Which P35 Board?

[Wigwam]

HI

I plan to build a new machine and so have started doing my homework.
Looking at the mobos I decided it was a P35 and a stright fight between the Asus and Gigabyte [the helpful sticky was very useful!]

Anyway from what I can see:
DS3R = 4xDDR2, 2xDDR3 (it's "feature" is the DDR3 support); no eSATA support
DS4 - has 2xeSATA connectors, no DDR3
DQ6 - 4xeSATA, no DDR3

Am I correct that this is the basic difference between them? DDR3 seems to be not much of an issue for me [currently, I grant you] and either is eSATA but potentially buying an external eSATA drive in future for backup might be useful?

What other considerations [except for cost, which also favours the DS3R] should I consider to help you help me make the decision?!

I was a little concerned reading comments about the "Gigabyte Cold Boot Issue". What is that??

Finally I hope to swap out the stock C2D cooler for something quieter [Scythe?] but noted a fair few comments that the heatpipe gets in the way? Is this a major issue or is it only for certain coolers?

Thanks for the help

 

[Heidfirst]

only the P35C-DS3R has DDR3 slots as well as DDR2, the regular P35-DS3R is DDR2 only.
You might also want to checkout the P35-DS3P.

 

[Wigwam]

it is the P35C DSR3 that is available. I want to but this from one of the 2 local store that supply components and they don't have the DS3P only the DS3R

 

[cruser1068]

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...erthread=y&STARTPAGE=7

My post in this thread will give you an idea about the Cold Boot issue...its doing my head in. I wouldnt recommend these boards to my worst enemy right now. But if you insist on getting one you might want to bear in mind that the DQ6 also has a DDR3 model (pink RAM slots instead of red)

 

[SerpentRoyal]

Also encountered similar issue when I was evaluating a P965 Gigabyte. It appears that this problem remains unresolved with the newer P35 boards. Didn't have the board for long for additional troubleshooting. I suspect there's a bug within the BIOS. These boards work well most of the time. BIOS is a little less intuitive.

If you don't need RAID, then check out the Abit IP35-E. It's rock solid with a very stable BIOS. Easy 488MHz FSB with a capable CPU. Abit IP35 adds RAID and heat-pipe cooling. Both boards share the same BIOS. Cost is $110 to $140. Only problem is the double post during cold start. START-STOP-START when you first hit the power button. This 14 second delay is non-existent if you RESTART the PC from windows.

 

[Heidfirst]

Originally posted by: cruser1068
But if you insist on getting one you might want to bear in mind that the DQ6 also has a DDR3 model (pink RAM slots instead of red)

there isn't a DQ6 model with both DDR2 & DDR3 though

 

[Wigwam]

I don't "insist" on getting one. I just want a good quality P35 board and assumed the Gigabyte was the one....

 

[cruser1068]

easy tiger....I wasnt having a go! Just warning you it might not be plain sailing. The more I look into this issue the more it seems to be a Gigabyte specific problem rather than an individual board model or chipset. There are lots of people with all types of Gigabyte boards using many different chipsets that seem to have problems cold booting.

When I got the board I was over the moon...it was the best packaged, heaviest, sexiest looking motherboard I ever owned and it set up easy and ran fine for several weeks.....now I hate it....if I hadnt spent so much on it Id bin it and get something different.

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2077238&enterthread=y

And if the above thread is right you can guarantee GB wont bother developing any more BIOS fixes for it once they withdraw it. So if it is a BIOS issue then looks like we're stuck with it.

 

[Noubourne]

I'm hitting the ASUS P35K Deluxe after reading a lot of successful reports on xs forums about it. I've been coddled by Oskar Wu with his DFI LanParty bios blizzard, so ASUS has a lot to live up to.

 

[Wigwam]

Originally posted by: cruser1068
easy tiger....I wasnt having a go! Just warning you it might not be plain sailing. The more I look into this issue the more it seems to be a Gigabyte specific problem rather than an individual board model or chipset. There are lots of people with all types of Gigabyte boards using many different chipsets that seem to have problems cold booting.

When I got the board I was over the moon...it was the best packaged, heaviest, sexiest looking motherboard I ever owned and it set up easy and ran fine for several weeks.....now I hate it....if I hadnt spent so much on it Id bin it and get something different.

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2077238&enterthread=y

And if the above thread is right you can guarantee GB wont bother developing any more BIOS fixes for it once they withdraw it. So if it is a BIOS issue then looks like we're stuck with it.

sorry dude I didn't realise my quick reply came across as so abrupt/curt. It wasn't intended I assure you!

I take your point as was equally excited by the Gigabyte for the same reasons but the more I read the more I think I will be spending more for the Asus.

 

[SerpentRoyal]

Novice overclockers tend to focus on max FSB speed. Avoid CPUs with 7x multi. These place too much stress on the RAM, CPU, and MB.

A board that's stable up to 460MHz is perfect for most overclockers. It should run cool n quiet. The BIOS should be able to control 2-pin, 3-pin, and 4-pin fans. Vcore max 1.8, Vdimm max 2.5. No FSB hole between 200 and 460MHz.

 

[Heidfirst]

Originally posted by: Noubourne
I'm hitting the ASUS P35K Deluxe after reading a lot of successful reports on xs forums about it.

I don't know that the P5K3 Dl is involved but I'm starting to see quite a lot of complaints on forums about P5K Dls & apparently Asus are replacing them with other mobos, not another P5K Dl ...

 

[Heidfirst]

double post

 

[Wigwam]

why? what sort of complaints [sigh]?

 

[Wigwam]

how about the Abit Pro then?

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: Wigwam
how about the Abit Pro then?

Seems ppl have issues with the heatpipe cooler not even touching the NB and SB flat...the heatpipes are bent so it does not rest solid on the chip. Also Abit seems to be lacking on BIOS updates.

I am going with the Asus P5K Deluxe... least amount of issues out of all options.

 

[bryanW1995]

I'll check my board before installing cpu on it to see if heatpipe cooler is flat.
cmdrdredd, what sort of 3dmark 06 scores do you get with your system? I've never gotten over 5910. The kids at school keep laughing at me...

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
I'll check my board before installing cpu on it to see if heatpipe cooler is flat.
cmdrdredd, what sort of 3dmark 06 scores do you get with your system? I've never gotten over 5910. The kids at school keep laughing at me...

hrm...been a qhile...I'd guess probably just over 6k...barely. I don't expect my x1900xt to do that hot in that benchmark, but it plays my games fine. At least until a true DX10 game comes out it will suffice.

edit: last score was 6461 with rig in sig

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
I'll check my board before installing cpu on it to see if heatpipe cooler is flat.
cmdrdredd, what sort of 3dmark 06 scores do you get with your system? I've never gotten over 5910. The kids at school keep laughing at me...

yeah some people on xtremesystems said they had to remove it and reapply some TIM to the heatsinks and then bend it around slightly to make it seat properly. Other people swapped the standard pins out for screws and nuts from the local hardware store in order to seat it flat.

I'd just be careful because it seems to be a common defect of the cooling solution. The only problem it would cause is limiting your max FSB because of the heat it outputs with poorly seated heatsinks.