Good 1156 mobos that aren't expensive?

[perdomot]

Not having a lot of luck with 1156 over the last two weeks. My Asus P55 LX mobo suddenly stopped working so I got a Gigabyte H55 mobo and the 3.5Ghz OC is no longer achievable leaving me stuck at 3.3Ghz with an i5-760 which is likely to hit 4Ghz easily. I've been reading reviews on Newegg but unless you are near $200 the Asus and Giga mobos appear to have lots of problems recently. Can anyone advise me or should I just go back to AMD and try a 6 core?

 

[BoomerD]

I went through all the feedback on Newegg when I was looking for a mobo for my new build. I didn't really want to spend $150 or more...but all the lower priced boards had terrible reviews. Of course, one should never base all the buying decision on user reviews...but reading on the other sites as well led me to accept that the cheaper boards all seemed to have problems. I went with the P7P55D-E Pro board @ $179.

I don't get to start the construction until Christmas though...(wife is being tough)

 

[Spikesoldier]

this asrock p55 board has been good to me. i think i picked it up for $120 last January.

 

[God Mode]

What power supply are you using?

 

[perdomot]

Corsair 550 watts.

 

[biostud]

if you don't use all your slots you can choose an mATX P55 board

 

[perdomot]

if you don't use all your slots you can choose an mATX P55 board

Using a Gigabyte H55 MATX right now and have my system at 3.5Ghz(175X20). Seems stable right now with 1.3vcore & other volts on auto. I tried the favorite 200 X 20 setting with recommended volts but the mobo can't seem to handle it for long.

 

[perdomot]

I went through all the feedback on Newegg when I was looking for a mobo for my new build. I didn't really want to spend $150 or more...but all the lower priced boards had terrible reviews. Of course, one should never base all the buying decision on user reviews...but reading on the other sites as well led me to accept that the cheaper boards all seemed to have problems. I went with the P7P55D-E Pro board @ $179.

I don't get to start the construction until Christmas though...(wife is being tough)

I'm getting the same feeling which is a shame because it just seems so wrong to have a good deal on a cpu that OCs like crazy and no real options on an inexpensive mobo. That's the heart of overclocking to me. Sad thing is that the Asus LX mobo I got actually has a better percentage of negative posts and yet suddenly stopped on me

 

[God Mode]

I'm getting the same feeling which is a shame because it just seems so wrong to have a good deal on a cpu that OCs like crazy and no real options on an inexpensive mobo. That's the heart of overclocking to me. Sad thing is that the Asus LX mobo I got actually has a better percentage of negative posts and yet suddenly stopped on me

Why would people buy highend boards if the cheap stuff performed similarly? IMO, budget and mid level motherboards should be ran stock or only have a modest overclock of which most boards I've used had the capability of. They simply dont do the same numbers as the highend boards for obvious reasons.

 

[PlasmaBomb]

What cooler are you using?
What temps are you getting?

How about waiting till after January - Sandy Bridge will be out then and you will likely get 1156 board cheaper...

 

[perdomot]

What cooler are you using?
What temps are you getting?

How about waiting till after January - Sandy Bridge will be out then and you will likely get 1156 board cheaper...

Running a Xigmatek 1283 cooler which is supposed to be an excellent cooler according to Frostytech database. If I disable all the power saving stuff, I idle at 45C using a 3.5Ghz speed. Loading takes it to 77-78C so I'm thinking of upgrading the cooler.

 

[perdomot]

Why would people buy highend boards if the cheap stuff performed similarly? IMO, budget and mid level motherboards should be ran stock or only have a modest overclock of which most boards I've used had the capability of. They simply dont do the same numbers as the highend boards for obvious reasons.

Used to be you could do some great OCing without spending a ton of money but now even reviewers only seem to want to review the top tier stuff. When I compare most mobos, biggest difference is cooling and power but they sure charge for it.

 

[BoomerD]

Running a Xigmatek 1283 cooler which is supposed to be an excellent cooler according to Frostytech database. If I disable all the power saving stuff, I idle at 45C using a 3.5Ghz speed. Loading takes it to 77-78C so I'm thinking of upgrading the cooler.

Xigmatek is supposed to be pretty good. I went with the Noctua NH-U12P SE2. One of the highest rated coolers for the 1156...and SUPPOSED to be dead quiet. We'll find out in a week or so.

Is it possible that you either don't have the cooler installed well, or that the mount is over-tightened?

There are a lot of reports of 1156 motherboards not working right...until people go back and re-do their cpu cooler. Apparently, if the cooler mount isn't torqued right, and over-tightened, it can cause the CPU to not seat properly on all pins...causing a myriad of problems that make it look like bad memory...or a bad board.

From the ASUS forums:

http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx...1&model=P6X58D+Premium&page=1&SLanguage=en-us

"This thread is a basic troubleshooting guide for users who have memory detection issues.

For example the motherboard is only detecting 4 GBs instead of 6 GBs or 8 GBs instead of 12GBs.

This issue is fairly common on Intel X58 based systems and affects all brands of motherboards. X58 is Intel's first platform with the memory controller built into the CPU. Good contact between the CPU and the socket pins is very important and bad contact is usually the cause of "missing" memory as well as faulty memory and other causes listed here:


Poorly fitted CPU cooler ( too much tension, not enough tension, uneven tension)


Fix: Adjust tension of aftermarket cooler, Test with stock cooler, reseat CPU and cooler.

*Most people fix the problem just by reseating the cpu and cooler* (Take the board out of the case to reseat the CPU/Cooler)


Bent CPU socket pins. (damaged board, poor installation, poor cooler tension, uneven pressure etc)

Fix: Inspect CPU socket for bent pins, some users have been able to straighten the bent pins and solve the problem. Otherwise if its too badly damaged you might need to RMA the board. (Note: Asus might refuse RMA if bent pins were caused by user)"


While that specifically talks about memory issues with X58 boards, apparently it's a problem with the 1156 boards as well.


http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=82274

"Also, be sure to inspect your CPU cooler mount. Over tightening or unequal pressure on the CPU socket can cause the CPU to not seat correctly. Frequently, this translates into what appears to be memory related problems because the CPU/IMC is not making proper contact with the pins leading to the memory sockets. The fundamentals here apply to systems with 3 modules also and especially when overclocking. This applies to P55/H55/H57 also. In any situation where you have these issues and where the above steps do not work, please remove your CPU and inspect the socket for bent pins"

 

[perdomot]

Thanks for the info. I've got the Xigmatek mounting kit for 1156 on there and it can't be over tightened because of the way the pins are designed. I think its that this cooler needs to be upgraded to something with more than 3 heat pipes. Several newer coolers sport 5 to 6 pipes and cool really well.

 

[smangular]

How about waiting till after January - Sandy Bridge will be out then and you will likely get 1156 board cheaper...

Some stores trying to clear out inventory will discount but remember LGA775 still has quite high pricing so this is doubtful that 1156 will be on significant sale.

 

[ehume]

Not having a lot of luck with 1156 over the last two weeks. My Asus P55 LX mobo suddenly stopped working so I got a Gigabyte H55 mobo and the 3.5Ghz OC is no longer achievable leaving me stuck at 3.3Ghz with an i5-760 which is likely to hit 4Ghz easily. I've been reading reviews on Newegg but unless you are near $200 the Asus and Giga mobos appear to have lots of problems recently. Can anyone advise me or should I just go back to AMD and try a 6 core?

Based on recent experience with an As.s board, I believe that their under-$200 boards are worthless. I intend to go back to the Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3P as soon as Rev 2 hits the market (they are clearing out inventory ATM, so Rev 1's are not available).

I'd recommend that you hold onto your current board and accept its limitations until the better board arrives.

 

[perdomot]

Based on recent experience with an As.s board, I believe that their under-$200 boards are worthless. I intend to go back to the Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3P as soon as Rev 2 hits the market (they are clearing out inventory ATM, so Rev 1's are not available).

I'd recommend that you hold onto your current board and accept its limitations until the better board arrives.

I was looking at that same mobo but given that I have 3.6Ghz solid OC on a $90 mobo, its hard to justify spending an extra $70 for maybe 400mhz more. I have a usb 3.0 card in my rig so I think its pretty good for me so far.

 

[Carver_inc]

Well, damn! lol. I've got everything I need for my new rig except mobo/OS. I was leaning towards ASUS P7P55D-E LX or GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 LGA but they are the under $200 variant so I should just wait for rev 2.0??

 

[perdomot]

Well, damn! lol. I've got everything I need for my new rig except mobo/OS. I was leaning towards ASUS P7P55D-E LX or GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 LGA but they are the under $200 variant so I should just wait for rev 2.0??

I had the Asus LX mobo you mentioned and it died in 3 days. I checked out the Gigabyte mobos but there were a ton of complaints recently on equivilant models so I opted for the Gigabyte H55M-S2H and that seems to work well.

 

[ehume]

Well, damn! lol. I've got everything I need for my new rig except mobo/OS. I was leaning towards ASUS P7P55D-E LX or GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 LGA but they are the under $200 variant so I should just wait for rev 2.0??

I looked at the UD3 vs UD3P/UD3R (the -R is not available in the US). The -3P/3R has twice the VRM's as the -3. However, the -UD3 MOSFET's are cooled just like the -UD3P/R, which is a plus.

I was spoiled with my Gigabyte boards: Gigabyte has both voltage and PWM controls (PWM only with the As.s), Gigabyte has the ability to turn off C1E, C-states (not with As.s), Gigabyte has workmanlike control software (all glitz with As.s), and Gigabyte has the ability to go up to a BCLK of 232MHz with my i7 860 (As.s boards are famous for not getting very high BCLK's). Of course, the last was not stable, but it does give you some ideas. The UD3P/R is the bottom of their enthusiast class boards, but it sure outclassed my As.s "Pro" board.

 

[StrangerGuy]

Why would people buy highend boards if the cheap stuff performed similarly? IMO, budget and mid level motherboards should be ran stock or only have a modest overclock of which most boards I've used had the capability of. They simply dont do the same numbers as the highend boards for obvious reasons.

Why would I want a high-end 1366/1156 when the budget ones can hit 200 BCLK (that would make a 4.2GHz i7 930) without breaking a sweat and if not planning to SLI/crossfire? You might have a point if you are talking about high FSB/low multi CPUs like the original E6300 but the current i3/5/7s have already such sky high multipiers that you would almost always hit the CPU wall way before the mobo FSB limits you.

 

[brencat]

I had the Asus LX mobo you mentioned and it died in 3 days. I checked out the Gigabyte mobos but there were a ton of complaints recently on equivilant models so I opted for the Gigabyte H55M-S2H and that seems to work well.

Perdomot, 2 things:

You should NOT be idling at 45C with that cooler. I am using the smaller 92mm Xigmatek HDT-SD964 and I idle at 30C, load at 59C on Prime, 55C on BFBC2. I think you should attempt to reseat it. Don't overapply the thermal paste either.

Secondly, may I also suggest the mobo in my sig... the P55-USB3. It is a revision 2 by the way. Same board as the P55A only doesn't have the SATA 6 gb/s. Unfortunately, it is $15 more expensive than the P55A at the moment at the Egg... I paid $105 shipped 2 mos ago.

 

[Carver_inc]

@Brencat You mentioned yours doesn't have Sata 6gb/s...if I was wanting to add a SSD later down the road, thinking around March-ish, should I be sure that whatever mobo I choose have Sata 6 or will it make that big of a difference?

Really sorry btw, not trying to hijack a thread or anything, just really good discussion going on here.

 

[perdomot]

Perdomot, 2 things:

You should NOT be idling at 45C with that cooler. I am using the smaller 92mm Xigmatek HDT-SD964 and I idle at 30C, load at 59C on Prime, 55C on BFBC2. I think you should attempt to reseat it. Don't overapply the thermal paste either.

Secondly, may I also suggest the mobo in my sig... the P55-USB3. It is a revision 2 by the way. Same board as the P55A only doesn't have the SATA 6 gb/s. Unfortunately, it is $15 more expensive than the P55A at the moment at the Egg... I paid $105 shipped 2 mos ago.

Is that the idle of the chip at stock speeds? I have the power saving features active on my mobo which drops the multi and gives me a normal speed of about 2Ghz at a temp of 33C. When I encode video, it jumps up to about 68C. I've reseated it several times and use a thin layer of Artic Silver 5 and the temps stay about the same. How do you apply your TIM? I'm thinking of ordering the Thermaltake Frio and trying that out.

 

[brencat]

@Brencat You mentioned yours doesn't have Sata 6gb/s...if I was wanting to add a SSD later down the road, thinking around March-ish, should I be sure that whatever mobo I choose have Sata 6 or will it make that big of a difference?

Really sorry btw, not trying to hijack a thread or anything, just really good discussion going on here.

I think the bandwidth is fairly significant either way and was not at all concerned about it when I bought my board, since I plan to use a SSD down the line too.

I chose the P55-USB3 because of its overclocking stability, excellent VRM heatsink, and support for legacy components like a floppy drive and PS2 keyboard. Probably would have picked the P55A had it been the same price at the time ($105 shipped).