Need advice... Intel vs Asus mobo?

[thewhiteboy]

Hi all,

Need the experts advice on deciding on a board. I've got everything narrowed down except for the mobo. CPU is another issue but I'm leaning one way. Anyway, here's my build...

1) board: either Intel D945PSN, or ASUS P5LD2
2) CPU: P4 model 641, or Pentium D model 940
3) video: PNY GeForce 6600 256MB DDR
4) memory: Crucial 1GB kit (2x512MB) DDR2 PC2 4200
5) HD: Western Digital WD2500KS (250GB, 7200rpm, SATA)

This machine is not built for gaming. Rather its for work, I have to build these puppies to be used for video purposes, so I'm not looking for an extreme video card. I just don't know which board to decide on, they both look so good and are pretty close in price. As for the CPU, I'm leaning more towards the D just for twice the processing power. Another question... would PC2 5300 make a noticeable difference over PC2 4200 in this build??

Thanks for reading my post. Please let me know what you think!!

 

[thewhiteboy]

bump

Anybody?

 

[bob4432]

in my experience i would go a intel board for your situation. they usually don't offer a lot in bios tweaks for o/cing but that doesn't seem like a big deal. i would say for a intel rig the most stable boards would intel, supermicro, asus and tyan. but i would put them all within a 5% range of each other, very close.

 

[pkme2]

My 3 mobos now are ASUS. Had others, Gigabyte, Abit, Supermicro, Msi but always came back to ASUS.

 

[thewhiteboy]

Thanks for the input guys. I was kinda leaning towards Intel as well but I wanted to see what other people with more hardware experience would suggest. Like 3-4 years ago I was becoming a hard core enthusiast, so much $$$ gone.... I even bought a dremel so I could cut holes for glass windows and extra case fans, and all the cases I see nowadays come with all that standard plus UV lights and the such. Ah, the good ol' days of livin at home, not havin to pay rent + car note + everything else to live.. :brokenheart:

But as far as my other question: DDR2 533 vs 667... is there really that much of a noticeable difference? On NewEgg the price difference is only $10, and I'm thinking if the gap is that low then the performance jump won't be very significant at all.

 

[imported_Questar]

You will not notice the difference in memory speed.

I second the the Intel choice.

 

[dexvx]

For all the "enthusiasts" saying that Intel boards lack options... the other way to look at it is that they are stupid proof. Theres pretty much nothing you can do, settings wise, to make your system go instable.

 

[acegazda]

intel boards rival the top of the line asus boards, but IMO, I still think they are overpriced. They have some great features though and you would be very happy with them. As far as asus goes, get a 975x chipset so you can upgrade to core 2 duo in the future. Asus boards have too many different chipsets for s775.

 

[Megatomic]

Originally posted by: dexvx
For all the "enthusiasts" saying that Intel boards lack options... the other way to look at it is that they are stupid proof. Theres pretty much nothing you can do, settings wise, to make your system go instable.

LoL, they still find ways to mess things up despite our best efforts...

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: acegazda
intel boards rival the top of the line asus boards, but IMO, I still think they are overpriced. They have some great features though and you would be very happy with them. As far as asus goes, get a 975x chipset so you can upgrade to core 2 duo in the future. Asus boards have too many different chipsets for s775.

are the 975s able to handle the vrm issues? has that been resolved yet?

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Originally posted by: acegazda
intel boards rival the top of the line asus boards, but IMO, I still think they are overpriced. They have some great features though and you would be very happy with them. As far as asus goes, get a 975x chipset so you can upgrade to core 2 duo in the future. Asus boards have too many different chipsets for s775.

Comment about Intel boards: The PCB is top notch as well as it's population of board componets, socket, slots, chips, capacitors and HSs.

I have an Intel board long past warrenty(3 years) and it's on the watch list for venting caps. If this board ever has a cap issue while I, the original buyer, own it, they will RMA no questions asked.


...Galvanized

 

[Slugbait]

Originally posted by: GalvanizedYankee
I have an Intel board long past warrenty(3 years) and it's on the watch list for venting caps. If this board ever has a cap issue while I, the original buyer, own it, they will RMA no questions asked.


...Galvanized

I had an Asus T2P4 running a P5/133 for over three years in my main machine, which is now in my wife's sewing room running her embroidary digitizing software for the last seven. The next board, a P2B-LS with a PIII/600, was given to a friend three years ago, it's still a daily driver. My secondary machine has a P4B-533 with a Northwood 1.6a @ 2.4, I built it about four years ago. My MCE box has an ATX version of the P4B-533 with a Northwood 3.06, it's been doing ok for two years. My main machine has a P4P800-E Deluxe with a 3.2 EE proc.

The original board I tried for my EE proc was Intel, and it couldn't run the proc at rated speeds, nor take it to the ceiling of 3.6. Maybe I was just unlucky...but Asus boards have always been brand-name reliable for me.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Originally posted by: Slugbait

Originally posted by: GalvanizedYankee
I have an Intel board long past warrenty(3 years) and it's on the watch list for venting caps. If this board ever has a cap issue while I, the original buyer, own it, they will RMA no questions asked.


...Galvanized

I had an Asus T2P4 running a P5/133 for over three years in my main machine, which is now in my wife's sewing room running her embroidary digitizing software for the last seven. The next board, a P2B-LS with a PIII/600, was given to a friend three years ago, it's still a daily driver. My secondary machine has a P4B-533 with a Northwood 1.6a @ 2.4, I built it about four years ago. My MCE box has an ATX version of the P4B-533 with a Northwood 3.06, it's been doing ok for two years. My main machine has a P4P800-E Deluxe with a 3.2 EE proc.

The original board I tried for my EE proc was Intel, and it couldn't run the proc at rated speeds, nor take it to the ceiling of 3.6. Maybe I was just unlucky...but Asus boards have always been brand-name reliable for me.

Did I say ASUS were bad boards?? I think not. I too have a P4P800-E DeeLux with a 3.4e on it. For a rock steady work station, Intel is not a bad choice. My D865PERLK was issued some of the bad caps...MAYBE...in late 2001 and Intel will still stand behind it's build if a cap issue raises it's head. My 2.8 will only run at 2.74 on this board.

Against Intel's wishes, SuperMicro is bring out a full line of AMD boards, TYAN are VG server/workstation boards also. My mom's old Husqvarna Viking had a small comp built into it Never an issue with it.


...Galvanized

 

[jimmyj68]

I may be wrong but - isn't there a strong connection between ASUS and Intel as far as boards go? And the only real difference between them is ASUS offers the board with tweaky Bios for the overclocking buyer?

I'm running an Intel D945PSN now - my old D865PERLK is now in North Carolina in my brothers machine and a D865 G lives in my wife's Sonata. My advice? Go with Intel. Overclockable boards to me are too twitchy, too easy to not work because you didn't dot an "i" or cross a "t". The Intel board mounts. hooks up, and works.

 

[fire400]

Originally posted by: jimmyj68
I may be wrong but - isn't there a strong connection between ASUS and Intel as far as boards go? And the only real difference between them is ASUS offers the board with tweaky Bios for the overclocking buyer?

I'm running an Intel D945PSN now - my old D865PERLK is now in North Carolina in my brothers machine and a D865 G lives in my wife's Sonata. My advice? Go with Intel. Overclockable boards to me are too twitchy, too easy to not work because you didn't dot an "i" or cross a "t". The Intel board mounts. hooks up, and works.

look man if you consider yourself an enthusiast, you better make your money's worth and hit up the ASUS board. the Intel will offer far less overclockable abilities but has a ton of stability.

either you stick with Intel and stay happy or you can experiment with motherboards and try out the Asus, you'll still be happy.

don't forget about MSI either, but I take it you're pretty hardcore, so it's either Intel or Asus? go with the Asus.

 

[Henny]

Intel for rock solid stability.
Asus for OC features.

 

[acegazda]

Originally posted by: bob4432

Originally posted by: acegazda
intel boards rival the top of the line asus boards, but IMO, I still think they are overpriced. They have some great features though and you would be very happy with them. As far as asus goes, get a 975x chipset so you can upgrade to core 2 duo in the future. Asus boards have too many different chipsets for s775.

are the 975s able to handle the vrm issues? has that been resolved yet?

I believe they are all equipped w/vrm10 which solves the power issues.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: acegazda

Originally posted by: bob4432

Originally posted by: acegazda
intel boards rival the top of the line asus boards, but IMO, I still think they are overpriced. They have some great features though and you would be very happy with them. As far as asus goes, get a 975x chipset so you can upgrade to core 2 duo in the future. Asus boards have too many different chipsets for s775.

are the 975s able to handle the vrm issues? has that been resolved yet?

I believe they are all equipped w/vrm10 which solves the power issues.

i was referring to one of the newer articles from computex saying that any current m/b, regardless of chipset at this time cannot support conroe. wasn't sure if the manf had taken care of this portion yet. it was a relatively new article....

 

[acegazda]

oooo, from what I gather, all 975x can support conroe...as well as 965 i think. Problem is, they're all >$180!

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: Henny
Intel for rock solid stability.
Asus for OC features.

Agreed.

And, OP, please do NOT go with a Pentium 640, get the 940. Same price, dual core. Not a tough decision.

BTW...

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80852

Also, I have used this board, it's a little cheaper than the Asus, and a great board...

EPOX EP-5P945-J 945P
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=246606

 

[thewhiteboy]

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: Henny
Intel for rock solid stability.
Asus for OC features.

Agreed.

And, OP, please do NOT go with a Pentium 640, get the 940. Same price, dual core. Not a tough decision.

If I was building it for myself, I would go w/the Asus board. Since these are for work and the bosses don't give a flyin' flip about OC'in (they probably see OC and think I'm talking about the TV show :laugh: ), I'll stick w/the Intel board. Going w/the 940's also, the price difference is what, at the most only like $10?? Why not. Kudos to everyone who replied, thanks for all the advice :thumbsup:

 

[secretanchitman]

i would go with the intel board if you plan on overclocking, and if you really want to go sli, then go with the nvidia.

intel makes the best chipsets and boards IMO. though for AMD i would take an nvidia or amd board.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: acegazda
oooo, from what I gather, all 975x can support conroe...as well as 965 i think. Problem is, they're all >$180!

i am looking for the article, but it stated that no bouard out at the moment can support conroe....i will look for it, here it is - http://www.anandtech.com/tradeshows/showdoc.aspx?i=2770&p=2

Everyone in Taiwan is pretty much excited about the same thing: Conroe. Intel has a major Conroe launch in Taiwan later this week, and all of the motherboard manufacturers are demonstrating their entire line of Conroe ready LGA-775 motherboards. Although Intel's brand new Broadwater chipset (965 series) is being positioned as the platform for Conroe, motherboard manufacturers have been building 975X and 945 based motherboards with Conroe support as well. Unfortunately due to changes in the VRM requirements for Conroe, no current LGA-775 motherboards will work with the new processor.

 

[rudder]

Originally posted by: thewhiteboy
This machine is not built for gaming. Rather its for work, I have to build these puppies to be used for video purposes, so I'm not looking for an extreme video card. I just don't know which board to decide on, they both look so good and are pretty close in price

I've never owned an ASUS board, but my last three mobos were all Intel. All I can say it that Intel builds them for stability. I have never had an issue even after moving the same OS through all motherboard. I have owned the D845PEBT and now a D865GLC.

Since it is not built for gaming, Intel is very attractive. They do bench a little lower in games typically versus companies like ASUS, but like I said these boards do not crash.