Asus P5K-V Opinions & Questions

[mreda]

I'll be buying a new PC in the next little while.
I'm considering going with the Asus P5K-V motherboard (with onboard video, Intel GMA X3000) with a Core 2 Duo 2.0ghz or 2.6ghz (2GB of RAM, and SATA HD).

I'm not a gamer. I like to keep my system clean and fast. And I'll be running Windows XP Pro SP2, probably won't switch over to Vista for a while.

I primarily use my pc for email, browsing, word processing, music listening, bit torrent, movie watching.
I also do quite a bit of Audio Editing, creating samples, Ableton Live (Digital Music Workstation), Cubase, Reason 3.0, FL Studio, lots of VSTs and soft synths.
I also want to be able to upgrade to a Quad Core or a better processor some time in the future.

I would like to know what you guys think of the Asus P5K-V and how it fairs up to some other all-in-one boards and other board without onboard video (ie. Asus P5K, P5K-E).

Here are the details from Asus
Here's the details on the onboard video Intel GMA X3000

Just to give you an idea of what I'm using now...
My current system is a AMD Sempron 2800+, Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe, Radeon 9200se 128mb, 1gb ram.

 

[Maziar]

i couldnt find any reviews about it , but it seems its a good board, has lots of good features

 

[mreda]

do you know anything about the Video component?
Is it any good?

 

[Maziar]

As long as u wont want to game , its good

 

[sunangel]

your current system has plenty of juice to do audio work. i would not move to Core 2 Duo unless your going to get into dvd ripping and video encoding. watching dvd movies with your current graphics card is more than okay. dvds have not changed in be processor intensive. yet, if you intended to do blu-ray or hd-dvd (which based on your current build pricing you do buy expensive components) i suggest replacing the graphics card with a ATI variant of their HD series. the hd2600xt can not be beat at the moment, plus ati has the drivers going good on vista at the moment. also, it is getting really good performance in games too. to repeat, only upgrade your video card if all your going to do is sound work and movie watching. going to jump into the illegal art of dvd ripping? then maybe you'll want to move to the Core 2 Duo or even the Core 2 Quad.

 

[Mondoman]

sa's comments notwithstanding, upgrading to C2D or quad-core will substantially speed up audio encoding, etc.

 

[mreda]

My current system has enough juice to use the Ableton Live and Reason well for triggering samples, mixing, writing and playing.

When I add multiple layers, adding multiple effects and VSTs is when I start encountering issues with processor overload.
If I open more than one VST softsynth my system maxes out.

 

[sunangel]

sa's comments notwithstanding, upgrading to C2D or quad-core will substantially speed up audio encoding, etc.

I agree. and since your going to be laying 16 tracks or more, then you'll definitely notice less slow downs. Hard for me to recommend the asus board unless your into overclocking. (i want to rant for a moment -- this site and others have really hit the **** since overclocking is now mainstream. it is extremely hard to get any good info without someone bring in the overclocking scenarios -- ranting over) i've found intel boards have the best stability as far as drivers goes. imo, your less likely to have a resource conflict between third party drivers. not saying it won't happen, BSODs ARE a part of life. So, my recommendation for an intel based system -- Q6600, ATI HD series graphics card, 3GB DDR2-800, Intel G965 mobo, and a lightweight psu (350-400 watts) with 120mm fan. I don't know much about add-in audio cards, but you can figure those out for yourself. BTW, Vista is not as bad as the noobs play it out to be. Of course you'll hit snags, but typically that is only if you constantly fool around with your hardware and software settings. Build your pc, let it be, and you should be banging out music tracks with no problems.

 

[mreda]

I agree. and since your going to be laying 16 tracks or more, then you'll definitely notice less slow downs. Hard for me to recommend the asus board unless your into overclocking. (i want to rant for a moment -- this site and others have really hit the **** since overclocking is now mainstream. it is extremely hard to get any good info without someone bring in the overclocking scenarios -- ranting over) i've found intel boards have the best stability as far as drivers goes. imo, your less likely to have a resource conflict between third party drivers. not saying it won't happen, BSODs ARE a part of life. So, my recommendation for an intel based system -- Q6600, ATI HD series graphics card, 3GB DDR2-800, Intel G965 mobo, and a lightweight psu (350-400 watts) with 120mm fan. I don't know much about add-in audio cards, but you can figure those out for yourself. BTW, Vista is not as bad as the noobs play it out to be. Of course you'll hit snags, but typically that is only if you constantly fool around with your hardware and software settings. Build your pc, let it be, and you should be banging out music tracks with no problems.

Is there another mobo you could suggest that would be comprable or better to the A5K-V, I haven't come across any less expensive motherboards. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[killz86]

I have the p5k-v and its works awesome stays cool and can o/c good. my setup is q6600 3.0/1333 4gb ddr2 800 xms2 and 1950pro and its runs good. i have not had any problems with it. i am not using the on board sound or video so i could not tell you how good them are. but it is a good board. i have as got asus sense the amd athlon's and p4's and they still work to this day. they run like they are brand new. so i would go for it.

 

[Maziar]

Q6600 is 1066

 

[Mondoman]

Q6600 is 1066

He's OCing to 3GHz/1333MHz

 

[Maziar]

oh yes , i tought he meant Q6600 has 1333MHZ bus
thanx for clearing it up