Tom's Hardware > Forum > Motherboards & Memory > General Motherboard > Which P35 motherboard... Asus P5K or Gigabyte DS3?
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zeroneleven   01-08-2008 at 07:11:01 PM

I'm planning my first computer build but I'm having trouble choosing a motherboard. I need one with onboard firewire. I've narrowed it down to these two:

- Asus P5K-E

- Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P

I'll be running an Intel Core 2 Duo E8400, two WD sata HDD's, an Asus EN7300GT video card and a Corsair CMPSU-520HX power supply. Not sure what RAM yet, but it'll definitely be 4GB DDR2 800.

This is for a digital audio workstation. Stability is the most important consideration, followed by low noise level, and speed. I probably won't overclock, unless I can increase performance and still be stable.

I'd appreciate any thoughts on which board to go with.
Thanks very much.


Message edited by zeroneleven on 01-08-2008 at 07:11:41 PM
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Maziar   01-08-2008 at 07:33:50 PM
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Both are good, P5K-E has better cooling though

------------------------------ Q6600@3.4+ TT V1 Cooler,SAPPHIRE HD 4870X2,ASUS MAXIMUS FORMULA,4GB OCZ DDR2 800,LG W2452V 1920x1200
 Reply to Maziar
rubix_1011   01-08-2008 at 07:36:33 PM
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Proud owner of P5K-E...solid and has great options for the price. Don't get me wrong...Gigabyte makes some great boards as well...

Flip a coin?

Message quoted 1 times
------------------------------ The Pastafarian belief of heaven stresses that it contains beer volcanoes and a stripper factory. Hell is oddly similar, except that the beer is stale, and the strippers have VD
 Reply to rubix_1011
eaglesfan   01-08-2008 at 07:45:12 PM
- 0 +

rubix_1011 wrote :

Proud owner of P5K-E...solid and has great options for the price. Don't get me wrong...Gigabyte makes some great boards as well...

Flip a coin?




Same. Owned a P5K-E for some time now...just after they came out.

Ive had an E6700 on it for about 6 months or so now...maybe longer. It cools exceptionally well.

And it hasnt hiccupped once. In fact, I havent even had to think about it for some time, which is a good thing. I may upgrade to an E8400, but Im definitely keeping this mobo.

Reply to eaglesfan
zeroneleven   01-08-2008 at 08:21:48 PM
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ooh, 3 votes for Asus! Hmm.. maybe I won't have to flip a coin!

There's still two things that bother me.

1) multiple reviews that say Asus quality control is poor

2) the generic firewire controller.. "agere" or something, compared to Gigabyte's TI firewire

An extra PCI slot would be nice though. And better cooling it seems.

Reply to zeroneleven
Maziar   01-08-2008 at 08:26:55 PM
- 0 +

I am another proud owner of P5K-E (WIFI version ) too :d its awesome :)

if u mean the newegg reviews then they dont listen to it , if its a review from a site (TRUSTED SITE)then post it

------------------------------ Q6600@3.4+ TT V1 Cooler,SAPPHIRE HD 4870X2,ASUS MAXIMUS FORMULA,4GB OCZ DDR2 800,LG W2452V 1920x1200
 Reply to Maziar
zeroneleven   01-08-2008 at 09:05:24 PM
- 0 +

Most of those reviews were from newegg. But I've also read in some forums about Asus QC issues.

Does anyone know where I can find the memory QVL for the P5K-E? I couldn't find it on their website.

Message quoted 1 times
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carver_g   01-08-2008 at 10:27:00 PM
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My P5K has been rock solid but I've also read about a lot of issues, specifically USB and very high overclocking.

------------------------------ MCITP, MCTS, MCP
 Reply to carver_g
makotech222   01-09-2008 at 12:29:57 AM
- 0 +

would the asus support wolfdale?

Reply to makotech222
zeroneleven   01-09-2008 at 01:19:17 AM
- 0 +

from the Asus P5K-E website:

"Support Intel® next generation 45nm Multi-core CPU"

I believe you'll need to update BIOS to 0906.


Message edited by zeroneleven on 01-09-2008 at 01:25:50 AM
Reply to zeroneleven
carver_g   01-09-2008 at 03:18:01 AM
- 0 +

zeroneleven wrote :

Is G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800good memory to use with the P5K-E?



That memory is exactly what I have on my P5K. Zero problems!

------------------------------ MCITP, MCTS, MCP
 Reply to carver_g
Maziar   01-09-2008 at 07:41:35 AM
- 0 +

Yes it support that RAM + wolfblade

------------------------------ Q6600@3.4+ TT V1 Cooler,SAPPHIRE HD 4870X2,ASUS MAXIMUS FORMULA,4GB OCZ DDR2 800,LG W2452V 1920x1200
 Reply to Maziar
eaglesfan   01-09-2008 at 05:00:25 PM
- 0 +

zeroneleven wrote :

Most of those reviews were from newegg. But I've also read in some forums about Asus QC issues.

Does anyone know where I can find the memory QVL for the P5K-E? I couldn't find it on their website.



Dont listen to Newegg reviews.

Dont get me wrong...I buy a lot from them.


But I swear...their clientel must be 80% 12 year old kids that dont know what a driver is.

They expect to just plug something in and go...90% of the "complaints" that I see...are just people being morons.

Then when they blow something up, they give the product a 1.

Tards I tell you.

Reply to eaglesfan
eaglesfan   01-09-2008 at 05:01:47 PM
- 0 +

Also...you shouldnt need a QVL for RAM on it.

Ive used OCZ, Kingston, Samsung, and GSkill.


While you may have to adjust the speed in the BIOS, I have not yet had a set that didnt boot right up.

Reply to eaglesfan
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