Asus P6T mobo - which one?

[Greenking]

Hello

I'm about to get a new i7 build and I'm thinking one of those P6T boards from Asus.
But which one? P6T, P6T SE or P6T deluxe V2?

or maybe one of the boards from Gigabyte?

I have never OCed before but I might give it a try on the beginner state.

What would you recommend?


Cheers in advance
/Greenking

 

[MikeJRamsey]

I have been looking into this recently. The difference between the P6T Deluxe V2 and the P6T is:

Deluxe has
- an upgraded Audio chip; ADI® AD2000B 8 -Channel High Definition Audio CODEC vs. Realtek® ALC1200 8 -Channel High Definition Audio CODEC
- an extra LAN connection
- enhanced cooling options; Wind-Flow Heat-pipe solution vs. Heat-pipe solution
- better power design; True 16+2 Phase Power Design vs. ASUS 8+2 Phase Power Design
- power connectors for three fans vs. two for the P6T

I would lean towards the Deluxe if you plan on over clocking. Purchase an optional 40x40x10mm fan for the Northbridge and take advantage of that 3rd fan connection.

That is my 2 cents.

--Mike Ramsey

 

[blind_synergy]

I have a very similar dilemma. I found a really good deal with a bunch of components in it. I like all of them, except for the P6T (I was leaning towards the deluxe). Problem is, if I drop that combo and pay the extra say 40 dollars for the deluxe, I lose nearly 200 because I don't get the deal on the other components any more.

What should I do?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I may overclock in the future but not to a crazy extent. Only when my system drops below 30 fps on the highest quality in most games, and that won't be for I while I think. I will need to set up a RAID 1, though. Does the P6T (non-deluxe) allow that?

So far all I understand is that the deluxe is a little better for OC, as it has better power consumption and cooling.

Thanks

 

[MikeJRamsey]

I have a very similar dilemma. I found a really good deal with a bunch of components in it. I like all of them, except for the P6T (I was leaning towards the deluxe). Problem is, if I drop that combo and pay the extra say 40 dollars for the deluxe, I lose nearly 200 because I don't get the deal on the other components any more.

What should I do?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I may overclock in the future but not to a crazy extent. Only when my system drops below 30 fps on the highest quality in most games, and that won't be for I while I think. I will need to set up a RAID 1, though. Does the P6T (non-deluxe) allow that?

So far all I understand is that the deluxe is a little better for OC, as it has better power consumption and cooling.

Thanks

SATA RAID 0/1/5/10 so yes. I would

1. Purchase a Zalman ZM-NBF47 to cool that X58 Northbridge; I assume that you already have a decent CPU cooler - XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V is only $40.

2. Make sure that your PSU can supply the needed power. 620 W is probably OK with a single GPU. 720 to 1020 W for a three GPU future.

3. Speaking of GPUs, get a good one.

4. Get a case with good air flow. The COOLER MASTER HAF 932 is an example of this. HAF stands for high air flow. The SilverStone Fortress FT01 is another. I hear that the FT02 is better but AFAIK, the FT02 is not available yet.

Good luck. Worst comes to worst, you have to spend an additional $269 on a new mobo but probably not.

Mike Ramsey

 

[blind_synergy]

Thanks for the quick reply Mike. I've done some more shopping around, and if I play my cards right (no pun intended), I can get the components I wanted for only an extra $60 compared to the previous deal to get the P6T deluxe. Would you go with the deluxe in this case?

Here's what I'll be running shortly:

850W Corsair PSU
6 gigs DDR3 Corsair RAM
P6T or P6T deluxe
i7 920
2 GTX 275s in SLI
WD 1TB 7200rpm harddrive (will buy another for RAID shortly)

and I was thinking a 690 CM case would be more appropriate for my components. The 932 looks like a total beast though. I really like it but I;m worried it's overkill and I'm paying for nothing. The CM scout also crossed my mind.

 

[MikeJRamsey]

Blind_synergy,
Nice. I like Corsair PSU's. About the 690 CM, how many of the optional fans are you planning on purchasing?

The spec says:
Cooling System
Front :120 mm Blue LED fan x 1, 1200 rpm, 21 dBA,
Rear : 120 mm standard fan, 1200 rpm, 21 dBA,
Top : 120 or 140 mm fan x 2 (optional),
Bottom : 120 mm fan x 1 (optional),
Left: 120mm fan x 2 (one is optional)-up to 140mm fans

That is 7 possible fans.

However, the box only comes with 3 fans.
1 Front Fan 120 x 25mm
1 Rear Fan 120 x 25mm
1 Side fan 120 x 25mm

With some work you can turn the 690 CM into the 932.

I also assume that you have some cooling in place for the CPU and X58 chip sets.

Heat is an issue with the i7.

--Mike Ramsey

 

[blind_synergy]

Thanks again, Mike. That's the thing. I haven't really built a computer for a long time, and when I did, I only used the stock cooling. I've recently run into some cash, and need to build a good computer for both work (will be working in software eng in about 10 months -> first real job) and my own personal gaming. So I'm clueless. This is probably the wrong forum and topic to discuss it in, but what specific aftermarket cooling would you suggest for this set up? I had a random CPU fan lined up (I don't know how to judge cooling quality), but that's about it. Again, still undecided on the case. The CM 932 is a little pricey as I'm dipping into my own pocket for this.

 

[MikeJRamsey]

Thanks again, Mike. That's the thing. I haven't really built a computer for a long time, and when I did, I only used the stock cooling. I've recently run into some cash, and need to build a good computer for both work (will be working in software eng in about 10 months -> first real job) and my own personal gaming. So I'm clueless. This is probably the wrong forum and topic to discuss it in, but what specific aftermarket cooling would you suggest for this set up? I had a random CPU fan lined up (I don't know how to judge cooling quality), but that's about it. Again, still undecided on the case. The CM 932 is a little pricey as I'm dipping into my own pocket for this.

Congratulations and good luck with the SE Job.

A decent CPU cooler that will not break the bank is the XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler, about $40 on New Egg.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029


For your X58 Northbridge, you can't go wrong with the Zalman ZM-NBF47 for about $14 on New Egg. Here is a link to the Zalman page.
http://www.zalman.com/ENG/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=133

The Dark Knight should help move some air in that case. That Zalman is a passive cooler and needs air flow.

BTW, use a ceramic-based thermal compound such as Arctic Silver CMQ-22G to bond your coolers to their chips.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

--Mike