Please help me choose P35 motherboard

[zeroneleven]

I'm planning my first computer build but I'm having trouble choosing a motherboard. I need one with onboard firewire. I've narrowed it down to these two:

- Asus P5K-E

- Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P

I've considered all the others in this price/spec range (including the Abit IP35) and these two seem to meet my needs the best.

I'll be running an Intel Core 2 Duo E8400, two WD sata HDD's, an Asus EN7300GT video card and a Corsair CMPSU-520HX power supply. Not sure what RAM yet, but it'll definitely be 4GB DDR2 800.

This will be used as a digital audio workstation. Stability is the most important consideration, followed by low noise level, and speed. I probably won't overclock, unless I can increase performance without losing stability.

I'd appreciate any thoughts you may have on which board to go with.
Thanks very much.

 

[zeroneleven]

Forgot to mention that processor hasn't been released yet.

I'm assumung both boards will support the new Intel cpu's.

 

[imported_Husky55]

Originally posted by: zeroneleven
Forgot to mention that processor hasn't been released yet.

I'm assumung both boards will support the new Intel cpu's.

They are both topnotch, you will need to update the bios to support Yorkfield. With the 8400 you really do not need to OC since it default at 3.0 MHz which is plenty fast.

 

[zeroneleven]

Thanks, that's good to know since I'd rather not OC.

I'm just reading some reviews that Asus quality control is not as good as it used to be. Also, that board has some generic firewire controller compared to the TI firewire on the Gigabyte.

So I think I may get the Gigabyte board. But I'm still not sure.

Any other suggestions?

 

[renethx]

What is the current status of power consumption of ASUS P35 mbs? P5K-E is just a stripped-down version of P5K Deluxe (bad power circuitry), so its power consumption must be still terrible.

P5K Deluxe: 152W at idle, 169W at load
GA-P35-DQ6: 118W at idle, 141W at load
IP35 Pro: 114W at idle, 141W at load

 

[bigsnyder]

The Gigabyte board features an Agere firewire chipset. I didn't realize these were
generic since Agere is a spinoff of Lucent. Just curious if there are any reviews
which compare the TI chips to these?

 

[mageslayer]

both should be awesome boards for you, choose one that best fits your budget

 

[zeroneleven]

Well, I was going to go with the P5K-E, but then I read several threads about unstable BIOS updates. The stock BIOS (0703) seems OK but there are some complaints about the latest update (0906), which I will need for the Penryn chip.

Also, Asus's vdroop feature concerns me.

Add to that the Agere firewire vs. the TI firewire on the Gigabyte.

Plus newegg dropped the price of the Gigabyte board by $10.

So now I just don't know. I want to pick the right board.

Now my head hurts

 

[bigsnyder]

Well the original GA-P35-DS3P seems to have disappeared from newegg.
However I did see this one: GA-EP35-DS3P The only difference I see is
"official" support via oc for 1600FSB. However, being that the P5K-E
is about $25-30 cheaper, that is my current choice.

 

[Heidfirst]

the abit IP35 Pro is $150 after rebate http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813127030 with free shipping.

 

[imported_johnnycash]

I was going to build with the same Gigabyte board but now its gone from newegg site it says its a Deactivated Item what does that mean. bigsnyder the gigabyte board you show the ga-ep35 ds3p says the supported memory is 1200 oc)/1066 is that the 1066 oced to 1200 or what i know the 1200 memory cost more then 1066.

 

[bigsnyder]

It probably means it actually supports DDR2-1200 modules. While most 1066 will probably support an overclock to 1200,
there is no way Gigabyte (or any motherboard manufacturer) will guarantee your memory to overclock that high. The
DDR2-1200 support is probably a result of the FSB1600 support.