PQ5-E or GA-EP45-UD3P

[Slyman2k4]

I have hit a snag in speccing a new machine. I have been reading a load of topics and condensed my choice of motherboard down to the two mentioned in the thread title. I am hoping to take a first shot at overclocking and this is swaying me towards the PQ5 because of the amount of positive posts about it I have read on here.
From what I have gathered it has an easy enough to comprehend BIOS for overclocking and since there are plenty of people using it and overclocking it, if I have problems I am sure people would be friendly enough to help me.
The Gigabyte caught my attention because I have seen numerous posts praising them as well, especially their warranty support (something which worried me while reading about ASUS'). But I couldn't find enough posts concerning the UD3P and overclocking it, so it wouldn't be as easy with the PQ5 if I get stuck or the advanced BIOS is too much for me.

What my other components will be roughly:

E8400

Ram choice between
OCZ Platinum/Reaper or Corsair Dominator

Enermax Galaxy 850W PSU

There is only about a tenners difference in them and not much differences feature wise, but my question is am I just safe for sticking with the P5Q? Its only the warranty support that worries me.

Also for a sneaky bonus question, what would be the best HSF that would accommodate this motherboard nicely?

From searching I short-listed:

Tuniq Tower 120-LFB
Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme
Akasa AK-965 CPU Cooler

with a personal choice of sharkoon/noctua fan/s attached

If theres a better one i've missed, please do let me know. Otherwise its a safe bet from any of the above?

 

[Slyman2k4]

I am using the P5Q-E...happy as larry with it...

Cheers man, think i'll save the hassle and go with the P5Q-E

Hi slyman, im using the asus p5q deluxe p45, fantastic board, i have 4gb of ocz reaper ram (pc8500, works fine) E8400 would be a lovely cpu for your build, and for a cooler, the thermalright ultra is the best on the market, with sharkoon fans attached. btw n ireland, nice one mate.

oh aye, Banbridge.

So there thermalright is the way to go then? Is it fidgety getting on, as I read a few posts about it 'slipping and sliding', but then other posts about that being fixed.

 

[Slyman2k4]

Yes, P5Q-E is a great board. ASUS RMA isn't too bad... I blew my P5Q-Pro and returned to OcUK and had replacement back after 10 days or so, not too shabby at all. I bought the P5Q-E in the meantime and am gonna stick with it due to it's better chipset cooling (although the SATA placement on the E board isn't as good as the Pro imo - I'm using all 6 SATA's and one is directly beneath the rear of my 4870 - I can use it just with a right-angled SATA cable, but it was a close run thing!)

And as others have said the Thermalright Ultra 120 is deffo the pick out of the 3 coolers you mention. Have you thought about the Noctua NH-U12P tho? It's also damn fine and comes with one of their P series fans.

That does sound like decent enough RMA.

I had yes, I must have forgot to take note of it because I remember looking at it through their site after seeing it in quite a few builds.

Would it be a better choice of those two, or are they both roughly the same and its more of which one I like the look of?

Cheers for all the input chaps, it has helped a lot.

 

[Slyman2k4]

The difference between the Noctua and the Thermalright is primarily one of personal preference. The Thermalright tends to beat the Noctua by a degree or two on most reviews and there's no doubt it's a fantastic bit of kit, and you have to spec your own fans which is some people's preference.

The Noctua comes with a single fan already which if bought seperately is about £17 which is pretty steep for a fan but it is one of the best available (despite it's horrid colour scheme!)

It's all down to your own taste really!

Coming with a fan worth £17 for a few quids difference is appealing. I see what you mean about the fan though. It kind of reminds me when you're waiting in the doctors office and the walls are those two colours, including the smell of illness. lol

I might have to go for that one

I saw this thread and was hoping the ASUS got the vote mainly because I just bought one for <£70, let us know how you get on with it, I'm gonna be putting my E6300 on it for now but would eventually like an E8400.

Less than £70, you lucky bugger . Will do, but it mightn't be for a few weeks, wouldn't have the time yet unfortunately

Thanks again chaps.