Motherboard (775) Query

Skerne · 5 Sep 2010 at 08:48

Hi all,

I'm looking for a little advice on motherboards.

I'm a heavy gamer on a budget that restricts me from grabbing a new i7 system, so i'm making do with what I have for now. Right now I have a Q9550 processor that I like to overclock running on a Gigabyte EP45-UD3LR motherboard, with 4GB of Kingston Hyper-X DDR2 RAM and an XFX Radeon 4890. However, my motherboard was damaged by an unrelated matter so I decided to replace it.

I had two motherboards in the frame; the Asus P5Q Deluxe and the Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P (or UD3R, the crossfire doesn't bother me). However, I can't find both Gigabyte boards anywhere in the UK.

So I suppose my question is.. for gaming, is ASUS P5Q Deluxe going to be it for me? Or is there another motherboard in the same general price-range that's going to top it for long-term overclocking (as far as I can get) and gaming?

I don't require CrossFire, but can provide any other information if needed.

Thank you for your time.

WingZero30 · 5 Sep 2010 at 11:00

Afaik UD3P and UD3R aren't available in UK but UD3LR is which you previously owned and which I own aswell. It is a very good mobo. However the Asus P5Q deluxe seems to have a lot of favourable opinions so go with the ASUS mobo.

redshadows · 5 Sep 2010 at 11:23

ASUS P5Q Deluxe will serve you well.
You might even prefer it, I hear express gate is a real bonus.

setter · 5 Sep 2010 at 11:34

The p5q deluxe is a fantastic board for clocking the 45nm quads.

Skerne · 5 Sep 2010 at 13:39

Alright. Thank you all for your opinions; guess i'll go buy one now.

Cheers

Big.Wayne · 5 Sep 2010 at 14:45

Skerne said:
Q9550 processor that I like to overclock

4GB of Kingston Hyper-X DDR2 RAM [?]

Hello Skerne,

Welcome to OcUK forums, please read the forum rules and enjoy your stay!

what speed is your DDR2?

Skerne · 5 Sep 2010 at 15:19

Hi Big.Wayne,

Thank you for the welcome. I gave the rules a little scan before I posted and will read them more thoroughly when i'm home from work.

I believe my DDR2 is at the 1066mhz speed but I can overclock it a little faster without trouble.

Back to the motherboards, I hear that the P5Q Deluxe would be the best bet, but what would happen if I threw the P5E Deluxe in there with it? Would the P5Q remain the best choice?

Big.Wayne · 5 Sep 2010 at 15:35

Skerne said:
I believe my DDR2 is at the 1066mhz speed but I can overclock it a little faster without trouble

Check it . . . if it's DDR2-1066 then that's ideal . . . if it's DDR2-800 then you need to be sure it will run stably beyond 400MHz speeds for the best possible processor/FSB overclock fun . . .

Skerne said:
I hear that the P5Q Deluxe would be the best bet

It's an oldie but a goodie . . . nice to see the price has become a lot more "realistic" . . . £79.95 would be better heh!

Asus P5Q Deluxe

£86.99 inc

Skerne said:
but what would happen if I threw the P5E Deluxe in there with it? Would the P5Q remain the best choice?

Yup the Intel® P45 Express Chipset is newer than the Intel® X48 Express Chipset, the latters "tiny" advantage it is offers Crossfire PCI-E 2.0 x16/x16 vs PCI-E 2.0 x8/x8 on the P5Q Deluxe . . . . both boards offer the same PCI-E 2.0 x16 for a single powerful GPU! :cool:

Skerne said:
I don't require CrossFire

Clairvoyant · 5 Sep 2010 at 18:54

Get the Asus.
Look in sig for my system. Save got a 5850, will serve you well and a good upgrade from a 4890 (which I had).

Skerne · 6 Sep 2010 at 02:43

Check it . . . if it's DDR2-1066 then that's ideal . . . if it's DDR2-800 then you need to be sure it will run stably beyond 400MHz speeds for the best possible processor/FSB overclock fun . . .

Yup, it's DDR2-1066.

Get the Asus.
Look in sig for my system. Save got a 5850, will serve you well and a good upgrade from a 4890 (which I had).

Thank you, i'll consider that. I liked the look of the 5850 anyway, so a push in that direction is always handy. Cheers!

Quick query, I have a Prolimatech Megahalems (with 120x38mm fan) downstairs that's been waiting to be installed for some time. Will it fit on the P5Q board easily or am I going to have issues (with it being too close to the motherboard, or blocking RAM slots, etc?

Cheers.

Clairvoyant · 6 Sep 2010 at 09:28

I would guess no should not have a problem. As the RAM is Std height.

Skerne · 6 Sep 2010 at 21:21

Awesome. Though it seems I need not worry about it; I bought it back in February and had to RMA it due to a broken part, but by the time it was returned I wasn't able to wait as I needed a computer and had put a CCF in instead and left the Megahalems for the next time I go in there to make some larger revisions.

So I checked it, and it's missing the backplate, which I need to attach it to the motherboard, and I can't find anywhere that sells a replacement. I sent in a support query to the main website to see if they could recommend a place where i'd be able to find one, but unfortunately it's probably not something they'd know off-hand.

Oh well. Thank you all for your advice!