Yet another recommendation request

Mears

Platinum Member
Mar 9, 2000
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I'm getting ready to upgrade my computer and will be purchasing a GeForce GTX 280 and Intel Core 2 Duo E8500. I will not be running SLI (and obviously not Crossfire) so I don't need or want to pay a premium for dual video card support.

I was thinking perhaps a P45 board, but I am a bit overwhelmed with all of the different chipsets available these days, so I'm looking for recommendations for either a chipset or specific board. Also, I was considering low timing DDR2 instead of DDR3 unless someone can provide a convincing reason to go with DDR3.
 

dbarton

Senior member
Apr 11, 2002
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I have the same requirements as you, and I think people here suggested the Asus p5q board would be good.

I'm looking at the p5q lga 775.
 

Mears

Platinum Member
Mar 9, 2000
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What's the advantage of 16-phase power on the deluxe vs the 8-phase on the pro? It looks like more people are buying the pro version (of course, it's also cheaper).
 

dbarton

Senior member
Apr 11, 2002
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I looked at the specs on the Gigabyte mentioned above, and the Asus I just bought.
I'm far from an expert, but I think that the Asus is better for multiple video, with 2x pci2, but I guess you don't need that. The Gigabyte accepts more memory(8g), and has more USB ports. It has 3 PCI slots, vs 2. In a lot of ways it looks better to me.

I chose the Asus in the end because I have an Asus that's been good for years, and many more people seemed to buy and review it, so I assumed help would be easier to come by if I had issues.
Overall the Gigabye has 95% of people that give it a good or better review, and the Asus less at 84%, so I hope I made the right choice.

Anyone wanna jump in and tell me the ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 I chose is a good choice? :)

 

MTDEW

Diamond Member
Oct 31, 1999
4,284
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Gigabyte does make a crossfire board that is the same as the one i posted above with two PCi-e slots.
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128358

They are the same board except one only has a single PCI-e slot.
R= Single PCI-E
P= Dual PCI-E

Sice the original poster/member only wanted a single slot board and didnt wanna pay extra for a slot he wouldnt use , I just linked to the single slot version. :thumbsup:
posted by Mears,
I will not be running SLI (and obviously not Crossfire) so I don't need or want to pay a premium for dual video card support.
 

MTDEW

Diamond Member
Oct 31, 1999
4,284
37
91
Originally posted by: dbarton

I looked at the specs on the Gigabyte mentioned above, and the Asus I just bought.
I'm far from an expert, but I think that the Asus is better for multiple video, with 2x pci2, but I guess you don't need that. The Gigabyte accepts more memory(8g), and has more USB ports. It has 3 PCI slots, vs 2. In a lot of ways it looks better to me.

I chose the Asus in the end because I have an Asus that's been good for years, and many more people seemed to buy and review it, so I assumed help would be easier to come by if I had issues.
Overall the Gigabye has 95% of people that give it a good or better review, and the Asus less at 84%, so I hope I made the right choice.

Anyone wanna jump in and tell me the ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 I chose is a good choice? :)

Never go by Newegg reviews, they are far from reliable.
The ASUS P5Q Pro is a fine choice and is better "looking" than the gigabyte board. (if you have a case window)
Never did understand why Gigabyte always chooses playschool colors to highlight their boards. :roll:

I posted a link to the gigabyte boards because the have become known as very solid boards with great overclocking ability.

Just do a search on here, you'll see people suggest the Asus P5Q and Gigabyte UD3P(R) the most, because they are both great choices and overclock well.:thumbsup:

I just ordered a GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P for myself.

Although im running a Nvidia GTX280 and have no plans to crossfire(of course)
I may want to add my old 8800GT for Nvidia PhysX in the second slot , so i chose the "P" version over the "R" version.

Also, Impressions and plenty of info on either board is easy to find if needed.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/f...howthread.php?t=203272

http://www.xtremesystems.org/f...howthread.php?t=203785

http://forums.tweaktown.com/f69/




 

madh83

Member
Jan 14, 2007
149
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I noticed the ud3p supports dolby digital live while the ud3r does not from the gigabyte website, how much of a difference does it make in games? I've got a 3rd party sound card for DD/DTS in movies but was curious about gaming.
 

dbarton

Senior member
Apr 11, 2002
767
0
76

In a review of the Asus board I read:

"On the other hand the AUTO voltage settings are a little high for our liking, but if you are reading this review, you are already an enlightened consumer and can easily fix the problem by manually inserting your own voltage settings in the BIOS."

I guess I'm not enlightened enough to know about this, so can anyone shed some light?
 

MTDEW

Diamond Member
Oct 31, 1999
4,284
37
91
Originally posted by: dbarton

In a review of the Asus board I read:

"On the other hand the AUTO voltage settings are a little high for our liking, but if you are reading this review, you are already an enlightened consumer and can easily fix the problem by manually inserting your own voltage settings in the BIOS."

I guess I'm not enlightened enough to know about this, so can anyone shed some light?

no big deal, you just look up the voltages for your cpu and memory and set them to manufacturers specs manually in the bios.
Of course , those voltages only apply when running stock speeds.

When you overclock, you'll be adjusting the cpu voltage as needed.
I wouldnt go over manufacturers specs for voltage on the memory though, set the memory voltage to what the manufacturer suggests and leave it be.






 

MTDEW

Diamond Member
Oct 31, 1999
4,284
37
91
Originally posted by: madh83
I noticed the ud3p supports dolby digital live while the ud3r does not from the gigabyte website, how much of a difference does it make in games? I've got a 3rd party sound card for DD/DTS in movies but was curious about gaming.

I honestly dont know since i have a Soundblaster X-Fi , i never really cared what the onboard sound does and skipped those parts of the reviews.

Im just answering this to bump the thread for ya since i know someone on here knows the answer to your question.
 

OCNewbie

Diamond Member
Jul 18, 2000
7,596
24
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Can get the Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R for $86 shipped using ebay's live.com 30% cashback. Price is $123.01 from buy.com's ebay seller and then you will get 30% cashback which you can transfer to your paypal account in about 60 days. Or you can get the UD3P for about $97.50 shipped if you prefer.

Both the UD3R and UD3P are said to be excellent boards. I have the UD3P here but my Q9550 hasn't come in yet (2 more days I think) so haven't had a chance to test it out yet =)