P5B Deluxe VS. P5W DH Deluxe... which one for gaming rig???

[ghalk]

This is the deal. I'm building a new gaming rig, and I'm having a trouble deciding which MoBo works best for me on a gaming rig.

Some people say the P5B is slightly better, 'cause it has the newer P965 chipset and will be more "future proof", that means, I'll be able to put a Quad Core processor in a P5B in the future.

But i see lot of people who just pick P5W DH, with the 975X chipset...

wich one would you recommend for my new gaming rig? These are the specs so far:

Core 2 Duo 2.4
P5B Deluxe (or P5W DH Deluxe instead... thats the question)
Corsair 6400C4 2k ram 800 mhz 4-4-4-12
SoundBlaster Fatal1ty sound card
Sapphire X1900XT 512
PC power and cooling silencer 750W
Seagate 7200.10 320GB SATA2


sooo... P5W DH Deluxe or P5B Deluxe for a gaming rig? mostly the main question is, which one will be upgradeable to Quad Core processor, and which one wont?

Ty,
Ghalk.

 

[qwazzy]

I have picked the P5B for my E6600. It is also my first build. I HAVE NOT FOUND A FLAW OF THIS BOARD WHATSOEVER. The board is great. There is no way of knowing if they are going to surely support quad cores but why would you need quad core? We a lot don't have games and applications that are EVEN designed to take advantage of the 4 cores.

 

[rwaritsdario]

The P965 is "sure" to be able to upgrade to quad-core, but since all new toys it isnt as mature as the old players. Nobody has said anything about the 975X supporting quad-cores, but since the P5W is such a popular board this would be the smart way to go for Asus.
The 975X is right now the best Conroe motherboard, the one that overcloks and performs the best. But the P965 is getting new BIOS updates that allow for higher overcloking (unlocking some multipliers was the last I heard) and eventually for a Cross-fire setup.

Have you bought the rest of the parts already? Because if you havent I might have a few suggestions that wouldnt hurt

 

[ghalk]

I havent bought anything yet... btw Catalist 9 drivers for sapphire apparently allow the x1900xt 512 card to run in crossfire on the P5B now... thats what i heard

 

[rwaritsdario]

I havent bought anything yet... btw Catalist 9 drivers for sapphire apparently allow the x1900xt 512 card to run in crossfire on the P5B now... thats what i heard

This Anandtech review covers the new BIOS revision. Im not sure if there was another review in that same site.

What I wanted to suggest is that even that Corsair is a very good brand, any other DDR2 800 with 4-4-4-12 timings would perform almost the same (better or worse) because these timings and these speed indicate that theyre using the same Micron chips. My recommendation, go for the cheapest and double check compatibility with the RAM and mobo.

Also the X1900XTX is a steal right now compared to what it was a month ago, im sure it runs at around $50 more so IMO its worth it.

I couldnt find your PSU but check out the OCZ GameXstream series, they come in 600W and 700W. Quad 12v rails, high efficency, look good, PFC, high amperage, 5 stars reviews and very fairly priced.

 

[IcY18]

The P965 is "sure" to be able to upgrade to quad-core, but since all new toys it isnt as mature as the old players. Nobody has said anything about the 975X supporting quad-cores, but since the P5W is such a popular board this would be the smart way to go for Asus.
The 975X is right now the best Conroe motherboard, the one that overcloks and performs the best. But the P965 is getting new BIOS updates that allow for higher overcloking (unlocking some multipliers was the last I heard) and eventually for a Cross-fire setup.

Have you bought the rest of the parts already? Because if you havent I might have a few suggestions that wouldnt hurt

What you have said is the exact opposite of the truth, so far the 975x is the only chipset that for sure will support kentsfield, hopefully this won't be the only case, but as of now its only the 975x, what motherboard companies have been saying with drop-in compatibility is just to get you to buy it, they don't really know...

The price of the Core 2 Quadro Q6600 is likely to be higher than that of the premier Core 2 Duo, $530, but lower than that of the Core 2 Extreme, $999. The chips should be drop-in compatible with applications that support quad-core microprocessors, e.g., mainboards based on the Intel 975X chipsets that can work with Core 2 Duo.

Intel Preps Affordable Quad-Core Microprocessor.

Kentsfield: $850 Clovertown: $1170

 

[rwaritsdario]

The P965 is "sure" to be able to upgrade to quad-core, but since all new toys it isnt as mature as the old players. Nobody has said anything about the 975X supporting quad-cores, but since the P5W is such a popular board this would be the smart way to go for Asus.
The 975X is right now the best Conroe motherboard, the one that overcloks and performs the best. But the P965 is getting new BIOS updates that allow for higher overcloking (unlocking some multipliers was the last I heard) and eventually for a Cross-fire setup.

Have you bought the rest of the parts already? Because if you havent I might have a few suggestions that wouldnt hurt

What you have said is the exact opposite of the truth, so far the 975x is the only chipset that for sure will support kentsfield, hopefully this won't be the only case, but as of now its only the 975x, what motherboard companies have been saying with drop-in compatibility is just to get you to buy it, they don't really know...

The price of the Core 2 Quadro Q6600 is likely to be higher than that of the premier Core 2 Duo, $530, but lower than that of the Core 2 Extreme, $999. The chips should be drop-in compatible with applications that support quad-core microprocessors, e.g., mainboards based on the Intel 975X chipsets that can work with Core 2 Duo.

Intel Preps Affordable Quad-Core Microprocessor.

Kentsfield: $850 Clovertown: $1170

Your quote is an EXAMPLE of what it would be compatible with. "that can work with Core 2 Duo", meaning (according to that article) ALL chipsets that currently work on Conroe.

 

[Eurasianman]

This is the deal. I'm building a new gaming rig, and I'm having a trouble deciding which MoBo works best for me on a gaming rig.

Some people say the P5B is slightly better, 'cause it has the newer P965 chipset and will be more "future proof", that means, I'll be able to put a Quad Core processor in a P5B in the future.

But i see lot of people who just pick P5W DH, with the 975X chipset...

wich one would you recommend for my new gaming rig? These are the specs so far:

Core 2 Duo 2.4
P5B Deluxe (or P5W DH Deluxe instead... thats the question)
Corsair 6400C4 2k ram 800 mhz 4-4-4-12
SoundBlaster Fatal1ty sound card
Sapphire X1900XT 512
PC power and cooling silencer 750W
Seagate 7200.10 320GB SATA2


sooo... P5W DH Deluxe or P5B Deluxe for a gaming rig? mostly the main question is, which one will be upgradeable to Quad Core processor, and which one wont?

Ty,
Ghalk.

Everything seems pretty good. Similar to mine.

As previously stated, go to most websites and magazines and you'll find something saying something along the lines, "the ASUS P5W DH Deluxe is the best Conroe motherboard out there on the market right now that allows for extreme overclocking" and blah blah blah. The only thing that was tricky on the board was getting the audio to work! After bashing my keyboard for an hour on google, I finally just went to my computer and went to Device Manager... BAM! Unknown Driver! Hit the update button and viola! Sound works! But you don't need to worry about that since you're using a Audigy card (plan to get one...when I have the money). Um... just make sure you get a good case with good cooling and replace all the paste that ASUS uses with some artic silver 5 before putting the mobo in the case! Oh yea, OCZ GameXStream Power Supplies... I ordered one from nxxxxx.com and my mobo rebooted detecting an over voltage. Sure enough, the 12V was measuring 12.7V! So, I RMA the online retailer just to recieve a new one...SAME ISSUE! Called OCZ, they got me an upgrade (originally had the 600W) to the 700W and overnight shipping (doesn't help when you call them on Friday ) So, yea, this one was cutting it close... 12.5V on the 12V, but so far, my computer is running great! Just need to get a different CPU cooler and ATI cooler... I was aiming for the "quiet" computer... stock coolers dont' cut it! Also, if you get the ASUS P5W DH Deluxe, make sure to remove the plastic on all 3 heatsinks (the north, south, and the one on the very bottom right of the motherboard (not sure it's a heatsink, just know there was plastic film on it)) and go ahead and remove the stupid ASUS covers on the north and south bridges to help the air flow.

Have fun!

P.S. You should have ordered the RAM back in August when it was $100 cheaper!!!

 

[ghalk]

greatly apreciated eurasianman... actually, i already had the silver artic 5 on my buy list

 

[Eurasianman]

Intel's Core 2 Quadro Kentsfield: Four Cores on a Rampage

Go there, and people talk more about Quad Core and what motherboards. Some say the P5W DH Deluxe will be ready for Quad Core... some say the P5B is more quad core ready due to it's newer and it's technology.

IMO, no offense to Intel, but if they can allow 975/965 chipsets work, would be some what of an act of God if you recall Intel's past about the LGA 775, you know?