Gigabyte GA P55A-UD3 or Asus P7P55D-E LX or something else

[abhijat]

Hi everyone,

So I can't seem to make up my mind about which motherboard I want to get. I've narrowed my options down to two but can't seem to decide between them.

I'll be using the i5 760 processor with 4GB DDR3 RAM and either the GTX460 or HD5870. Which motherboard is better or is there another in similar price range (no more than £125) - I want SATA 6.0Gb/s and USB 3.0.

I also looked at the Asus P7P55D-E which looks quite promising at £125.

I would appreciate any advice.

Thanks in advance

 

[jaquith]

Welcome Newcomer!

MOBO GA P55A-UD3 vs Asus P7P55D-E LX .... OR

My vote would be for the "or" and the ASUS P7P55D-E Pro MOBO. Otherwise, with the {LX} you will be stuck with (1) GPU and eliminate the possibility of adding and SLI GPU in the future or you'll need to replace the MOBO.

Comparing comparable GPU's {HD 5870} is the GTX 470~GTX480. I prefer nVidia for gaming.

 

[abhijat]

Thank you for the welcome. Ok, I've decided on the graphics card I will be going for HD 5850, because it seems to be a better performer than the gtx460 and only a tiny bit more expensive.

As for the mobo is there a difference between the P7P55D-E and the pro?

Thanks

 

[jaquith]

GTX 460 <- NO -> HD 5850 - no comparable
GTX 470 <- YES -> HD 5850 - same price; GTX 470 is a better choice.

Then you're getting screwed, the GTX 460 ($170 USD) is about 1/2 the price of a HD 5850 ($260 USD). The GTX 470 is on par with the HD 5850 in BOTH Price and Performance; the ATI (AMD) drivers are a nightmare in comparison, but whatever...

I explained above, {LX} vs {Pro} the primary difference is SLI/CF support, and unless you never plan on running (2) GPU's CF/SLI then the {LX} is fine for (1) GPU. Personally,I would never purchase either a non-SLI/non-CF MOBO. Servers are the exception to that rule.

 

[davcon]

This is what i would buy it has every feature available on a modern mobo for a very good price.
MSI P55A-G55 Intel P55 1156 Motherboard-£91.12 Inc VAT
PCI-E 2.0 (x16), DDR3 2133(OC), SATA 6Gb/s
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/MSI-P55A-G55-Intel-P55-S1156-PCI-E-20-(x16)-DDR3-2133(OC)-SATA-6Gb-s-SATA-RAID-ATX

 

[abhijat]

Awesome thanks jaquith, I'll consider the Pro and Davcon I'll have a closer look at the motherboard you've suggested.

Also as for the graphics card, I chose hd5850 only because it's seemed to have consume a lot less power, and runs a lot cooler. I am aware that when playing games and you turn on AA the 470 has a bit of a advantage but too minor.

Plus with the 5850 I have the option to run three displays if I wanted to.

Do you agree?

 

[jaquith]

^ Will either GPU do the "job" - ANS = Yes. I prefer SLI over CF {Crossfire}, I have both GPUs, but the deciding factor is aggravation {quality/design/drivers} and experience - nVidia wins. I have burnt-out {popped transistors} several ATI GPUs and none nVidia. Also, some of the manufacturers off lifetime guarantees {EVGA, & Zotac}.

Personally, it's your rig and your decision. I build $6,000 & $12,000 USD rigs once a month and none of them are ATI{AMD}.

In addition, my prefered MOBO's are EVGA & ASUS and the ONLY GA MOBO that I like is the GA-X58A-UD9. MSI is okay.

Good Luck!