yeah, no firewire. No biggie though, I have yet to find *any* use for a firewire port... 8 USB 2.0 ports on the back plate and an additional 4 ports on the mobo are quite awesome though! No need to worry about plugging something extra whenever you want/need.

 

[T0bias]

Qbah, actually a F1 bios exists according to Gigabyte's site (looking under BIOS, not cpu support list) - but apparently every cpu out there requires at least F2. That's kinda weird?

One firewire port is important for me when I move data from my video camera to the computer - but I don't understand why a firewire port in front of my case (Antec P182) wouldn't be able to be connected if you can connect a firewire card?

 

[Qbah]

The thing on the front panel is just the firewire socket that needs to be connected to a controller on the mobo. A controler that the mobo is missing apparently. But if you want firewire get the GA-EP35-DS3P, which is equipped with one. It has two long PCI-e slots (x16 and x4), two short PCI-e x1 and two regular PCI ones. You can use the x4 one as a regular x1 one though So you get 3 expansion slots and one for the GPU. The P model has a RAID controller too (just like the R model). But it's around 30$ more I think.

And a firewire card is an expansion card, it has a firewire controller chip on it and ports on the back plate (or am I missing something?).

Edit: GA-EP35-DS3P, forgot about the E (with the Power thingie support). Plus the E models are always the newest revision

 

[T0bias]

Hmm EP35-DS3P apparently needs BIOS F3 to support Q9450 - and all older CPU's need F2, so I would probably need a bios update. I guess I should stick with P5K/EPU then, unless DS3P is worth 40$ extra (price from local retailer here in Denmark)?

 

[T0bias]

Ah I'm feeling like spamming with questions Sorry about that, but I just discovered the EP35-DS4, it needs F2 BIOS like old CPU's - so it should work with Q9450 right away without BIOS update? CPU Support list here: http://www.gigabyte-usa.com/Su...el.aspx?ProductID=2636

The EP35-DS4 is the same price as a BIOS updated EP35-DS3P.

EP35-DS4 looks sweet with some extra heatpipes etc. But is it worth it compared with DS3R (let's just forget about DS3P) and P5K/EPU?

 

[Qbah]

I didn't have the BIOS that officially supported the Q9450 (the first one to do so is the F3 one, right?) and the CPU was working 'out-of-the-box'. My update to the newest BIOS was mostly out of curiosity and boredom And yeah, I think I had the F2 one as it adds the Dynamic Energy Saver function, the thing that the 'E' in the mobo name stands for (that fact kinda stuck in my head though, was another proof that they sent me the correct board , don't ask ). Plus the E model is always the newest revision (2.1 in my case). If you think 40 bucks more is too much, try looking for a firewire expansion card, I'm sure there are some on getmore.dk (I bought all my stuff from them, best on-line retailer in DK imo).

EDIT1: I didn't get the DS4 since my CPU cooler (a Thermalright 120 Ultra Extreme - crazy name...) wouldn't fit and would require me to remove the heatpipes anyway. Plus there's a review of such a solution on a GA mobo and it hardly adds stability or performs better. Looks fancy though

EDIT2: Now I'm confused... I had an Fx BIOS And it wasn't the F3. And my Q9450 worked with no requirement for an update. And I have the 2.1 revision, GA-EP35-DS3R.

EDIT3: Feeling good today, so here: http://getmore.dk/templates/im...565&SelectedGroup=3565 That's almost the price difference between the two mobos (also available on getmore.dk ) Look around on the page, there's plenty more of them, some cheaper, other have more ports. That was jsut an example.

 

[T0bias]

Now I'm getting really confused Version Fx aren't listed on Gigabytes site. It's F2 (on EP35C-DS3R) that supports Q9450.

I'm beginning to lean towards just purchasing an P5K/EPU with a bios update (same price as EP35C-DS3R) - then I should be 100% sure of support.. Though I would have liked to try a gigabyte motherboard actually (always been using ASUS).

The problem is that I don't have an old LGA775 cpu, and actually wouldn't like to swap cpu's etc to update bios - so it would be a hazzle to update BIOS in case I get a motherboard not supporting Q9450.

 

[Qbah]

The Fx was a joke I meant I had a F BIOS and some number after the F And yeah, I wanted to try a GA mobo too, had an ASUS before. So far I'm all positive about everything. Anyway, I'm sure if you get the E model your Q9450 will work fine without you needing to do any updates (I have the Q9450 and the EP35-DS3R mobo and I had to do absolutely nothing for everything to work flawelessly ) Also, the E ones are the newest models and they have a sticker that states 45nm support. Plus, it did work for me without a hiccup. Do remember that the R model has no FireWire ! There are extension cards for PCI on getmore for ~160DKK though

 

[T0bias]

Yeah I just saw the prices, but then I can just as well buy EP35-DS4, as it's almost the same price as P35C-DS3R+Firewire card. I'm gonna use it together with a Xigmatec S1283, is this too big for EP35-DS4?

 

[Qbah]

You mean this one? http://www.xigmatek.com/product/air-hdts1283.php It's size is a bit smaller than my Thermalright, so ... no idea. They don't have a motherboard compatibility list, something Thermalright does. You need to look around to see if someone has tried it before. Google is your friend

 

[T0bias]

Yeah that one.

I will look around on google, If i can't find any info or someone replying here I think I just go with P5K/EPU. This motherboard should be nice too right? After reading reviews on motherboards It seems to me that the difference between P35 boards generally are very small.

 

[Qbah]

Yeah, the ASUS is a fine board aswell! Read alot of good stuff about it and don't remember reading bad It was the other one I was considering, however curiosity tipped me over to the Gigabyte camp and I'm not regretting it Not a single issue so far and I don't think I'll be getting any problems in the forseeable future

 

[T0bias]

Well I just go with P5K/EPU.. but just want to check that this memory fits in there?

http://www.ocztechnology.com/p...m_edition_dual_channel