D975XBX2 or P5W DH?

[JamesRod]

Hello folks,

I'm just about to buy myself a new machine but I'm having some problems when it comes to deciding which motherboard I should go for. I've been reading some of tests through the internet but I'd like to ask your opion on this matter before spending my money, you know... just to be sure.

So, there goes the question: which motherboard would you buy? Intel D975XBX2 or Asus P5W DH Deluxe?

A lot of people recommended me Intel (which is more expensive than Asus - at least here in Brazil), but both of them have the same chipset so... is it really worth it?

I'm going for:
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
Motherboard: ?
Memory: 1GB DDR2 667 Corsair (x2)
Graphics: GeForce 7900GT

That's the best configuration I could come up with according to the amount of money I can spend. So, what do you think of it?

Well, think that's all.

Thanks a lot for your help, guys!
Ya'll have a nice one.

Cheers, James.

Ps.: I'm going to use this machine to work with 3D softwares like XSI, ZBrush, Mudbox, etc.

 

[dragonsprayer]

asus all the way unless u plan entering the intel contest for custom cases for oem's only!

bad ax - was known to loose it bios settings, this happens with asus 975s too - i think its a chipset issue that may have been fixed.

again this is from 7/06

 

[pausert20]

Mmmmm, I had not heard about the Bad Axe loosing Bios settings but the Bad Axe 2 Bios code has been updated to the same base as all of the other Intel Broadwater (965) motherboards.

Also, if you want to go crazy with your DDR2 Voltage overvoltage Bad Axe 2 can go all the way to 2.8V not that I would recommend that but Intel addressed all of the overclocking limitations that came out in the review of the original Bad Axe.

I'm using a Bad Axe -302 board reworked to support both Conroe and Kentsfield processors and I'm running with a QX6700

Also, the Bad Axe 2 has the capability to be reworked to support the new 45nm Wolfdale processors.

 

[bkiserx7]

i would save money on the board by getting a DS3 and spend the extra on another gig of ram. I don't know what is available to you in brazil or what features you are looking for in your board, but that is what i would do.

 

[JamesRod]

Thanks for the reply, guys!

bkiserx7, actually, it's easier to find Asus and Gigabyte motherboards here than the Intel D975XBX2, for example (which was not hard to find at all, anyways). But I don't really know Gigabyte, man... never had one. That's why I was thinking about Intel or Asus (I've already had both of them and no big issues). I'm not a fan of Intel or Asus or whatever... just wanna stable machine. Would you recommend that DS3? I'll see if I can do some research on it.

To be honest, after this thread and after looking at some benchmarks I'm almost buying that P5W DH...

Oh, and by the way... don't think I'll overclock it

Thanks a lot one more time, people!
Cheers, James.

 

[Vokofpolisiekar]

After I saw my dad's P5W, and my Intel board died on me (probably my own fault), I decided to go for the P5B (965 chipset) and I couldn't be any more happier.

Even though I had the XBX, and not the XBX2, I still felt restricted with Intel's BIOS options. Damn stable though.

 

[bkiserx7]

Well still, I would save some money and go with the P5B-E, P5B Deluxe, P5B Deluxe WiFi, or DS3 (see links). All very stable and single video card boards. The 965 chipset seems more to your liking since you wont be running crossfire. There is nothing wrong with the P5W DH Deluxe, as you can see I use it, but I'm goin to eBay it so I can get me a P5B-E with a e6400 or e6420 and overclock the heck out of it! Good article on BIOS of P5B HERE.