Toms hardware l forte

[lfforte]

Hello,

Most of the asus or gigabyte p55 boards have some negative reviews on newegg. (such as DOA). Is there a P55 board that is very reliable? I'm not interested in overclocking and plan to use an i5 750 and would like true USB3.0. Thanks

 

[tikrjee]

Bear in mind that a lot of those "DOA" issues can be caused by people not taking the proper precautions prior to installing the motherboard (i.e. grounding themselves to prevent ESD). Gigabyte and ASUS both make some very quality reliable boards. In fact, all my builds (for myself and clients) have used either ASUS or Gigabyte (couple exceptions for Biostar and Foxconn).
Given what you're looking for, here's my recommendation:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128429 - Gigabyte for $110

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131625 - ASUS for $125

Those reviews don't account for everyone that's purchased the parts. Many buyers will wait till they've had enough time to really get a feel for how it will perform (anywhere from 6-12 months). They're both good boards.
Hope this helps you make a decision.

 

[aford10]

The reviews on newegg have to been taken with a grain of salt. Many of those customers who left the reviews, don't know what they're talking about. There are lots of reasons a new PC may not boot. But people are quick to jump the gun, and blame the CPU or motherboard.

 

[lfforte]

Thanks,

I have an assus P4P800 board for the las seven years and not one problem with it.
What is that asus board for $125?

 

[lfforte]

One reviewer says that the asus P7H55 EVO MB does not have integrated graphics but the graphics support is privided by the CPU. Does that make any difference?

 

[aford10]

The CPU doesn't provide graphics. A motherboard may have a GPU integrated though. It depends on the motherboard.

 

[tikrjee]

Thanks,

I have an assus P4P800 board for the las seven years and not one problem with it.
What is that asus board for $125?

LOL!!! I had that same board too!!! P4P800 SE with a P4 @2.8GHz HT

 

[lfforte]

The CPU doesn't provide graphics. A motherboard may have a GPU integrated though. It depends on the motherboard.

How does your configuration (GIGABYTE GA-EP45T-DS3R / E8500 @ 3.75Ghz) work? I was considering the same.

 

[aford10]

I'm pleased with the performance. Most applications don't use more than 2 cores, so it's still a quality CPU. The Gigabyte motherboard is solid quality, with nice OC features.

However, there isn't much price difference between the E8500 and the i5 750. The 775 socket is no longer king.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215&cm_re=i5_750-_-19-115-215-_-Product