Asus Boards: good or bad?

[nereus7]

just read a bit about ASUS stuff failing a lot and them being idiots about trying to replace it. Am I running a risk buying the ASUS "P4P800S" i848P Chipset Motherboard for Intel Socket 478 CPU?

My system will be:
Intel Pentium 4/ 2.8E GHz 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache, Hyper Threading Technology
Western Digital Special Edition 80GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model WD800JB, OEM Drive Only
Radeon 9600PRO/XT
2xKingston 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200
and it will be stored in the Enermax case:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-124-071&depa=1

 

[blackphoenix77]

It would probably be fine, but I would go ABIT.

<font color=blue>AthlonXP-M 2500+(12x211)</font color=blue>
<font color=green>Abit NF7-S</font color=green>
<font color=red>Kingston DDR400 2x256Mb</font color=red>

 

[nereus7]

would u reccomend this:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-127-161&depa=1

 

[BeyRevRa]

The people that have reviewed it seem to be pleased. I haven't personally used the motherboard but I can agree that I would recommend MSI or ABIT over ASUS. If your building a budget PC that motherboard should be good, if you can afford it I would look for one with at least 3 ram slots for future upgrading and raid capabilities would be nice too.

AMD 64 3400+
MSI K8N Neo Platinum
1 GB Kingston HyperX PC3200
ATI AIW 9600XT
WD Raptor 74GB

 

[Crashman]

Asus boards are sometimes good and sometimes barely sufficient. Few are truely bad. I wouldn't bother getting an i848P motherboard when, even if 50% more, i865P boards are still well under $100.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[nereus7]

looked up the board i865P board on new egg and the reviews weren't so well.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-127-156&depa=1

so I think i'll stay with the i848P, id it'll do everything I need it to

 

[Crashman]

I have some GREAT NEWS FOR YOU! The board you said doesn't look so good is the SAME BOARD! The 848P chipset is the 865P with dual-channel disabled. And dual channel offers a HUGE performance benefit for the P4. In fact, if you're not using Dual Channel you might as well be building a cheap AMD Sempron system.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[jammydodger]

Go with an i865 chipset board (any second now crashman will recommend you the Abit IS7, it is a good board apparently). Also I would ditch that P4E CPU your getting, and go for a 2.8Ghz P4C instead. The 1MB of L2 cache fools you into thinking the prescott P4 is better than the older northwoods but in fact it is hotter, uses more power and is often slower. Overclocks a little better but unless you plan on overclocking past 3.5 the northwood is they way to go.

 

[El_Jefe_77]

I think Asus is pathetic garbage. People that have 1-2 asus boards with "no problems" havent been a tech with these things. They are classic amd+asus=cheap overclocking conflicte board fried or DOA systems. They always offer updates to their bios, and you know why?.... My tualatin accepting Intel boards havent been updated in a couple of years, never had to be.

Abit is top, but normally lags behind in some critical feature that you wouldnt know you lacked until you read some new guide. MSI is best in flushed out/less-bottleneck features, but sometimes they wont provide a proper bios revision, which keeps the feature you THINK you have working, not exactly working at full speed. I still am going with a new msi board with a via chipset, most tried and true for speed this past year. I am guessing that the influx of people buying MSI will increase their efforts and available cash to provide updates on their NEW boards.

 

[nereus7]

That is good news, guys

Bad news is that i ordered the CPU yesterday damn newegg and their "one day" sales...Do you think 2 fans on that enermax case will be enough? (also, its got a temp. reader on the front, whats a good temp. I should be hoping for?)

So, following your reccomendations I checked out the mobo and figured I could spend 20 more bucks on this one, and I'll feel safer with Abit:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-127-155&depa=0

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by nereus7 on 08/10/04 12:47 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[jammydodger]

The prescott CPU is very hot, but at 2.8 it shouldnt be too bad. Expect to see temps in the high 50's-60's. The prescott's maximum temperature is 110 degrees C, so dont worry about it overheating. But more heat = less reliability+shorter lifespan.

That board should be fine, might need a BIOS update to run the prescott but im not sure.

 

[nereus7]

this is my first computer that I'm going to be building, so ignore my ignorance

How do I upgrade the bios if it wont work with the CPU without it?

 

[El_Jefe_77]

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-127-155&depa=0

that there is a very solid mobo. A great choice. I would not ever use a Prescott however, its a furnace for a lil power boost. If you go for it though, i recommend water cooling, a cheap do it yourself besides waterblocks, using Eheim pumps and such. Then you could even overclock it

at least you chose abit, a very stable and completely supported mobo company, id say better than intel even themselves. Also, they are decent about you getting a replacement if something blows.

 

[endyen]

Reality check! You like Intel boards, but not Asus.
Intel boards are crap because of the bios. Intel makes damn sure that nothing gets "stressed" on one of thier boards.
I will agree that many of the Intel boards have been well made, with good part's, but expect that to change. You see, Intel does not make thier own boards. In the past, most have been made by Asus, but Asus stopped making them, about a month ago. oh well.
I am really dissapointed that no-one suggested that this boy build an A64 system. He should have an A64-2800+ on an Asrock K8S8X board for $50. less.

 

[nereus7]

Well I've already ordered the Prescott, so I'm stuck there :\

 

[Unolocogringo]

That is an asus board. Well a subsidary none the less.

I aint signing nothing!!!

 

[endyen]

I dont have any problem with Asus boards. On the odd occasion where an rma was necasary, it was quick and easy. I have built a lot of systems with Asus boards, and have been very happy. If the odd board is bad, that is normal. It's just that Asus builds so many boards. I like the 3 year warranty.
This doesn't mean that I only build Asus systems. There is always a good lower cost board available, which is what I use for most builds. I also like most Abit boards.
for the scotty (if I absolutly cant talk them out of it, cause it's just a bad choice, I would use the Abit IC7 max or the p4c800. A better choice would be a P4c and an IS7.
Those would be enthusiast systems, for newbs.
Anyone who knows will build A64, preferably on an Nforce3 250Gb chipset. The sis 755 chipset is for non-enthusiasts, who want bang for buck, at mimimum cost.

 

[Unolocogringo]

I allways use Asus Boards.
P5a-b
P2b
P3V4X (sux Via chipset.)
P3B-F
CUSL2
TUSL2
P4P800

I aint signing nothing!!!

 

[El_Jefe_77]

Yeah, liking intel boards is bad? maybe on speed tests, but you can buy one, and be assured it works perfectly and smoothly with all accessories, pci cards, agp cards, ram and chips. Abit is almost the same, some freak things havent worked until patching in the past.

asus has made a lot of crap for many years, with lots of odd problems for longer. I wouldnt trust a company who did that, even if now they make great boards for some people.

 

[Worf101]

I've had mixed results with ASUS. When I built my first system I had two ASUS boards go belly up. New Egg was stand-up and they took both back. I was sick of dealing with UPS/FedEx so paid way too much for an EPox board locally. When time came to build my current system, being more experienced, Iooked at ASUS again and all the review's I could find. The Socket 939 ASUS A8V Deluxe I use with my FX-53 has been a champ so far.

The Chipset, utilities, versatility of the bios have impressed me to the point where I intend to upgrade my son's rig with a new ASUS board next week.

Da Worfster

If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything.

 

[El_Jefe_77]

yeah, this seems to be the way it goes. Asus just puts stuff out, if you get lucky, its a great edition, if you dont, return over half the merchandise. oh joy.

Ati boards are made by ASUS i hear, but that doesnt mean anything to me. All it means is that ATI refuses to have the junk level design and electronics put onto their name brand. shrugs.

 

[Unolocogringo]

I have built many computers over the years. All using asus boards, The only ones I have experienced problems with is the VIA and SIS chipset boards.

Of course now I will never use VIA chipsets. And the new SIS chipsets seem to be better and stable.

But I guess it is hard to make a motherboard stable with an unstable chipset.(VIA)

I aint signing nothing!!!