Mobo - Need your advice

[AB1733]

Hi all,
building a new system and going to go with a Q6600 and probably overclock it a bit.
Of these two boards:

Gigabyte
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128336

ASUS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131317

which would you recomend for everyday computer use, moderate gamining and overclocking.

Also, with the ASUS, I've read that it might be possible to flash the Rampage bios to it....Is this true and does it provide extra benefit??

Thanks for the help,
-AB

 

[aevm]

So, you're trying to pick between Asus P5E Deluxe X48 at $230 and GA-X48-DS4 at $225. They are identical for all practical purposes. Both good. Flip a coin.

The Asus has slightly better onboard audio, AFAIK, but this is a very subjective thing and TBH who cares.

The question is, should you spend so much on a MB with two PCI-E 2.0 slots, for moderate gaming? Those are Crossfire boards for gaming maniacs. You could spend only $100 on a GA-EP43-DS3L for example. With an HD 4850 or HD 4870, it's already plenty for moderate gaming at 1680x1050.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128347&Tpk=GA-EP43-DS3L

Flashing a MB with a BIOS designed for another doesn't sound so good to me. Better read the fine print about RMAs carefully before you try it.

 

[AB1733]

Thanks for the reply!

I guess my reasoning for the x48 chipset and 2 pci x16 2.0 slots is because when i do play games i like to run them maxed out. Also, I want the system to be upgradeable and figured 2 pci x16 2.0 slots would be a good option to have so when i do upgrade video cards in a year or two, the 4850 i'm going to buy now will still get use.

 

[aevm]

All right, then go for it. I'd pick the Gigabyte because it already has some reviews at Newegg and they're 82% at 5 stars. The Asus doesn't have any reviews so far. I know this is not a very scientific method, but I just don't have any better. Those two have the same chipset, PCI slots, SATA ports, etc.

For best results, you should also get a PSU that can take a 4850 and some future card together. Some thing like the 750TX or Silencer 750W should be good, for example.

 

[AB1733]

thanks for the recomendation. One last question,
I see that the gigabyte board requires a floppy drive to setup raid in xp but no mention for vista where as the ASUS board allows you to use a usb drive with vista to set up raid. Can you do the same with the Gigabyte board??

 

[aevm]

I don't know, sorry.

 

[techgeek]

I think that ability to use a USB drive for installing RAID drivers, is more a limitation / function of the OS. Windows XP only recognizes / sets up the floppy during this part of the installation. Vista is USB drive aware, so this limitation doesn't exist. So the answer is yes, the Giga-Byte board will see the thumb drive and allow you to load the RAID/ACHI drivers during the install.

 

[aevm]

Good to know, thanks!