DS4 or P5B?

Messiah Khan

Messiah Khan

Messiah Khan

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Joined
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Im looking at getting a Conroe/Kentsfield in the not too distant future, and im currently researching all the components I will need. For the Motherboard I think I have narrowed it down to the DS4 or P5B. I like the FSB people are getting wit hte DS3, but unfortunately it doesn't have enough SATA ports or PCI-E x16 slots. So im looking at the DS4 instead. What FSB are people getting with this board? I will be going Phase cooled on the cpu and water cooled on the GPU and NB, so I really don't want to end up being FSB limited. As for SATA ports, I will need a minimum of 7. The DS4 lists 8, which I can see, but the P5B lists 6 on the southbridge and 1 on the JMicron® JMB363 PATA and SATA controller. I can see the 6, but not this extra one. Whereabouts is it located? Also how easy is it to remove the heatpipe coolers, so that I can fit waterblocks? Finally has anyone run either of these boards under Phase? Ho do they perform? And are there any other options I should consider?

Thanks.
 
Both boards are very good and I have both ;)

The P5B Deluxe has more features in the sense of built in Wi-Fi / e-SATA and clocks very well - Quite a few ppl have hit 500FSB plus...

The only thing I don't like about the P5B is the high Temperature readings - but this I've been told is because this board reads the temps from the CPU core itself etc... however not all boards seem to be showing excessive / high temps...

The DS4 I love - It's great board with an easy bios to work with. It's also very stable and clocks well - I personally have had an e6300 running at 500x7 (on air).
 
Thanks for the reply. The Wi-fi and e-sata isn't something im really interested in(I run a gigabit wired lan and can't see me needing external sata) And although the temp sensor might be a bit off, this doesn't bother me too much as im likely to be going off the temp on the phase controller instead. So with this point, if money was no issue, which would you go for? And do you recon the max fsb is about the same on both boards?
 
I just got the P5B Deluxe from OCUk but the version they stock doesn't have built in WiFi even though the link to the asus website takes you to the Deluxe WiFi version (just in case you were going for that one for that reason). Had to go elsewhere to get it.

Virdi, when you say high temps do you mean that for the same overclock, the P5B was showing higher CPU temps than the DS4?
 
Yes - Compared to the DS4 - The temps read higher on the P5B.

...I personally prefer the DS4 - however, I think more people have achieved higher clocks on the P5B (i.e. 500 FSB +)
 
messiah khan said:
Thanks guys. I think im heading towards the P5B. While im at it, what RAM do you recommend with this board?
Click to expand...
I'd reccomend the DS4 tbh dude, it seems a very good clocker (to me) having used DS3 and DS4 recently. not that theres anything wrong with the P5B.
maybe get both and send one back?

and the geil Ultra low latancy ram rocks for both

this going in your lady friend?
 
VeNT said:
I'd reccomend the DS4 tbh dude, it seems a very good clocker (to me) having used DS3 and DS4 recently. not that theres anything wrong with the P5B.
maybe get both and send one back?

and the geil Ultra low latancy ram rocks for both

this going in your lady friend?
Click to expand...

I highly doubt I can send one back after ive ripped off the NB cooler and strapped a waterblock to it, then smothered the rest of the mobo in dieletric grease for the Phase unit on the cpu. ;) And nope this is not going int the android, this is for my main rig which is housed in a customised v2000.
 
Asus p5b seems to have higher clocks, so i'd say get that, personally i find american megatrends ( Asus ) better than phoenix ( most brands).
 
hi mate, bear in mind that the cold boot problems with the asus bios's can be a pain in the backside on a prommie as they keep switching the compressor on and off when making changes to the bios.

taken from ECT support forums (not linked as may be hosted by a competitor)

The "Cold Boot" restart

Just a friendly heads up to let you guys know (if you haven't already discovered) that there is an issue with the Asus P5W DH and the Asus P5B motherboards and the Mach II/GT once overclocked. The bottom line is that these motherboards "cold boot" everytime you change the BIOS (overclocking) and restart. You will also notice this effect with air and water cooling - but it has a detrimental effect with the Mach II/GT as you can appreciate, because the compressor stops/starts inadvertantly - which could potentially lead to damage.

There is a temporary work around which is to run the Mach II/GT off a separate power supply unit until the problem can be investigated comprehensively by ECT and Asus.

BIOS and firmware updates at present have had no effect.

This advice is offerred without prejudice and **-UK can not be held responsible for any damage as a result of mis-use.

My cpu kit arrived yesterday and the above is what's holding me off the P5B-deluxe.
 
Thanks for the word of warning ArchAnGeL, but I should be ok as im getting a custom Phase unit with an Unseen controller.

@snowdog.. I still think im being drawn towards the P5B, and I agree with what your saying about the bios as im used to Award and AMI bios'.
 
Database of overclocks

this is useful list of folks overclocking 6300's and what boards they are using etc - don't know how old it is. The DS3 and PB5 seem to be able to reach the 500 fsb mark. Although saying that it's from a US based forum and they don't have the DS4 so I'm sure it would be up there with the other 2 if more were using it on that forum <--- apologies if that sounds confusing :confused:
 
I can only recommend the DS4 as this is the one i am using at the moment but i hear a lot of good things about the P5B..I would have a good look around on some forums and then make up my mind.
 
Well....

Ive got a similar dilemma.

Im pretty much set on upgrading my system, and what I have in mind is the following -

Intel Conroe 6300
Asus P5B Deluxe OR Gigabyte DS4
RAM

Im a complete Newbie as far as working on Intels, so what Im after is the best possible overclock. From what I gather, both these motherboards are pretty much even in terms of overclockability. Which one is easier to work on? Which one has better features? Help me guys!

Finally, what ram do you guys recommend at the moment - again for best overclockability and value. Geil seems to be a mega favourite. Something which scares me is the speeds of these RAMS - should I just go for the highest speed or is going too high just overkill?

Cheers.
 
Last edited:
Biglunn said:
Well....

Ive got a similar dilemma.

Im pretty much set on upgrading my system, and what I have in mind is the following -

Intel Conroe 6300
Asus P5B Deluxe OR Gigabyte DS4
RAM

Im a complete Newbie as far as working on Intels, so what Im after is the best possible overclock. From what I gather, both these motherboards are pretty much even in terms of overclockability. Which one is easier to work on? Which one has better features? Help me guys!

Finally, what ram do you guys recommend at the moment - again for best overclockability and value. Something which scares me is the speeds of these RAMS - should I just go for the highest speed or is going too high just overkill?

Cheers.
Click to expand...

the 6300 will work well with the ds4
 
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