For my first build iam after either off these the reviews ive read have been good for both boards, with the DS3P the better one for OC. Only thing ive noticed is the DS3P has a FSB1333 and the P5B 1066, iam guessing the higher figure one is better?
P5B/DS3P
- Thread starter Jimmy1983
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I don't think their is anything better than the P5B-Series for Conroe, I doubt the DS3 is better? Both boards run 1066MHz System Bus but neither will have problems running 1333Mhz-System Bus
If the system bus thing is confusing think of it another way
200MHz-FSB= Allendale Chips
266MHz-FSB= Conroe Chips
333MHz-FSB= Future INTEL Chips
400MHz-FSB= The level most overclockers reach without too much fuss
450MHz-FSB= The better boards can hit this level, turns an e6400 into 3.6GHz and an e6600 into 4GHz (if you lucky and have the kit!).
500MHz-FSB+= Only a well made board has any chance of running this high and being stable
If the system bus thing is confusing think of it another way
200MHz-FSB= Allendale Chips
266MHz-FSB= Conroe Chips
333MHz-FSB= Future INTEL Chips
400MHz-FSB= The level most overclockers reach without too much fuss
450MHz-FSB= The better boards can hit this level, turns an e6400 into 3.6GHz and an e6600 into 4GHz (if you lucky and have the kit!).
500MHz-FSB+= Only a well made board has any chance of running this high and being stable
If you are going overclocking, can I suggest you check for boards that allow you to manually set the FSB Strap?
I think the P5B does and I know the Abit AB9 QuadGT does. The advantage is that you can pick where the Northbridge overclocking starts.
A board that has native support for 1333FSB processors can run the Northbridge at the standard speed while the processor runs at 333FSB.
One that only has a 1066 Bootstrap will be overclocking the Northbridge when the CPU is running at 333MHzFSB.
As far as I know, the DS3P automatically uses the 1066 bootstrap for current CPU's although it can be used with 1333 bootstrap CPUs as well. The P5B and QuadGT allow you to select that start-point manually, allowing for better flexibility at the high-end of current CPU's overclocking 425-475FSB so you don't suffer the 'hole' that afflicts DS3's at the moment.
It's an abstract concept to grasp, but once you've experienced this particular feature it's quite hard to live without.
I think the P5B does and I know the Abit AB9 QuadGT does. The advantage is that you can pick where the Northbridge overclocking starts.
A board that has native support for 1333FSB processors can run the Northbridge at the standard speed while the processor runs at 333FSB.
One that only has a 1066 Bootstrap will be overclocking the Northbridge when the CPU is running at 333MHzFSB.
As far as I know, the DS3P automatically uses the 1066 bootstrap for current CPU's although it can be used with 1333 bootstrap CPUs as well. The P5B and QuadGT allow you to select that start-point manually, allowing for better flexibility at the high-end of current CPU's overclocking 425-475FSB so you don't suffer the 'hole' that afflicts DS3's at the moment.
It's an abstract concept to grasp, but once you've experienced this particular feature it's quite hard to live without.
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Man of Honour
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Only the DS3P rev 3.3 has native 1333 support.
The bootstrap is the starting point. So with a 1066QFSB CPU, the Bootstrap is 1066. With an 800MHz processor like an E4300, the Bootstrap is 800.
The difficulty does indeed rest with the grey areas when one bootstrap is forced to finish and the motherboard automatically selects the next, which is why I prefer the boards that allow you to pick your bootstrap.
A board like the DS3 doesn't come off the 1066 bootstrap until 425FSB/1700QFSB which is daft as you then drop back in bandwidth, not processor cycles as those are always there, it's just that the bandwidth to talk to the memory is reduced when the strap changes. For something so simple, it's effects are very complex.
The difficulty does indeed rest with the grey areas when one bootstrap is forced to finish and the motherboard automatically selects the next, which is why I prefer the boards that allow you to pick your bootstrap.
A board like the DS3 doesn't come off the 1066 bootstrap until 425FSB/1700QFSB which is daft as you then drop back in bandwidth, not processor cycles as those are always there, it's just that the bandwidth to talk to the memory is reduced when the strap changes. For something so simple, it's effects are very complex.
So.. let me see if I get this right:
At the 1066 bootstrap with a FSB of 400 the quadpumped FSB is 1600. That is 400x4.
That is 1.5X the memory bandwidth of stock speed at 1066. Or at least theoretically it is. (1600/1066)
At 1333 bootstrap with a FSB of 400 the quad-pumped FSB would still be 1600 but the memory bandwidth would only be 1.2X that of stock. (1600/1333)
Is that anywhere near right?
At the 1066 bootstrap with a FSB of 400 the quadpumped FSB is 1600. That is 400x4.
That is 1.5X the memory bandwidth of stock speed at 1066. Or at least theoretically it is. (1600/1066)
At 1333 bootstrap with a FSB of 400 the quad-pumped FSB would still be 1600 but the memory bandwidth would only be 1.2X that of stock. (1600/1333)
Is that anywhere near right?
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markyp23 said:
Quite the opposite as you lose memory bandwidth until you gain enough additional cycles to make up for the fact that you are running the Northbridge slower. The infamous "FSB hole" between 425MHz and 475MHz.
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Man of Honour
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Darg said:
Yes, that's what i meant. The rev 3.3 of the DS3P anyway. I got that from Gigabyte's website. My rev 2 states that it does'nt support 1333 in the manual although i have the latest bios which i believe gives me it now. If you see what i mean.
The DS3P supports crossfire as it has a pair of pci-e slots, 16x and 4x.
Darg said:
The DS3P has firewire and uses the ICH8R chipset, it also has I think a 6 phase VRM. All in all a different beast to the DS3. Most if not all Asus P5B mobos provide support for 1333, seem to remember there was a BIOS upgrade for this. Only the rev3.3 Gigabyte mobos have the official support for 1333 but from what I've read rev3.3 boards are fairly hit and miss when it comes to overclocking.
I have a DS3P rev2.0 mobo and have had no problems with it, only got it cause I needed built in firewire and wanted the ICH8R chipset.