Oh yeah, as far as cheap, well, usually i find that $10 savings isn't worth the hassle of getting hardware through an unknown or nonreputable dealer such as the lowest price from PriceWatch.
That said, I've always found Mwave.com to treat me well. Just be careful and order the proper kit, as there is a 15% restocking fee.
The i815EP is not a rumor, its true, and Asus already has a board out.
However, I believe the MSI 815E Pro is currently the best buy for all i815E boards, because it can be had for ~$30 less than the Asus, and has comparable features.
I have a CUSL-2 and I can't say enough good things about it.
The "cold boot bug" is highly overrated. I had a cB0 P3-700e that wouldn't overclock very well on the CUSL-2. I blamed it on the bug. So, I got an Abit SE-6. It overclocked better on the CUSL-2. I now have a different 700e, that has no problems hitting 1ghz.
I hear the MSI board is good, but I have no experience with it.
If anything, though depending on your needs I would wait for the Asus CUSL2-C, that all depends on your need for onboard vid. Plus it's cheaper, but you will have to wait...I'm setting aside my purchase of CUSL2 until the CUSL2-C comes out and has a well written BIOS.
yea the onboard video is useless, but there really isnt enuf difference to wait a really long time if you need it right away. the extra ram capacity might be nice, but how many people have more than say 256mb anyways?
Somehow people are thinking that the i815EP will magically outperform the i815E, the thing is, its not going to happen. i815EP is merely an i815E w/o video and has bigger RAM support. If the user does not need more than 512MB its not going to make a difference.
<< I'm setting aside my purchase of CUSL2 until the CUSL2-C comes out and has a well written BIOS. >>
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the current CUSL2 BIOS. If flashing is too much to ask, then wait for the CUSL2-C, bet it's at least January before you get one. Yeah, they said it hits retail in December, but retail where? Maybe in Taiwan. Add at least a month or more to get ample stock in the US.
I have the CUSL2, and am very happy with it. I think it was um...LXi that mentioned that the MSI looks good also. Its cheaper and has integrated sound. The CUSL2 generally, does not.
The cold boot "bug" has not been corrected as of the latest beta bios. Let me clarify what exactly this bug does though. Asus might not consider it a bug at all.
On a cold boot the board loads up the voltage at default ALWAYS which is 1.65V for a FC-PGA. After posting and just as the OS is beginning to load up it sets the voltage that you have selected in the bios. What this means is that if you have a cpu that can not boot cold at 1.65V with your OC settings you will get this "bug" I have a P3-700E @ 952 1.85V and I can not cold boot at 1.65V at 952. The higest I can go without the cold boot issue is 910.
There is some debate as to whether this is a "bug" or it was put in there on purpose by Asus. If the latter is the case then there will never be a fix for this. I have had the board since August and I have gotten used to it. It adds an extra minute to my loading on a cold boot, and I now leave on the machine more than any other before it, but beyond that you would get used to it.
Thanks guys, I just got through a nice 5 hour nap. How refreshing. It looks as if I might be waiting for the CUSL2-C. I was planning on putting off the motherboard for a while anyways as I should probably replace this p.o.s. case. Last time I ever get a case with plastic side panels! Although the cool blue color was very eye-catching at the time.
I know guys are having certain problems with the CUSL-2, but I have to say that mine has been workin' great.
Re the "cold-boot" prob, I'm runnin' BIOS 1003 and noticed that when I 1st went from 1.65 to 1.75, the BIOS hardware monitoring did still show 1.65 until I re-booted, but now, any time I enter the BIOS, under hardware monitoring vcore shows as 1.75.
Mike G
I was not speaking of a reboot. When you first turn on the system and go right into the bios hardware monitoring should read 1.65V always. Can you test this and verify? Many people at CUSL2.com also thought like you did but when they re-checked they saw on a cold boot that its always 1.65V
Let me know, as its interesting to compare. I have heard of some (few) people at CUSL2.com that have the voltage stick at all times. Maybe you are one of the "chosen"
i am running my CUSL2 at original bios. can any tell me what major issues have been addressed in subsequent revisions? i dont want to flash my bios because last time i did it with my CUSL2. the system stoped even booting up. i had to return it and now if some thing goes wrong i wont be able to retun it as warrantly is no longer there. (PS i am getting smooth as silk play in Counter strike and thats about all that taxes my system resources)
I have a cusl2 and I don't even know what cold boot problem you guys are talking about. I have a 700e overclocked to 854 1.75volts (awaiting powersupply Rma)and don't have any of the problems you all are talking about. I would reccomend this board to anyone.
I have a pair of CUSL2 w/512MB ram on each.. it's been very good, except the problem I had with the memory but that was fix with help from AndyHui.. (turning the SDRAM strength to strong).
I'm very happy with this puppy, it hasn't giving me any problems...
I like to get the CUSL2-C, I check the asus Taiwan ftp site and the manual & bios is there but it still says 512mb ram max... but they didn't change the manual over..
You do not have the cold boot problem because you can cold boot at 854 at 1.65V with no problems. I could go all the way to 910 myself without having the problem. Again the CUSL2 loads the voltage after posting just as the OS begins to load. This does not applies to reboots, just to cold boots only.
I have a P3-700 FCPGA Totally stable at 952 currently @ 1.85V on a CUSL2. When I mean stable I mean I can leave the system on for a few days with no crashes at all or run 3dmark2000 in loops over 24 hours. I can play 3dgames as long as I want to. I can run it at 1.85V up to 980 with little problems stability wise. At 1.65V I am not stable at anything over 854.
In the case of Week20 FCPGA 700's coupled with a CUSL2 you will find that this board is a rock when it comes to overclocking.
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