Good afternoon all... rookie builder, but experienced upgrader looking for advice on his first full build. Hope you guys on Tom's forums can help a bit.
Build specs:
- Budget/low-end build
- LIGHT gaming (AoC, Sims, etc.. no Crysis, COD4 or UT3 plans though)
- HEAVY multitasking (iTunes & Folding@Home 24/7, plus other usage)
- $150 (US$) max limit for mobo
- Intel E7200 LGA 775 planned
- Rookie overclocker... my long overdue first attempt at OC'ing
I have a family-inherited loyalty towards Asus boards, and a bias based on the facts I've heard/read over the last few years as an "upgrader".
So, somewhat recently NewEgg released this...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131299
A new p45 low/mid-range board from Asus, based off the popular P5Q Deluxe. FSB of 1600/1333, capable of DDR2 1600 RAM. True 16x Crossfire-capable as well, which isn't a need NOW but leaves the gaming upgrade option for the future when Nehalem hits, LGA 775 goes extinct and GPU is the best upgrade option.
Looks awesome.
So... what's the catch?
Does anyone have any experience with this board? Is it literally a scaled-down P5Q Deluxe? How are the BIOS looking? Am I missing something I should be noticing and will be upset about post-purchase?
Any info anyone can give me would be greatly helpful.
If you're not a fan of this board... could you suggest other options? I'll consider a comparable Gigabyte or similar quality equivalent (don't suggest ECS or MSI, not interested, personal bias, sorry).
Moo.
Build specs:
- Budget/low-end build
- LIGHT gaming (AoC, Sims, etc.. no Crysis, COD4 or UT3 plans though)
- HEAVY multitasking (iTunes & Folding@Home 24/7, plus other usage)
- $150 (US$) max limit for mobo
- Intel E7200 LGA 775 planned
- Rookie overclocker... my long overdue first attempt at OC'ing
I have a family-inherited loyalty towards Asus boards, and a bias based on the facts I've heard/read over the last few years as an "upgrader".
So, somewhat recently NewEgg released this...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131299
A new p45 low/mid-range board from Asus, based off the popular P5Q Deluxe. FSB of 1600/1333, capable of DDR2 1600 RAM. True 16x Crossfire-capable as well, which isn't a need NOW but leaves the gaming upgrade option for the future when Nehalem hits, LGA 775 goes extinct and GPU is the best upgrade option.
Looks awesome.
So... what's the catch?
Does anyone have any experience with this board? Is it literally a scaled-down P5Q Deluxe? How are the BIOS looking? Am I missing something I should be noticing and will be upset about post-purchase?
Any info anyone can give me would be greatly helpful.
If you're not a fan of this board... could you suggest other options? I'll consider a comparable Gigabyte or similar quality equivalent (don't suggest ECS or MSI, not interested, personal bias, sorry).
Moo.