P45 or X48 - Which is the best & newest?

[Shaitan00]

For starters I wanted to thank everyone who has been helping me over the past week build up my new system - given the massive constant advice I have opted to go with a Asus DDR2 motherboard as opposed to my inital Rampage Extreme X48 DDR3 - for the lack of benifits (none - given that I won't OC) and insane price it just isn't worth it - thank you all for helping me come to that conclusion.

So now I must find a replacement board for a DDR2 system (note - I am an Asus fan so going to stick with them). Initially the obvious choice was the Rampage Formula (X48 DDR2 - winning awards left/right/center) - but today some of you mentioned the Asus P45 series instead - this opens up an entire new can of worms and I was hoping to - once again - get some advice...

First off - I was always under the impression that P45 was an older chipset, I thought intel released the P45 -> X38 -> X48 (making it 3 generations old), I mean why release the new Rampage Extreme with X48 if it isn't the latest & greatest - can someone confirm this point for me - I want to be sure I know what I am talking about (P45 better...)

Given my immediate love for the Rampage Extreme, and that it looks like P45 is better for me then X48 (Q9550 - no OC) - I automatically fell for the MAXIMUS II FORMULA.
I also did some reading and found a comparable P5Q-DELUXE which seemed good.

So - here it is - the last leg of my investigation - the final choice ...
X48 VS P45
Rampage Formula VS Maximus II Formula (or P5Q-Deluxe)

Doing the comparing of the specs it looks to me like the Maximus II Formula is the winner .... But as I've shown lately ... what do I know?

BTW - all 3 boards are pretty much the same price so....
Whats the general concencus?

Thanks,

 

[z1ggy]

I don't know about your GPU choice.. but if you want sli.. which unless you are running some ridiculous res on a large monitor I don't think you will need ( unless of course you want, nobody is stopping you ). I haven't heard much about either as far as performance difs. go I guess they are both about the same, but I think the p45 may be a bit better choice for graphics. Don't hold me to it though..but all in all I think the p45 you chose is better, but I don't think you can make a mad choice

 

[Unknown Person]

It really depends what components you're using, whether you're planning on overclocking, etc. The P45 may be newer, but it is marketed for the mainstream user. The main difference between the boards is that the X48 will support full speed CrossFire at x16/x16 speeds, while the P45 will run at x8/x8. (which may bottleneck performance if you are using a CrossFire system) If you aren't overclocking or using the features, then those boards are pretty overkill.

 

[Shaitan00]

Well - I plan on getting a Q9550 - maybe OC it to 3.0ghz (no more) and a single 4870 video card - given that from what you say I assume the P45 is the best choice....

Now the question is - Maximus II Formula OR P5Q-Deluxe...
What do you think?

 

[Cheex]

To answer your question about latest and greatest. The P45 is the latest but the X48 is the greatest.

The enthusiast chipset is released first followed by the mainstream so...in order of release, it was like this:
X38
P35
X48
P45

The 3 Series chipsets came before and now we have the 4 Series. The "X" denotes Extreme and the "P" denotes Performance.

The X48 excels at CrossFire setups whereas the P45 is quite sturdy if a single card is being used. Both chipsets overclock well (if you ever decide to) but the X48, having more headroom and hence, able to reach higher speeds in most cases.

Hope this helps.

:thumbsup:

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

OC is capable and well on the P45.

 

[z1ggy]

Originally posted by: Shaitan00
Well - I plan on getting a Q9550 - maybe OC it to 3.0ghz (no more) and a single 4870 video card - given that from what you say I assume the P45 is the best choice....

Now the question is - Maximus II Formula OR P5Q-Deluxe...
What do you think?

Probably go with the p45 then. But if you game a lot and maybe in the future you want to get a large monitor.. or maybe output to a sweet lcd or plasma tv, getting the X48 might not be a bad idea. It all depends on what your future plans are for your build. Then again..the i7 is coming out in the next quarter and once prices drop I think a lot of gamers may starting hitting the new generation of mobo's and chips. I am interested to see how intel's new design of the quick transfer system works and to see a mobo without a NB.

 

[classy]

If your running crossfire you want X48. If not the P45 will do just fine.

 

[z1ggy]

X48 will help you max your CF if you do it...otherwise...p45. I hear the p5Q is great anyways. They have its own thread for it

 

[ielmox]

The p45 is cheaper, uses less power, and (I think) runs cooler. Also, because there are more p45 in circulation than x48, I'd say BIOS and similar issues are likely to be resolved sooner and more thoroughly. Unless you are overclocking a lot I don't think you will notice a difference between these two chipsets.