Gigabyte or Asus

[Daverino]

I bought a GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R board, looking for a good board at the $100-$120 price point. Anandtech reviews rave about it and it was very popular at Newegg. Got the board and found that the CPU fan header is dead and therefore the computer won't start. A few times, it has started with the header working and the CPU fan spins fine. Most of the time the CPU fan doesn't start. It believes there is no CPU fan so it never even gets to the post screen. It's been pretty much a nightmare troubleshooting it, and I wasted a weekend with a still-dead computer as a result.

I have to RMA it, but after looking through the 'Past 2 weeks' reviews for the top two GIGABYTE mobos (the UD3R and P) I see that close to a third of the reviews are negative. All are complaints about dead boards and poor customer service. I looked at the Asus P5Q as an alternative and although it has just as many complaints as the GIGABYTE, they aren't all clustered in the past two weeks. Makes me wonder if GIGABYTE is having a QA event and I shouldn't RMA for a replace.

So there you have it: Should I replace the UD3R with another one? Or get the Asus P5Q. I'm curious what people think about the two boards.

 

[jandlecack]

Forget about newegg reviews, or any reviews on any seller's website.

If you can return the Gigabyte and get a full refund I'd spend the extra and get the P5Q Pro. If you definitely don't want to spend more, I'd RMA the board and get a replacement. Not a fan of the regular ASUS motherboards like the P5Q or P6T. They usually cut some very useful features from them which are present on Deluxe/Pro models.

 

[homercles337]

I have all my parts to build, but had to RMA an EX58-UD4P because it was DOA. I think the reviews are accurate, many are going out dead. I planned on doing a RAID5, so i thought about getting UD3R as a backup, but if it that shows up dead i would certainly rage.

 

[Barfo]

Been using a P5Q-PRO for 6 months with no problems whatsoever, I'm happy with it.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

in sig

nuff said

500 is easy with a dualie on most boards but try a quad on that same board and you will be fortunate to come close

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
in sig

nuff said

500 is easy with a dualie on most boards but try a quad on that same board and you will be fortunate to come close

That's great & all, but not helpful if you're getting defective/problematic boards.

I've noticed you love your UD3R, but if you open your eyes a little, you'll realize great overclockability isn't the only thing that makes a good motherboard...there are many other factors.

OP, i'd try to get another one, as they are decent boards IMO.
P5Q series is nice also, but isn't quite as good for extreme overclocking.

 

[Daverino]

I should have mentioned that I am building this computer for my brother. I'm not interested in OCing the machine, but I do want it to be stable. Needless to say, I will be the tech support guy. I'm strongly leaning towards the Asus board now.

 

[jandlecack]

You can't really go wrong with either (unless you're unlucky). Having said that I never had any issues with my ASUS boards and neither have my friends.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

If you venture into a C2Q then I'd stick with my suggestion but N7 is right, there are alot of nice boards out there with nice features. I was crazy about my Maximus II Formula! Loved the layout, the features etc but for me, I like to dabble a little bit with overclocking and even though the features on the UD3 board aren't as nice, it suited my needs.

Good Luck OP

 

[craig3000]

What ever is cheapest or has a better feature

Both manufacturers are the top stuff

 

[man00]

I got the Gigga UD3R board 1st had USB and HDD header problems, done the RMA and second one has the same issues and now header for front audio is bad also.