p8p67 Regular or Pro?

[Hogan773]

I am not a gamer.

Trying to figure out if I need to spend extra 30 bucks on the Pro model for P8P67.

Biggest (only?) difference seems to be the extra PCI 16 slot and ability to SLI.

I doubt I'll ever need a dual GPU setup. If I do and go with the regular, can I still Crossfire I guess? But at x16/x4? Is Crossfire at x16/x4 useless vs x8/x8 which I could do on the Pro?

And Crossfire only will limit me to choosing AMD Radeon cards right? Not that I care, just wondering.

Thanks for any advice. 30 bucks may be worth it "just in case" but since I'm likely to buy nothing fancier than a 5670 I doubt in next 4 years I'll become a super-gamer. I already have Wii and PS3 and dont play those too much as it is.

 

[Seven]

Bought a non pro version. Don't need the SLI. The MC combo deal was really good. I didn't expect to get a good MB for $120.

 

[Hogan773]

Now I'm also intrigued by the ASRock Extreme

 

[zod96]

The only other difference is the Pro version uses an Intel gigabit Lan Ethernet port where as the non pro model uses Realtek I believe, and as you mentioned the ability to SLI or crossfire, but those are really the only 2 differences in the boards. I went with the pro because I would like to have the Intel Lan and not the Realtek...

 

[StinkyPinky]

I just got regular since I'm not a fan of crossfire/sli anyway.

 

[50684574]

x8+x8 I think~

 

[Doggiedog]

The only other difference is the Pro version uses an Intel gigabit Lan Ethernet port where as the non pro model uses Realtek I believe, and as you mentioned the ability to SLI or crossfire, but those are really the only 2 differences in the boards. I went with the pro because I would like to have the Intel Lan and not the Realtek...

Is the Intel version better? I have the Deluxe which is more expensive than the Pro and it has a Realtek LAN port. They provide you with a disk containing the Intel driver and I installed it not knowing I had Realtek. It really screwed up my MB.

 

[ss284]

Get the non pro. Faster video cards will come out. Even the non pro can do crossfire, but judging by what you are using now, there will never be a need for it.

 

[Spike]

Is the Intel version better? I have the Deluxe which is more expensive than the Pro and it has a Realtek LAN port. They provide you with a disk containing the Intel driver and I installed it not knowing I had Realtek. It really screwed up my MB.

I thought the deluxe had dual gigabit lans, one intel and one realtek?

 

[harbin]

Now I'm also intrigued by the ASRock Extreme

I ordered the Asrock extreme4 over asus pro because:

1) The clear cmos button
2) The Debug LED
3) Cheaper
4) USB3.0 front panel

1 and 2 will be very handy for o/c.

 

[PUN]

Is the Intel version better? I have the Deluxe which is more expensive than the Pro and it has a Realtek LAN port. They provide you with a disk containing the Intel driver and I installed it not knowing I had Realtek. It really screwed up my MB.

Deluxe has dual Gigabit lan.
Plug it in the intel lan.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

PRO, just sounds cooler.

 

[dpodblood]

I ordered the Asrock extreme4 over asus pro because:

1) The clear cmos button
2) The Debug LED
3) Cheaper
4) USB3.0 front panel

1 and 2 will be very handy for o/c.

I am thinking of getting one of these as well for the same reasons. ASRock is a sister company of ASUS as well, so the quality should be about the same.

 

[Hogan773]

I am thinking of getting one of these as well for the same reasons. ASRock is a sister company of ASUS as well, so the quality should be about the same.

Yeah I'm kind of leaning this way too (obviously others did as Newegg is sold out of ASROCK right this moment). Seems like you get a Pro (or actually Deluxe) features for the price of a Regular Asus. The Tom's roundup doesn't really help as it just tells all the stats and the charts basically say all the mobos perform the same.....

 

[GR8Madmax]

Hogan - I have a PRO and have been having cold boot issues. It seems that the board isn't detecting ram above 1333 correctly. Keep an eye on this before you pick it up. See link below for more info.

http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx...d_id=1&model=P8P67+PRO&page=1&SLanguage=en-us

Once they sort it out it looks like a very good board. I liked the extra 2 SATA compared to the lower end Gigabyte boards. I am running my 2600k @ 4.7ghz (1.35v) but can easily take it higher.

 

[RussianSensation]

Deluxe has dual Gigabit lan.
Plug it in the intel lan.

Why? Realtek and Intel Lan have nearly identical throughput performance.

 

[PUN]

Why? Realtek and Intel Lan have nearly identical throughput performance.

"The ASUS P8P67 Deluxe using the Intel gigabit LAN controller had slightly lower throughput, likely nothing that would affect performance, but the CPU usage was significantly lower. In fact it was only 41% of the CPU usage of the next system"

that's why.
The same reason why KillerNIC goes for $100

 

[RussianSensation]

but the CPU usage was significantly lower. In fact it was only 41% of the CPU usage of the next system"

Right, but the CPU usage isn't like 2% vs. 40%:

1.78% CPU usage (Intel) vs.
4.80% CPU usage (Realtek)

When you have 4.4-4.6ghz 2500/2600k, I doubt this is an issue. I suppose if you transfer at 900MB/sec all the time.

 

[IanWorthington]

iirc the pro also has 2x (powered) esata on the i/o ports. I think the base version has a bracket to carry a single non-powered esata.

 

[Doggiedog]

Thanks for the education. I didn't know I had dual LANs. In fact, I just looked and the Intel port had a sticker covering it over saying Try It! I had to rip it off. I would never have known.

 

[StriperMike]

Since you have no intentions of SLI I would opt for the non-Pro board and save yourself the $30 or so. The difference between an Intel vs Realtek NIC are negligible.

 

[Doggiedog]

Still can't get the Intel NIC to go. It flakes out. After 10 mins, it stops working. I've installed all of the drivers but no cigar. I'll just stick with the Realtek.

 

[Hogan773]

Since you have no intentions of SLI I would opt for the non-Pro board and save yourself the $30 or so. The difference between an Intel vs Realtek NIC are negligible.

Is SLI better? Or just the Nvidia equiv of AMD crossfire?

 

[Hogan773]

iirc the pro also has 2x (powered) esata on the i/o ports. I think the base version has a bracket to carry a single non-powered esata.

Sorry I'm a noob - what does powered Esata get me? Hot swapping (ie ability to plug in and go rather than reboot?

 

[Dangerer]

I have the Pro, since my DDR3 kit hasn't come in the mail yet, I'll be returning the Pro for the regular edition as soon as MC restocks them. Thought about it a bit, and I have no intensions of going SLI plus I'd have to buy a new power supply to run it anyway. I'd rather switch the boards, save $43 bucks and put that towards an SSD or a new gaming monitor.