Opinions on Intel p55 boards?

[Derek Hanson]

I'm not really looking to OC at all, been there done that, for me an i7 860 will be fast enough at stock..
..probably alienated half the forum right there :sneaky:

Anyway, is there a consensus on Intel boards? Stable? Well-built? Low-maintenance? Stable bios or will I need to go through flash bios hell?

Nobody ever talks about Intel boards, just wondering why..

 

[lothar]

Did you really need to make 4 threads?

 

[Derek Hanson]

Nope, really didn't.. Too much egg nog maybe.

People can just respond to this thread, maybe Derek Wilson could delete the other 3 for us.. sorry big D

 

[lopri]

I really should get paid for this job.

How about this board?

http://anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3682

Somewhat pricey but it seems to have it all.

 

[Mothergoose729]

I like gigabyte boards. The solid capacitors are great. Asus is a close second.

 

[Derek Hanson]

Thanks Mothergoose,

I realize that Asus and Gigabyte are top picks for P55 boards. I've done all the basic homework but I just haven't seen anything said about Intel. I'm wondering if anyone has any opinion regarding Intel's offering.

Thanks

 

[mav451]

If you're trying to buy a reference board, be our guest. But most of us never consider Intel boards to begin with.

 

[n7]

All we know is that you're going i7-860 & no OCing.

More info would be nice, like:

-budget
-I/O ports neeed (IEEE1394/eSATA/etc or no?)
-CF/SLi/how manySATA ports?

Etc.

Here's my suggestion anyway: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128412
SATA3/USB3 are nice to have for the future, even if they aren't really imperative.

For a basic non-OCing setup, Intel boards are fine too, to answer your original question.

 

[Derek Hanson]

Thanks n7,
The Giga p55a ud3 is actually the board I currently have on my wish list if I don't go Intel..

Looking for the following:
- under $200
- raid (though it seems raid is built in to all p55)
- 1394 is a plus but not required
- Single GPU PCIe 2.0 16x
- Not concerned with on-board sound (using m-audio card)
- normal assortment of internal SATA disk drives (3-4)
- NO BS PROBLEMS
- don't care about extra software utilities that gigabyte and others provide I will use the disc as a coaster or break it over my head

btw, anybody know if the current line-up of SSD's will see any advantage by using Sata3 6Gb/s? I'm guessing not since they all use Sata2 interface still...

 

[lothar]

Consider the P55A-UD4P?

Besides "# of phases"(which is pretty much a marketing term), what's the difference?
P55A-UD3, P55A-UD3P, and P55A-UD3R
"When SATA3 / USB 3.0 (Marvell 9128 /NEC USB 3.0 Controllers) work at turbo mode, 1st PCIE x16 will work at x8 speed."
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Spec.aspx?ProductID=3241

P55A-UD4P and above
"When dual graphics cards are used in 1st and 2nd PCIex16 slots, SATA3 / USB 3.0 (Marvell 9128 /NEC USB 3.0 Controllers) will work at normal mode."
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Spec.aspx?ProductID=3238

The question you need to ask yourself is "How important is that 16x graphics slot while running SATA3/USB3?" Is it worth $30-40 extra?

 

[lothar]

*double post*

 

[Derek Hanson]

These are all great points but is there any particular reason that most people don't even consider Intel boards? Is it just a cost per feature thing?

For what it's worth the intel's come with a 3 year warranty and decent support..

 

[lothar]

These are all great points but is there any particular reason that most people don't even consider Intel boards? Is it just a cost per feature thing?

For what it's worth the intel's come with a 3 year warranty and decent support..

Overclocking.

If you're not overclocking, they're okay. I assume price might be an issue as well but I haven't checked the price of their boards.

 

[lopri]

Didn't know the OP was talking about Intel-branded boards. Well, Intel doesn't exactly make the boards but they design and qualify them. Actual manufacturers are either ASUS or Foxconn, I believe. Current P55 offerings from Intel are overpriced and badly designed, IMO. (Not that Intel would care) Compatibility should be excellent, though.

 

[masumbdk]

No spam allowed

AnandTech Moderator
lopri​