Asus Premium Vista or Abit QuadGT - Any better than P5B Dlx?

[DarkOneSteve]

Hey Guys. Thanks so much for any comments.

I'm building a new PC and have to decide on a mobo- I generally build a new rig every 3 - 4 years, so I shoot for a sweet spot, but like the PC to last (rather than constantly need upgrades).

I'm currently planning to buy an ASUS P5B Deluxe. I plan to OC, but I'm not a constant tweaker. However, I like to have the ability to make changes in the bios. My main goal is to have a stable, well laid out motherboard that gives me some OC flexibility, and will last me through the next few crops of CPUs.

I plan to upgrade to a Quad in a year or two, so I want a mobo that will still be viable. I also plan to get Vista once there's really a reason to do so.

The two new boards that sounds intriguing to me are:

Abit QuadGT (I read the review on Anandtech, but I've also read that the new bios flash clears up some of their issues already).

P5B Premium Vista Edition Not even out yet, but same chipset.

I've read that the Deluxe is a solid board and sounds like it'll more than meet my OC needs. Does anyone see any reason that I should look at those others over the P5B Deluxe? Is there anything in those two that you think I'll really want to have on my mobo? Note that I wouldn't pay for an Asus Striker, but overall I'm not worried about $50 plus or minus for the mobo, so long as I get what I want. The QuadGT sounds great, but will it really deliver a lot more for me?

As for the rest of my proposed build (feel free to comment)

e6600 (just in case I don't OC)
2GB DDR2 800 (Corsair or G Skill)
8800 GTS (No SLI, but this should last me)
74 gb raptor OS drive
Seagate 500 gb Data drive
850W PSU - Silverstone ST85F (or similar)
Thermaltake Big Typhoon or a Zalman

So, do I stick with the P5B Dlx or get the latest to better stave off obsolescence?

Thanks!

Steve

 

[SurfnSoCal]

I am considering the P5B Premium Vista Edition as well. The onboard flash memory seems like a great feature.

Anyone know when this is scheduled to be released?

 

[IcY18]

marketing hype, just go with the Asus P5B Deluxe

 

[cal7]

My main goal is to have a stable, well laid out motherboard that gives me some OC flexibility, and will last me through the next few crops of CPUs.

i have that MB and i can say it has a very good layout , the best i`ve seen IMO , as for the rest i`m very pleased with it.Stable and extremely OCable as well.Dont think about it.I mean the P5B dlx 8)

 

[enewmen]

If you care about overclocking, get the deluxe.
I only briefly looked at the Vista version, it looks like a plain P5B-E with the added flash.

 

[DarkOneSteve]

Thanks, guys! Although the ABIT QuadGT sounds really good, I think I'm going to stick with the advice here and go with the sure thing, stability-wise, and get the P5B Deluxe.

I appreciate the input!

Steve

 

[BUFF]

I've just received my QuadGT.
Over 400fsb it will beat the P5B performance because it stays on the 1067 starp whereas the P5B switches to the 1333.

 

[Nossy]

I wouldn't go with the 74GB Raptor. There are other alternatives such as the Seagate Barracudas 7200.10 RPM with 16MB Cache that will let you forget about the Raptor. Some Hitachi Deskstars are pretty good value also. Unless you're willing to shell out for a X6800, insane memory timings, and 8800GTX I would stick with the Barracudas.

 

[cal7]

I wouldn't go with the 74GB Raptor. There are other alternatives such as the Seagate Barracudas 7200.10 RPM with 16MB Cache that will let you forget about the Raptor. Some Hitachi Deskstars are pretty good value also. Unless you're willing to shell out for a X6800, insane memory timings, and 8800GTX I would stick with the Barracudas.

why not raptor?i have the 74GB and i can tell you there is nothing faster than that (only the 150GB raptor).Anyway the 16MB isnt all that counts after all.

 

[Latta]

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2914

Heres a year end review of some P965 chipset boards that may clarify your decisions. The 680i boards are good but I'm still waiting on a couple revisions before I drop my money on one.

 

[roymustang]

I'm in the same boat as DarkOneSteve, building an extremely similar rig. I'm choosing the P965 chipset over the 680i. Both chipsets perform well but the P965 is cheaper and runs a lot cooler. I had been an AMD man for the last 7 years since they used to have the best processors and I used to always pair them up with nForce chipsets but I'm just fed up with how hot those chipsets get, this despite the huge heatsinks motherboard manufacturers put on them.

I was gonna get the P5B Deluxe but now I think I'm gonna wait for the P5B Premium Vista Edition. Remote, SideShow LCD, 512MB of ReadyBoost and the most important thing: 100% solid capacitors make the extra 60-70 bucks it'll cost way worth it in my opinion.

I'm also gonna get a SATA DVD Burner because I don't want to deal with the horrible JMicron IDE, specially since I don't put floppy drives in my PCs anymore.

DarkOneSteve, if you like the features of the Striker you may also want to check out the Commando which is almost the same board (no eSata, 2 PCI-E 16x slots instead of 3) with a P965 instead of a 680i, it has 100% solid capicitors and costs almost half as much as the Striker.

 

[enewmen]

I'm in the same boat as DarkOneSteve, building an extremely similar rig. I'm choosing the P965 chipset over the 680i. Both chipsets perform well but the P965 is cheaper and runs a lot cooler. I had been an AMD man for the last 7 years since they used to have the best processors and I used to always pair them up with nForce chipsets but I'm just fed up with how hot those chipsets get, this despite the huge heatsinks motherboard manufacturers put on them.

I was gonna get the P5B Deluxe but now I think I'm gonna wait for the P5B Premium Vista Edition. Remote, SideShow LCD, 512MB of ReadyBoost and the most important thing: 100% solid capacitors make the extra 60-70 bucks it'll cost way worth it in my opinion.

I'm also gonna get a SATA DVD Burner because I don't want to deal with the horrible JMicron IDE, specially since I don't put floppy drives in my PCs anymore.

DarkOneSteve, if you like the features of the Striker you may also want to check out the Commando which is almost the same board (no eSata, 2 PCI-E 16x slots instead of 3) with a P965 instead of a 680i, it has 100% solid capicitors and costs almost half as much as the Striker.

If you are getting for the "Vista Edition", get the "Deluxe" version. The Deluxe and WiFi has many nice features and overclocks better (if you care about this). I don't know what it's called yet, but get the Deluxe version of the Vista Edition. The one I saw online was like a P5B-E with flash memory added (fairly lame in my opinion)

The more I know about good p965 motherboards, the more I like them. Lately, the P5B Deluxe can support CPUs with 1333 FSB. This is one of the main reasons I was thinking of the 680i. Glad I didn't and saved $200 (from the Striker). If you MUST have full dual PCIe 16x , then get a 680i.
ReadyBoost is kind of lame also. Just get lots of good real RAM. That will run faster like THIS
Yes, as stated before, the Micron IDE is lame. Just get the newest BIOS, newest Drivers, and configure it correctly. At least then it works and you CAN use you old IDE drives.
Confused yet?