Motherboards?!?!

[JE78]

I'd like to place this order today but now i'm not quite sure which motherboard to get.

I was set on getting the Asus P5B-E with 2 gigs of G.Skill DDR800

Then I came across this Asus mobo P5N-E SLI


Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks.

 

[Rike]

Originally posted by: JE78
I'd like to place this order today but now i'm not quite sure which motherboard to get.

I was set on getting the Asus P5B-E with 2 gigs of G.Skill DDR800

Then I came across this Asus mobo P5N-E SLI


Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks.

P5B-E = Older, proven, stable board. Good OCer.

P5N-E = New board, reviews say it's decent. OK OCer.

I've been burned on new boards before, so I'd go with what's been around for a while. P5B-E FTW.

 

[JE78]

I'd normally go with whats been around as well but a few things I like about the P5N-E is the 2 PATA connectors (I still use IDE), SLI (if I ever decided to go that route) quad core compatible and the FSB is higher. I've read some good OCing reviews on it as well. The only thing I'm concerned about is the RAM compatibility. I know the P5B-E is good with the RAM i'm going to get, also I know the board is stable.

 

[Rike]

That's true, the dual PATA connectors is a deal maker for lots of people.

On the FSB settings for the two boards, don't mistake available Bios settings with what the board will actually do. Last time I checked, the P5B-E could do about a 520 FSB, while the P5N-E will do a bit less than that (480-505) with some funky memory issues along for the ride.

 

[JE78]

I'm not a huge OCer so stability wins over crazy OCing for me. But I know its there if I want it, on both boards. The 2 PATA connectors have me going with the P5N-E right now. Only thing i'm concerned about is my PSU. I have an 20 Pin Enermax 460 watt power supply, I don't plan on using SLI for a long time if ever but I read the AnandTech review and noticed the board consumes a decent amount of power. Nothing over what I have but the 20 pin connector bothers me.