Frustrated with MB options for Conroe

[xboxist]

Unless I'm overlooking one of the selections on the "cheap and stable" side of the spectrum, everything available seems too buggy or too rushed to consider. The cheap Intel board seems to be having a lot of problems for some people. The even cheaper boards appear to lack vital features.

Can someone help me select a board that will run my 1.9V DDR2-667, E6600 without needs for overclocking? And preferrably something that isn't above $175 since I don't need most of the features that come with boards of that type?

 

[faramith]

im in your same situation I already ordered the E6600 and Corsair XMS2 DDR2-667 but im not sure what MB to buy since theres a lot of unstable boards out there, still I might need to finish my PC soon so im running out of time for choosing the MB. I also will run it stock. I hope someone can help us I dont care how much the board costs tho i just need it soon.

Edit: I was considering the Intel "BadAxe" but someone told me he is having USB problems, also Mwave.com told me have them in stock but they can't guarantee if they are the latest revision, TigerDirect.com said they will have them by next week. the Gigabite DS3 has a lot of RAM compatibility issues and since I already ordered the corsair ram Im not sure if it will work with the 667 ram.

 

[Baked]

I'm going to through the Gigabyte DS3 w/ F5C BIOS into the hat because I'm having great results with it. The BIOS options are easy to understand w/o getting over complicated. I've ran my E6400 w/ DDR2 800 RAM at stock speed, 3200, and 3400 without any problem under load for extended period of time.

 

[faramith]

Originally posted by: Baked
I'm going to through the Gigabyte DS3 w/ F5C BIOS into the hat because I'm having great results with it. The BIOS options are easy to understand w/o getting over complicated. I've ran my E6400 w/ DDR2 800 RAM at stock speed, 3200, and 3400 without any problem under load for extended period of time.

Thanks for your reply, The big question is do all DS3 come with that bios? or at least with a Bios version that can boot up with the Conroe chip then download the bios update and flash it? Thanks

 

[kmmatney]

This one seems OK...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128015

 

[xboxist]

The "BadAxe" isn't something that I would consider since it's way out of my price range for a MB, for the features I want.

Anand didn't mention any UBS problems on his mini-review of that board. I'm thinking it just might be an isolated incident, or a bad batch, or something.

 

[Talcite]

I'm using the badaxe, and it's been stable so far. All the problems i've had on this system are attributed to software. Rev. 304 or 305 will work, and 304's been out since june.

I don't know what problems with USB you are referring to though.

 

[faramith]

Originally posted by: Talcite
I'm using the badaxe, and it's been stable so far. All the problems i've had on this system are attributed to software. Rev. 304 or 305 will work, and 304's been out since june.

I don't know what problems with USB you are referring to though.

Kyanzes Describes his BadAxe MB problem and his father's BadAxe is behaving the same here:

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=28&threadid=1918437&enterthread=y

 

[Talcite]

The thread wasn't so old, I won't revive it.

First there's a whole bunch of bioses he can use, 1334 isn't the only board with conroe support. And there's a new one, 1531 out i believe.

We need to know his board revision, and AA number. It's hard to say, because there's so many potential things to throw off the USB. We also need to know what OS he's using, and what chipset driver revision.

So many things to check. I'd help him if he asked for it though. And my D975xbx was solid, after i fixed up the initial problems windows 2000 had with the system. (bad driver compatibility)

 

[Compellor]

I'm having great luck with the ASUS P5B vanilla board:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131030

At stock speeds this board is solid as a rock. I've been running it 24/7 since August 21st. I'm running some Corsair DDR2-667 on it and it runs great with a small overclock. I've had no crashes or lockups.

If you need RAID then get the deluxe version. Update the BIOS to the latest one if you get it.

 

[faramith]

Originally posted by: Compellor
I'm having great luck with the ASUS P5B vanilla board:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131030

At stock speeds this board is solid as a rock. I've been running it 24/7 since August 21st. I'm running some Corsair DDR2-667 on it and it runs great with a small overclock. I've had no crashes or lockups.

If you need RAID then get the deluxe version. Update the BIOS to the latest one if you get it.

One reviewer stated: Cons: DOES NOT come Core 2 Duo compatible. You WILL have to flash the bios. Notice the sticker says Core Duo compatible, NOT Core 2 Duo, so if you're using a Conroe processor you'll have to flash your bios.

If this is true that just makes me not want to buy it, i need a board i can load without trouble, im no tech guy

 

[Compellor]

Originally posted by: faramith
One reviewer stated: Cons: DOES NOT come Core 2 Duo compatible. You WILL have to flash the bios. Notice the sticker says Core Duo compatible, NOT Core 2 Duo, so if you're using a Conroe processor you'll have to flash your bios.

If this is true that just makes me not want to buy it, i need a board i can load without trouble, im no tech guy

The P5B box CLEARLY says: "Intel Core 2 Ready." Mine came with an early BIOS (170) and it started right up. I didn't flash the BIOS until after I installed WinXP. The ASUS EZ-Flash makes flashing the BIOS real easy if you think you need to. The only thing I will suggest is not to use any OCZ memory with this board. Many people with this board have had problems with it. The Gigabyte board has had similar issues.

 

[FreedomGUNDAM]

have u considered the Gigabyte GA-945P-S3??? Just read a review on hardcoreware.net that shows that the 945P-S3 mobo supports the Conroe, has o/c options and since the 945P chipset is a year old, is more mature.

 

[Matts0344]

Originally posted by: Compellor

Originally posted by: faramith
One reviewer stated: Cons: DOES NOT come Core 2 Duo compatible. You WILL have to flash the bios. Notice the sticker says Core Duo compatible, NOT Core 2 Duo, so if you're using a Conroe processor you'll have to flash your bios.

If this is true that just makes me not want to buy it, i need a board i can load without trouble, im no tech guy

The P5B box CLEARLY says: "Intel Core 2 Ready." Mine came with an early BIOS (170) and it started right up. I didn't flash the BIOS until after I installed WinXP. The ASUS EZ-Flash makes flashing the BIOS real easy if you think you need to. The only thing I will suggest is not to use any OCZ memory with this board. Many people with this board have had problems with it. The Gigabyte board has had similar issues.

Its true that the box says that but some P5Bs do not have the required BIOS, I coulden't believe it myself that a product would ship saying "Core 2 Duo compatible" on the box but actually not be that I called Asus to make sure. The tech I talked to confirmed that some do not have the BIOS to run C2Ds and if you don't have an extra CPU to flash the BIOS you will need to ship the board to Asus to have them flash it.

This is one of the reasons why I chose the DS3.

 

[Compellor]

BIOS 170 will have you up and running. BIOS 211 and 309 (current) are both fine. I kind of doubt there are many (if any) P5B boards in the channel right now that are shipping with the 162 release BIOS. I'd say the chances of getting one that has that first release BIOS is very slim since these things are flying off the shelf everywhere.

 

[filmore crashcart]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16
13128015

This is the board I'm using with a e6600 and 2 gigs of Corsair 2x 667 ddr2. I'm not oc, so it seems decent enough and, so far, pretty stable.