The performance difference between the 875P and 865PE is slim to none. I recommend the Abit IS7 (around $90) after owning several boards twice that price (including the Asus P4C800-E Deluxe, which is GARBAGE, tell your friend that too).
OH, but let me tell you MORE about the Asus P4C800-E Deluxe! People buy the board because so many sites recommend it. Sites that recommend it because they HAVEN'T TESTED IT PROPERLY. You see, it's nearly impossible to discover the problems of this board with only a few hours testing!
If you want to read a REAL review of the P4C800-E Deluxe, read <A HREF="http://www.sysopt.com/reviews/asus-P4C800-E_Deluxe/index.html" target="_new">This one from Sysopt</A>. No, it's not the shiney webpage that so many other sites bring you, but it exposes a nearly universal flaw in the board that can show up anywhere between 1 day and 1 year after you start using it: The VRM cannot properly control CPU core voltage over extended use.
Now, I have a Soyo P4I875P Dragon 2 version 1.0, it's a fine board, but limitted in vCore selection. If you plan on overclocking, that could also be a problem.
But why spend $180 on a motherboard when you can get nearly the same features in a quality board for $90? So yes, the P4I875P Dragon2 Version 1.0 is a fine board, but probably not worth the added expense over the IS7.
Now, as a system builder I know which brand I recommend: Abit, because they actually replace boards for people. Abit had a bad run of boards a few years back, I bought blown boards from people who didn't know any better, and Abit replaced them all free. Which means I got a like-new board but only paid for "junk". Couldn't do that with Asus. And Soyo's warranty isn't worth the paper it's written on.
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