Motherboard Dilema...What should I do?

Guru

Guru

Guru

Soldato
Joined
8 Jun 2005
Posts
5,275
Hi all,

Before I start, this is not about an item that I've purchased from OCUK.

I've recently sent an Asus P5K mobo back for RMA, I've just found out (2 months later!) that they are not able to repair it.

Because I got so frustrated by not having a PC for so long without any communication as to what was happening I bought a 2nd hand Asus P5Q from the MM to tide me over.

Now I've been offered an ABIT IP35 Pro as a replacement for my Asus P5K.

I've got an Intel Q6600 CPU which I'd really like to push to it's limit.

Ok... so I don't know much about which mobo's are good etc, but I've got to decide if I want to:

a) Keep the Asus P5Q which I have, accept the IP35 I've been offered and sell that.
b) Sell the P5Q and put use the Abit IP35 in my machine.
c) Refuse the IP35 and try to get my money back.
d) Refuse the IP35 and ask what my alternatives are.
e) Sell both Mobo's and get a different one.
f) Sell the whole lot and upgrade.
g) Anything else I've not thought of yet.

Some points of note:

The P5K I had would not put my Q6600 above 2.7 stable.

The P5Q Easily does 3ghz and would do more, I'd be interested to see how much, but the 24pin power connection is in a silly place for my particular PSU where I've got it and I've had to use a cable tie to keep the power cable to the mobo from touching my CPU heatsink.

I don't know ANYTHING about the Abit, but I'm going to be annoyed about having to re-install windows to avoid any driver issues. Does anyone know how these mobo's compare?

Is the Abit a decent board from a good brand? I've always had Gigabyte or Asus in the past.

Just interested to know opinions on the boards and what people would do?

Thanks,

G
 
IP35 Pro is pretty close to legendary status, great P35 board imo. Between the Abit and the Asus i'd stick the Abit in. Obviously upgrading everything would give you a faster PC but you've got to ask yourself if it is really worth the expense.
 
Jotunkaiser said:
I have an IP35 Pro myself, great bored - shame ABIT are bust now and no more support/bios updates etc :( sucks I had probs with mine and windows 7 BSOD's but it seems to have stoped since I loaded the beta bios 18 on.
Click to expand...

This is a bit off putting.
 
Guru said:
This is a bit off putting.
Click to expand...

Yeah, wasn't aware of any Win 7 issues (wasn't out when i had one) If you're not sure then i'd just sell it, you won't get much for it mind. Sorry i can't be of more help i am truly awful at making decisions myself!
 
goujon945 said:
Yeah, wasn't aware of any Win 7 issues (wasn't out when i had one) If you're not sure then i'd just sell it, you won't get much for it mind. Sorry i can't be of more help i am truly awful at making decisions myself!
Click to expand...

haha no worries!

Wonder if anyone else has an opinion?
 
Just had this email:

Hi

Further to your mail, we are having issues trying to find a board with the same chipset that you had. We do have LN 25049 but this may be slightly lower than what you had.

For a refund the amount would be £22.71 as benefit of use and depreciation is taken into account, this can be offset against another motherboard, but if an upgrade is performed a new warranty will not be issued, the item will only be covered by the original warranty.

Please advise.
Click to expand...

Any views on the LN 25049? Actually it won't even accomodate my 4 sticks of ram!

:(

Don't really want to take £22 lol This sucks!
 
The Abit IP35 Pro is a cracking board, and still one of the best socket 775 boards around. Had you been running the P5Q Pro series I would say stick with what you have, but as it seems to be the vanilla P5Q I would say go for the Abit.

I haven't installed Win 7 on mine yet, so cannot comment on that, but otherwise, teamed with a Q6600 its a winning combo. Mine hit 3.6ghz with ease, and with the right cooling I reckon there would be more in it.

Just do a little research and make sure the Win 7 issue you linked to is an isolated one. There are loads on here using this board, so I am certain someone will be able to confirm.

The only 'issue' with this board is the heatsink on the PWM chips isn't great. It needs removing from the board and bolts fitted to replace the push pins and allow for better contact on the chips otherwise they can get very toasty.

This mod is really easy though, so don't let it put you off.
 
I had no issues with Win 7 on my IP35 Pro when I had it. You can still RMA to Abit but once you pay for postage to and from Holland (you have to pay return postage) its cheaper to buy another 2nd hand.
 
I have win7 64 an Abit Ip35 with altest BIOS and a Q6600.

I have had no issues at all, quite the opposite, easiest over clock I've ever had. Without changing voltage got to 3.0ghz and now sitting very comfortably at 3.4 and have easily pushed to 3.6, but don't seem the benefit in daily usage.

The 24pin socket is in the normal place (right hand side).
 
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