Which p965 board ?

[you2]

I need to make a purchase in the next 5 or 6 days and have narrowed my choices down the following boards - does anyone who have used more than one board have any comments or comments on my notes about the board?

Please note the objective:

I do not need to overclock or run high end graphics - rather this will be a unix desktop system that runs 24/7. I would like the system to be stable and be able to run 24 hours a day for 3 to 5 years.

I do not require 2 pci-e slots but i need to pci slots to work

[i.e., anything about a board that makes you think it is or will be flakey - or a company that you know is hard to deal with would be useful]

I might be able to look at Gary's article if it comes out monday (newegg tends to take 1 day to ship/receive) but Gary conclusion won't be ready till after part 3 (with regards to board quality/company quality) and hte monday article might be delayed further.

Anyways the boards that I think are the best candidates (and why):

gigabyte d3s: solid capictors might be more reliable ($143). More people have used this mb and used it with linux

asus pb5-E (either 1g or 2g ($154)): not that much more expensive than d3s - has more fan headers and 'better'
audio as well as additional sata port on ich8. Like ds3 has jmb 363 (has firewire - not needed now but doesn't hurt to have)

foxconn P9657AA-8KS2H ): ($99): I don't need raid; but uses jmb 361 (slightly worse support under linux) as well as worse ethernet part (marvel 056 (gigabytate uses 053). Also will need to buy another sata cable with this mb ($3). plus: it has esata (not sure if will be used in the future but can't hurt)

biostar TForce965PT -> gigabyte s3 -> seem to have no advantage over the foxconn
---
I'm leaning towards ether the foxconn; gigabyte ds3 or asus pb5-e. Do you have any comments among these or a 'surprise' board ? Do you have a feeling which company would give the best support (esp for warranty) or long term reliability if the system runs 24/7 for 3 to 5 years?

 

[LouPoir]

I had the Gigabyte board - solid capacitors was comforting. Nice board for the price. I would recommend it.

BTW - I have the Asus P5W DH - really nice board but not worth the $$$.

Lou

 

[Vette73]

I have the Gigabyte S3. Same as the DS3 but with reg. caps. It has been great for me and overclocks better then my Asus with the same chip.

But since you said this system might last 3-5 years I would go with the DS3 since you want 3+ years at least. If you said MAYBE 3 years then get the S3. But 3-5+ then go with the solid caps just to make sure.

 

[you2]

Does anyone have any comments comparing the pb5-E to the ds3 or the foxconn to the ds3 ?

I'm a bit concern about the s3 because (I think) it uses a different chip for the ide controller. gigabyte website doesn't actually state which chip is in the s3 (the ds3 uses the jbm 363) and since I won't be using windows this is/could be an issue.

 

[renethx]

All the GIGABYTE boards actually use the JMB363 PATA/SATA controller. You'd better check the compatibility of various onboard controllers (in particular JMB363) with Linux before buying. The spreadsheet I posted in AVS Forum includes all the controller names.

 

[you2]

The JMB 363 is supported. Support for the 361 is slightly less (which the foxconn uses). Some of the boards (such as the intel 965 board) use other ide controllers not in the jmb family (btw your list is pretty nifty).