Asus P5B Deluxe or Gigabyte DS3

[cmdrdredd]

Ok so, I've decided on my system so far. E6400, 2GB of Corsair XMS2 pc6400, and I had thought to go with the Asus P5B Deluxe (price is no issue here). I have worked with the asus and thought it was great. Then I thought, maybe I can go with a DS3 which is cheaper and get the same results. I'm not planning to get my E6400 to 3.5Ghz. I was thinking of getting the system stable at around 3Ghz to be reasonable. Not a huge expectation and no slouch either. I assume either of these boards will do 400FSB (effectively DDR2-800 and 3.2Ghz on CPU) with little trouble. However, I'm wondering if the Asus stability would be better in general than the Gigabyte. I won't be using RAID, and only have 2 SATA HDDs, and an IDE DVD-RW to plugin. My Videocard should play little issue, but it's an ATI X1900XT.

Anyone have any suggestions or experiences to share with either of these 2 boards? I will be ordering very soon and started to second guess myself on the Asus board

Thanks in advance.

edit: I have done a search and browsed the topics here. I just wanted some first hand reports from users of either board to give me some ideas of the stability and performance with the newest BIOS.

 

[Madellga]

Go with the Gigabyte DS4 and get DDR2-800 ram. Update the BIOS to F3 and you get instant overclock to FSB400 (with E6400 and E6300). VDim set at 1.95V, VCore at 1.37.
Prime95 stable for 16 hours!!

I've built 3 rigs already with this combo (for friends) and it works like a charm.

The DS4 has the passive cooling on the components - the DS3 might need some work on that. For the price difference its a no brainer IMO.

I would not get the Asus. Just bad past experiences and personal thing :thumbsdown:

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: Madellga
Go with the Gigabyte DS4 and get DDR2-800 ram. Update the BIOS to F3 and you get instant overclock to FSB400 (with E6400 and E6300). VDim set at 1.95V, VCore at 1.37.
Prime95 stable for 16 hours!!

I've built 3 rigs already with this combo (for friends) and it works like a charm.

The DS4 has the passive cooling on the components - the DS3 might need some work on that. For the price difference its a no brainer IMO.

I would not get the Asus. Just bad past experiences and personal thing :thumbsdown:

the usual retailers don't list the DS4.

 

[koitsu]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
the usual retailers don't list the DS4.

I haven't seen any retailer in the US who offers the DS4. *waits for someone to post a newegg URL, since they seem to have weird crap from the Asias first...*

Also, my DS3 has no moving parts on the motherboard, so I'm not sure what the "passive cooling on the components" claim is about. No moving parts = no noise = for the win.

EDIT: I wanted to add some URLs for pictures of the DS3 vs. the DS4. The change between the boards is quite drastic. It's much more than just adding a heatpipe...

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/FileList/Ima...board_productimage_ga-965p-ds3_big.jpg
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/FileList/Ima...boars_productimage_ga-965p-ds4_big.jpg

(Yes, the 2nd URL indeed has "motherboars" in it, not "motherboard". And yes, it works. Apparently Gigabyte would rather just make some new directory with crap in it, rather than actually fix their URLs to be consistent. Then again, their website is ATROCIOUS...)

This makes me wonder if I should return my DS3 and wait until the DS4 becomes available for sale.

 

[ND40oz]

The DS4 has the same layout as the DQ6 for the most part, just doesn't have the however many phase power the DQ6 lays claim to. It also has the ich8r southbridge as opposed to the DS3s ich8. Gigabyte also just announced their 965G-DS3 with integrated graphics as well.

 

[Madellga]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd

Originally posted by: Madellga
Go with the Gigabyte DS4 and get DDR2-800 ram. Update the BIOS to F3 and you get instant overclock to FSB400 (with E6400 and E6300). VDim set at 1.95V, VCore at 1.37.
Prime95 stable for 16 hours!!

I've built 3 rigs already with this combo (for friends) and it works like a charm.

The DS4 has the passive cooling on the components - the DS3 might need some work on that. For the price difference its a no brainer IMO.

I would not get the Asus. Just bad past experiences and personal thing :thumbsdown:

the usual retailers don't list the DS4.

Sorry, I didn't know that. I'm in Europe.

 

[imported_RedStar]

ok this might make you change mind and opt for the asus one...

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=29&threadid=1918453

new bios allows it to unlock the conroe multipliers.

plus here is some nice performance:

http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=580

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: RedStar
ok this might make you change mind and opt for the asus one...

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=29&threadid=1918453

new bios allows it to unlock the conroe multipliers.

plus here is some nice performance:

http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=580

Yeah I read that and it's what made me originally decide to go ASUS. I'm ordering this evening so I have a few hours to decide. I'm a little torn but I'm leaning toward the ASUS P5B Deluxe still.

BTW: You linked to this thread for some reason. Mistake?

 

[Madellga]

Originally posted by: RedStar
ok this might make you change mind and opt for the asus one...

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=29&threadid=1918453

new bios allows it to unlock the conroe multipliers.

plus here is some nice performance:

http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=580

Not a parameter to pick one of the boards:

This is neither an Asus advantage nor original thing: Gigabyte 965 boards can unlock(down) the multipliers since their launch.

Wesley "forgot" to mention that in his article. Look at the comments, after some fire Gary did confirm that and they revised a paragraph on the article.

I can also confirm that first hand. You can pick an E6400 and use 8x 7x 6x as you wish.

PS: You can only unlock (up) engineering samples from Intel. You won't see that in retail CPUs.

 

[Madellga]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd

Originally posted by: RedStar
ok this might make you change mind and opt for the asus one...

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=29&threadid=1918453

new bios allows it to unlock the conroe multipliers.

plus here is some nice performance:

http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=580

Yeah I read that and it's what made me originally decide to go ASUS. I'm ordering this evening so I have a few hours to decide. I'm a little torn but I'm leaning toward the ASUS P5B Deluxe still.

BTW: You linked to this thread for some reason. Mistake?

Think twice.

Check the thread on the guy with low performance on the P5B.
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=31&threadid=1913835&enterthread=y

That does not happen with the Gigabyte. You might not run a 7950GX2 but I think it is worth knowing it.

Anyhow, good luck with your purchase. Let us know how it turns later

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: Madellga

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd

Originally posted by: RedStar
ok this might make you change mind and opt for the asus one...

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=29&threadid=1918453

new bios allows it to unlock the conroe multipliers.

plus here is some nice performance:

http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=580

Yeah I read that and it's what made me originally decide to go ASUS. I'm ordering this evening so I have a few hours to decide. I'm a little torn but I'm leaning toward the ASUS P5B Deluxe still.

BTW: You linked to this thread for some reason. Mistake?

Think twice.

Check the thread on the guy with low performance on the P5B.
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=31&threadid=1913835&enterthread=y

That does not happen with the Gigabyte. You might not run a 7950GX2 but I think it is worth knowing it.

Anyhow, good luck with your purchase. Let us know how it turns later

Non issue for me. I could care less about a 7950gx2. I use a x1900xt (overclocked to xtx). Plud you can't say it never happens with a gigabyte board. Sure it can.

 

[Madellga]

I think you were set since the beginning on the P5B - cause no information brought here made you consider the Gigabyte.

Why ask them? Moral support?

I hope the Asus runs fine for you. If not, remember me!!

 

[tallman45]

Consider this

For $50 less than a P5B / E6300 pair you could get a DS3 / E6400 pair

The DS4 has the same 4 pin hard drive connector as the DQ6 at the bottom right of the board, never saw that on a MB before

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: tallman45
Consider this

For $50 less than a P5B / E6300 pair you could get a DS3 / E6400 pair

The DS4 has the same 4 pin hard drive connector as the DQ6 at the bottom right of the board, never saw that on a MB before

DS4 is not scheduled for north america release, but is available in europe or asia. At least for now, I was always going to get a e6400, never considered a e6300 at all. Why does everyone assume that because I buy a $200+ MB I'm going to cheap out on my CPU?

Reason I asked was because these boards perform similarly yet stability comes into play. I know all about the pickiness with memory, and am getting corsair to be safe. Still, I was wondering if owners found any quirks with either board that would make them consider the other one had they known from the get go.

Anyway I ordered a P5B Deluxe and I'll see how it goes.

 

[tallman45]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd

Originally posted by: tallman45
Consider this

For $50 less than a P5B / E6300 pair you could get a DS3 / E6400 pair

The DS4 has the same 4 pin hard drive connector as the DQ6 at the bottom right of the board, never saw that on a MB before

DS4 is not scheduled for north america release, but is available in europe or asia. At least for now, I was always going to get a e6400, never considered a e6300 at all. Why does everyone assume that because I buy a $200+ MB I'm going to cheap out on my CPU?

Reason I asked was because these boards perform similarly yet stability comes into play. I know all about the pickiness with memory, and am getting corsair to be safe. Still, I was wondering if owners found any quirks with either board that would make them consider the other one had they known from the get go.

Anyway I ordered a P5B Deluxe and I'll see how it goes.

Once you get a cheap rep it sticks

 

[Madellga]

I know its too late but you might check this review:
http://www.anandtech.com/systems/showdoc.aspx?i=2823

The mobo is the DS3

I told you...

 

[Ricochet]

So if you have OCZ DDR2 memory (I got in the hot deal from outpost.com), would you still recommend the DS3?

 

[Madellga]

Originally posted by: ricochet
So if you have OCZ DDR2 memory (I got in the hot deal from outpost.com), would you still recommend the DS3?

I have at the moment 2 types: the Gold and the Platinum. Both reach 400FSB at boot with stock bios (F2).

There is one important info - with the platinum you cannot go above 1.95V on VDim - the system gets instable. I don't know if that is specific to the OCZ ram or Gigabyte board.

With the Platinum I can reach FSB 450 at 5-5-5 (Prime95 stable) always using 1.95V

With the Gold I can reach FSB 450 at 4-4-4 (Prime95 stable) using 2.1V.

The Gold seems to be more flexible and a better buy - but it is more expensive also.

Overcloking above FSB400 becomes more a CPU's problem than the motherboard's. Once you pass 3.2GHz the Core2 will ask much more VCore.

 

[Ricochet]

Thanks, Madellga.

I just noticed your sig. I had to ask because based on some of the reviews on Newegg some were not even able to boot at all given the combination of the DS3 and the OCZ DDR2 memory.

 

[Madellga]

No problem.

I read also some threads in many Forums. What most people don't do is troubleshoot: reduce the number of variants and slowly isolate the problem.

I had no issues with both the DS4 and the DQ6. It looks like also the the F3 bios got rid of most issues.

 

[Ricochet]

Originally posted by: ND40oz
The DS4 has the same layout as the DQ6 for the most part, just doesn't have the however many phase power the DQ6 lays claim to. It also has the ich8r southbridge as opposed to the DS3s ich8. Gigabyte also just announced their 965G-DS3 with integrated graphics as well.

The 965G-DS3 is now available at Newegg for the same price as the 965P-DS3.

 

[imported_RedStar]

only just noticed this thread again.. Ya, not sure how i missed not linking the main article about the new unlocking bios....whole reason i posted. Not sure where it is now.

Doesn't change anything..as apparantly it was all moot anyways

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: Madellga
I know its too late but you might check this review:
http://www.anandtech.com/systems/showdoc.aspx?i=2823

The mobo is the DS3

I told you...

That's not even relevant since it's a prebuilt system.

 

[n7]

Wow, hardcore G-lovin' in here.

The Asus P5B Deluxe is pretty much the best OCing mobo out there.
There's not too much debate over that.

However, for light OCing, you can get the DS3, P5B vanilla, DS4, etc, etc.

 

[skinnyj]

wait im in the same boat.... and i will listen! lol.
I do like asus boards, but i havent heard anything bad about the ds3's except for getting the bios up to f4 but after that its all good.
If i went with a ds3 would corsair xms 800 be good with it, im really partial to corsairs memory.

So which board is better, that article said that the p5b/p5w were pretty much the best board for c2d. Im ordering my system in a about 10 days and very conflicted. also there is talk of the intel bad-axe board