Asus P5K Premium -OR- Abit IP35 Pro

InfoTech

InfoTech

InfoTech

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133
Hello again :)

After some much appreciated help from you guys i'v learnt some more about mobo's and what im really going to need, and not need.

Im now trying to decide between these 2 boards since i hear they are both very realiable/stable and good for overclocking or stock builds.
I dont know how to overclock yet as some of you might know, but i will do by the time it comes to building it since i will be making my full purchase in March.

Spec will be:
- Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600
- OC 8800 Ultra
- 4gb of crucial ballistix DDR2 PC2-8500C5 1066MHz (2 sets = 4gb)
- (2x) Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB (in RAID)
- Corsair HX 620W
- Vista Ultimate 64-Bit


Extra's: (listed for power reasons)
- (6x) noctuas 1200 rpm fans
- LG 18x DVD±RW SATA
- LG 16x DVD-ROM
- Seagate FreeAgent Pro 500GB (for backup purposes)
- Creative T7700 sound system
- Tarantula Keybaord
- G9 gaming mouse
- Samsung syncmaster 931bw
- (3x) zalman fanmate


Which mobo do you consider to be the best for this build, and in general ?


Do you consider this build to be sound, and will the PSU be enough ??


Would you consider the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4 to be better than either of these boards in anyway, for the build im doing ???

Thanks ;)
 
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Go for the Abit IP35 Pro as you will be limited as to how many sata ports you can use with the Asus P5K Premium and an 8800 ultra
 
InfoTech said:
Im now trying to decide between these 2 boards since i hear they are both very realiable/stable and good for overclocking or stock builds.
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There both top mobos, each have their own minor strengths and weaknesses, would be like comparing a Big Mac to a Double-Whooper :D

I went with the ASUS board although I was very tempted by the ABIT.

InfoTech said:
- (2x) Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB (in RAID)
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I have been using the Samsung HD501LJ drives, can't fault them, fast, quiet and cool! I'm sure the Segates are very nice also but I just have to plug the SpinPoints!

InfoTech said:
will the PSU be enough
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No Problem, the Corsairs are second to none, you wait and see.

Thebug said:
Go for the Abit IP35 Pro as you will be limited as to how many sata ports you can use with the Asus P5K Premium and an 8800 ultra
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Thats true to some extent, using the 8800Ultra will block two of the six SATA ports on the ASUS board, if you feel you need more than four SATA ports then the ABIT is the one, luckily I only need three SATA ports myself.
 
well........ il need 2 for my HD's, 2 for the dvd-roms. dont think il need anymore unless you have to connect the esata on the back panel internally.

Which i dont think you do.
 
asusp5kedeluxeeof6.jpg


ip35probigeby8.jpg


InfoTech said:
well........ il need 2 for my HD's, 2 for the dvd-roms
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Actually I think you may lose access to three SATA ports if you are using the 8800 Ultra, thats huge right?

The ABIT board has angled the SATA ports to the right, nice design actually.

Thats my only niggle with the ASUS (even though it doesn't effect me lol!), however the ASUS board features an 8-phase power design whereas the ABIT is based on the regular 4-phase power design? So thats why I went with the ASUS, I am buying it to overclock not run a SATA hard disk farm :D

[edit] I am a big fan of ABIT even though I have been using ASUS the past few years, I'm thrilled to see ABIT getting back into the game, they had a little wobble back there but from all accounts these new boards are tasty!

I'm waiting for WJA96 to arrive any minute and give the ABIT board some props! :)
 
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ok cool thanks for the info so far :)

I like the idea of the 8 phase power, as i too am going to be OC'ing, i only bought the 2 seagates for there fast single platter design (from the upcoming 7200.11) which are supposed to be the fastest drives in raid. Would it be quicker having....
(1x) Western Digital Raptor 36GB 10000RPM SATA or having the (2x) seagates in RAID ??
 
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InfoTech said:
il need 2 for my HD's, 2 for the dvd-roms
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So thats four SATA ports total right, cool so I just worked out that with an 8800Ultra installed you would still be able to use four SATA ports if you used two angled SATA connectors in the ports under the graphics card.

p5k8800ultra01fj8.jpg


So the picture above is how the board actually is but with a huge double slot cooler installed you would only be able to use the ports in the picture below, its the ASUS P5K 'Ultra' edition ;)

p5k8800ultra02kt7.jpg


Continue reading the reviews and listening to what people have to say but don't scrub off the ASUS board from your list because of the SATA ports.
 
Excellent! thanks Wayne, that is exactly what i wanted to hear :D ow and i like your new custom board hehe, nice creativity :P

My preference would probly be the asus, but only cos i have more experience with them.
I have heard a lot of good things about the IP35 Pro.......only bad things i'v heard really is the Vdroop (which can mostly be fixed with the mod) and the 8 phase power that people would love to have/need on it.

just skipping back to my other Q? would one raptor be quicker than the 2 seagates, or not ??
 
I got round the sata problem by fitting the thermalright 8800gt cooler - now i can use all 6 ports

And yes like wayne said dont rule out the board for this reason as its a very good board that can be had for £107 if you shop around
 
InfoTech said:
would one raptor be quicker than the 2 seagates, or not ??
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I'm no expert on disk speeds and setups by any means but I have had some experience in that area at least. I have used the Raptor drives in the past but not the new series but I gather they are quite nice, personally I feel that the price premium for the extra speed offered doesn't stimulate me enough, thats why I just went with the Samsungs (7,200rpm, 16MB cache). I don't find myself in a situation ever where I think my disks are holding back performance but I guess it depends on how you use your PC. I think the Raptors are a little more status symbol than anything else, bit like owning an Aston Martin, very nice if you can afford it.

Same thing goes for RAID, its fun to play with for a while but eventually I felt two seperate drives offered more flexibility and was less risky. Out of the two options you are considering my vote goes to the two 500GB hard disks, you can test the RAID-0 out for yourself (or RAID-1 if you like) and still have the option to go back to the standard two seperate disk setup.
 
If you look at the quadcore database all the higher clocks were done with the Asus mobo.

I had the Abit IP3 pro for around 6 weeks.It was a great mobo but if I was to get a P35 now I would go for the Asus.
 
InfoTech said:
would one raptor be quicker than the 2 seagates, or not ??
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It all depends on what you want.

Its faster to have your OS on a seperate drive.

I have a raptor 150gig for my OS and its been that way for nearly 2 years for a reason.Its fast.


Raid 0 is overated and a PITA.

having so much data across two drives along with your OS is not a good idea.
 
easyrider said:
It all depends on what you want.

Its faster to have your OS on a seperate drive.

I have a raptor 150gig formy OS and its been that way for nearly 2 years for a reason.Its fast.


Raid 0 is overated and a PITA.

having so much data across two drives along with your OS is not a good idea.
Click to expand...

Same here and would never go back to a 7200 drive
 
Thebug - Ye im actually planning on fitting the Zalman VF-1000, im just praying it will fit tbh with you hehe, thanks for the advice :) il do a post at somepoint to see if anyone knows.

Wayne/Thebug - I thought as much myself with the hole aston martin thing, i have just been considering using raid for a bit as i have never used it before and wasnt sure what would be faster, but i completely appreciate that its risky and will probly just use the 2x 250 drives as main, and the esata 500 for backing up my precious things (maaaaasterrrrr) lol :P

Easyrider - Where can i find the quadcore overclocking database you were mentioning? ----- I cant believe you've managed to get a 2.4g to a 3.8 OMG, F%^K me that must be fast lol.

Excellent work guys, thank you very much for your help so far :D
 
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