ASUS vs. Gigabyte

[DAWbuilder]

Long time ASUS user here with numerous successful and trouble-free custom builds over the years.

I'm alarmed by the number of reports on various forums and online suppliers (Newegg) of ASUS motherboards arriving DOA, even after the first and second RMA replacements!

Has ASUS' quality control really taken that much of a downturn in the past year?

And what about Gigabyte? I've personally had no experience with Gigabyte motherboards, but by many accounts are quality products. If ASUS' quality control is in the toilet, is Gigabyte's any better?

Thanks in advance for your insight/experience.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Same either way. Go for features and price.

 

[Ozoneman]

Like you from what I've read the Asus quality seems to not be as good as before. The reason I went with the Gigabyte is because they do use the best parts and have a reputation for being very stable.

 

[F1shF4t]

I've always went for Asus boards (except the old DFI one which is the best board) and two out of 2 gigabyte ones i've owned before gave me no end of problems.

I have an asus P5k Deluxe currently being replaced cause of a dead bios.
Sata support was crap, sometime it detected drives sometimes did not.
Lets just put it if u do get one whatever u do don't flash the bios from windows , the asus utility is stuffed.

Anyways so i went and got the gigabyte p35 DQ6 bout two days ago. Not a single problem with the board. Build quality of this thing is awesome, all the connectors have clips and the mainboard's sata ports all feel solid. Put it all together booted first time, detected all drives without a problem.

Feature wise, for sure the asus has more. But stability is more important to me than features (i can always go and buy a wifi card and have lots of ethernet cards lying around if i need more of em ) Anyways the gigabyte will stay and i will prolly sell the asus once the replacement one comes.

 

[Texun]

I read the reviews on NE but don't put a ton of stock in the skill level of the users (no offense at all intended toward Cupcake). I'm not sure which board is better but I also have used ASUS many times over the years and never had a problem. My recent ASUS board has been as flawless as the previous ASUS boards. I was very tempted to go with Gigabyte this time, and even had one in the shopping cart, but I bailed at the last moment because 2 of the Gigabyte boards I was interested in only had 2 fan headers. I'm not a fan nut but I wanted at least three (front, rear, CPU) and moved to an ASUS with the same features because it offered at least 4-5, IIRC. I think either one would be a solid winner so go with whatever meets your needs and let'r rip!

 

[secretanchitman]

asus has always been good to me since the p3 days, though gigabyte is just as good, if not better in recent months/years.

you cant go wrong with eiher one.

 

[simkuriakose]

Hello !

I am a bit confused !

Please help.

I am building a new pc and motherboard is all left to choose.

I have two options.

1) Asus P5K Deluxe/WiFi-AP

Or

2) Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R

I prefer Asus. But to be honest i do not have a strong decision on ASUS. Still confused with gigabytes Ultra features....


Requirements

Reliablity under high loads for hours since one of the basic Use is Gaming.
I will be using the XFX Geforce 8800 GTS XXX card.
2*1gb 800mhz DDR2 Ram. (Not going to Use DDR3)
I really not looking for overclocking since i dont know how to OC and haven't done yet.

But in the future I may Overclock my Processor E6850 and Motherboard.

Also Wi fi is not a problem for me as I am not going to use it anyway.


The things which matters me most is Superb Performance and Stablity.
I would like to Use the motherboard for at least 2-3 years before i change again. So which motherboard would last ?

I heard Asus is the best Performer and Stable and Cool and reliable.. Thats why I chose Asus.

Please help me choose a better choice.......Should I proceed With Asus P5K Deluxe or I need to change my decision to a little slower Gigabyte?

Regards
Sim Kuriakose

 

[hclarkjr]

i've used ABIT,ASUS, and GIGABYTE motherboards over the years and have found that of the 3 my GIGABYTE that i am currently using now (see signature below) has proven to be very stable and trouble free with good performance. me personaly, i would use either an ABIT or GIGABYTE board before an ASUS board. to me ASUS boards are good boards but you have to tweak some settings to get the best from them where ABIT & GIGABYTE you can basicly pop them in and you are off and running. that is just my 2 cents worth though

 

[drakore]

Personally for P35 board i think Gigabyte is a better choice. The P5K is crap, the deluxe is decent, the premium is excellent.

However the DQ6 is better than the Deluxe. The DS3R is much better than the P5K variants (excluding deluxe and premium).

The Vdroop issue is a pain and I have seen tonnes of people posting issues with the P5K//deluxe... However pretty much everyone loves the DS3R and DQ6.

I still love ASUS, and if i had the money and didn't have a DQ6 i would definitely get the P5K premium or Blitz extreme. However I only paid 180$ CAD for my DQ6 before P35's were released so that deal really can't be beat.

For medium end boards the DS3R is best.

 

[Skott]

Originally posted by: DAWbuilder
Long time ASUS user here with numerous successful and trouble-free custom builds over the years.

I'm alarmed by the number of reports on various forums and online suppliers (Newegg) of ASUS motherboards arriving DOA, even after the first and second RMA replacements!

Has ASUS' quality control really taken that much of a downturn in the past year?

And what about Gigabyte? I've personally had no experience with Gigabyte motherboards, but by many accounts are quality products. If ASUS' quality control is in the toilet, is Gigabyte's any better?

Thanks in advance for your insight/experience.

IMHO Gigabyte has caught up to ASUS now in overall quality although ASUS might still hold the lead in BIOS support and updates. I consider them both pretty close together with a slight lean to ASUS because of their BIOS support. Gigabyte has made great strides in this area recently though. Having said that though you need to look at each mobo model individually. They both make some good mobo models and both make some not so good mobo models.

Just my two coppers

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: drakore
Personally for P35 board i think Gigabyte is a better choice. The P5K is crap, the deluxe is decent, the premium is excellent.

However the DQ6 is better than the Deluxe. The DS3R is much better than the P5K variants (excluding deluxe and premium).

The Vdroop issue is a pain and I have seen tonnes of people posting issues with the P5K//deluxe... However pretty much everyone loves the DS3R and DQ6.

I still love ASUS, and if i had the money and didn't have a DQ6 i would definitely get the P5K premium or Blitz extreme. However I only paid 180$ CAD for my DQ6 before P35's were released so that deal really can't be beat.

For medium end boards the DS3R is best.

Vdroop is a problem for all boards without mods.

 

[DAWbuilder]

Please elaborate on the "vdroop" issue and the fixes for it.

 

[simkuriakose]

Anybody Using Asus P5k Deluxe please share your experiences.

 

[jto168]

Originally posted by: simkuriakose
Requirements

Reliablity under high loads for hours since one of the basic Use is Gaming.
I will be using the XFX Geforce 8800 GTS XXX card.
2*1gb 800mhz DDR2 Ram. (Not going to Use DDR3)
I really not looking for overclocking since i dont know how to OC and haven't done yet.

If you don't plan on using DDR3 in the near future, then do not consider the Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R.

Consider the GA-P35-DS3R, or the GA-P35-DS3P, or the GA-P35-DQ6.

As for which board to get, it is a choice of price and features.

I choose the GA-P35-DS3R as I didn't require WiFi, Dual Gigabit LAN, ATi Crossfire, and 1394.

For the price, the Asus P5K Premium is a very feature rich board and will serve your needs accordingly if you absolutely need WiFi, Dual GB Lan, and the other features I mentioned.

The Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R is by no means an underperforming board because it does not have these hardware features, because the board itself is good for its intended purposes; excellent overclocking features, solid construction and materials, and good BIOS support from Gigabyte. A more even comparsion of Asus to Gigabyte would be the Asus P5K (vanilla) to the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R.

The DS3P and DQ6 are more feature rich in this aspect, and can be compared to the Asus P5K Premium more evenly.

I've been an Asus supporter for many years, and this is my first Gigabyte board. It has been performing very well, and I have not had any issues yet.

Good luck with your decision, you really can't go wrong with either one. Just determine what you need from your board, and find something that fits your needs and budget accordingly.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: DAWbuilder
Please elaborate on the "vdroop" issue and the fixes for it.

Vdroop is basically voltage drop inside windows and when putting a load on your CPU. What happens is something like this.

Lets say you set 1.4v in the BIOS, in windows your voltage will already be at a lower value, say 1.38v. Then when running something that puts a load on your CPU you will see even lower numbers say 1.36v. It will vary from motherboard to motherboard. The Asus P5K Deluxe/Premium have a vdrop damper option in the BIOS that will attempt to stabilize your voltage when overclocking to ensure the system remains crash free.

There are various hardware mods you can do to eliminate vdroop completely. They involve soldering points on the board and using a resistor to stabilize the voltage. I do not recommend doing these for 99.99% of all the users. I'd rather recommend setting a higher voltage in the BIOS in order to account for vdroop. For instance if you have a vdroop of .004v and you know you need 1.35v to remain stable then I'd recommend setting your voltage .004v higher than that value. In my example it would mean setting at least 1.39v in your BIOS.

 

[TheNewGuy]

Is vdroop an issue if you're not overclocking?

Dave

 

[Mojoed]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd

Originally posted by: DAWbuilder
Please elaborate on the "vdroop" issue and the fixes for it.

There are various hardware mods you can do to eliminate vdroop completely. They involve soldering points on the board and using a resistor to stabilize the voltage.

This sounds so simple. Anyone know why motherboard manufacturers don't produce boards with this voltage stabilizer resistor as part of standard motherboard design?

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: TheNewGuy
Is vdroop an issue if you're not overclocking?

Dave

no

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: Mojoed

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd

Originally posted by: DAWbuilder
Please elaborate on the "vdroop" issue and the fixes for it.

There are various hardware mods you can do to eliminate vdroop completely. They involve soldering points on the board and using a resistor to stabilize the voltage.

This sounds so simple. Anyone know why motherboard manufacturers don't produce boards with this voltage stabilizer resistor as part of standard motherboard design?

it isn't simple. The points are very small and you need to be pretty good at soldering to get it right without burning the board.

Vdroop on motherboards is well within the standards for electronics.

 

[Mojoed]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd

Originally posted by: Mojoed

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd

Originally posted by: DAWbuilder
Please elaborate on the "vdroop" issue and the fixes for it.

There are various hardware mods you can do to eliminate vdroop completely. They involve soldering points on the board and using a resistor to stabilize the voltage.

This sounds so simple. Anyone know why motherboard manufacturers don't produce boards with this voltage stabilizer resistor as part of standard motherboard design?

it isn't simple. The points are very small and you need to be pretty good at soldering to get it right without burning the board.

Vdroop on motherboards is well within the standards for electronics.

By simple I meant the concept, not the actual modification.

I'll attempt to rephrase my query.

PC enthusiasts seem to have many issues arising from Vdroop. Why don't enthusiast-class motherboard manufacturers do something about this? It seems to me even if Vdroop is within the standards for electronics, it would be a great selling point for high-end boards to have a voltage stabilizer resistor(s) as standard equipment regardless.

I really don't know much about this, so maybe I'm talking out of my arse. Logically it makes sense to me though.

 

[SerpentRoyal]

Quick clarification on Vdroop.

C1E and EIST are designed to lower Vcore and core speed when the CPU is idling or under low-medium load. This is good if you overclock your CPU. Unfortunately, some boards will not lower Vcore once the CPU voltage is set a little higher than default (even at default multi). With these boards, the CPU will run at the voltage set in BIOS even when the PC is idling. If the CPU is under load, then Vcore will drop further (Vdroop) which may cause system instability.

You could restore system stability under load by raising Vcore, but then the CPU would see too much voltage when it is idling. By applying the Vdroop mod, the Vcore will remain near the level set in BIOS.

There are boards that will work properly with C1E and EIST. For these boards, simply dial-in the required voltage to achieve system stability at the overclocked setting. When the PC is idling, then Vcore will drop down to a lower level to reduce heat and stress on the CPU.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: SerpentRoyal
Quick clarification on Vdroop.

C1E and EIST are designed to lower Vcore and core speed when the CPU is idling or under low-medium load. This is good if you overclock your CPU. Unfortunately, some boards will not lower Vcore once the CPU voltage is set a little higher than default (even at default multi). With these boards, the CPU will run at the voltage set in BIOS even when the PC is idling. If the CPU is under load, then Vcore will drop further (Vdroop) which may cause system instability.

You could restore system stability under load by raising Vcore, but then the CPU would see too much voltage when it is idling. By applying the Vdroop mod, the Vcore will remain near the level set in BIOS.

There are boards that will work properly with C1E and EIST. For these boards, simply dial-in the required voltage to achieve system stability at the overclocked setting. When the PC is idling, then Vcore will drop down to a lower level to reduce heat and stress on the CPU.

the vdroop I'm referring to is when C1E and EIST are turned OFF. You get a lower vcore than you set in the bios thus reducing some stability without compensating with setting a higher value in BIOS.

 

[DAWbuilder]

Any more comments from experienced users regarding the recent quality/reliability of ASUS motherboards vs Gigabyte motherboards?

 

[Tip3r]

I had a great Gigabyte motherboard back when i had a p3, can't remember the model but it never bothered me.I don't overcolock, I just stick it in start using.
I got a Ds3 last year which was my most frustrating motherboard experience ever! there seems to be alot of satisfied DS3 users, so it probably was just bad luck. I replaced it with a Asus P5b Deluxe which is faster and it hasn't given me any problems since.
overall though I guess it's just about the features.none of the two are the BETTER brand.

I'm currently in love with with my P5B Deluxe, but I've got to admit no one make more beautiful motherboards than Gigabyte.

 

[drakore]

Vdroop does vary board to board though... it's just that the asus one is killer.

Hmmm what about the DFI Infinity Blood as an option... DFI does make wicked boards.

Personally i am a fan of the DS3R and IP35-E. I dont think any of the asus boards are worth getting with the exception of the Premium and Blitz