yay or nay - ASUS COMMANDO
- Thread starter VortX
- Start date
Im not worried about the price... I can get the asus commando for £130 free delivery when the Quad gt is around £115 so I hardly think £15 is anything to argue about... I prefer the look of the commando becuase I just prefere their service for one... The board is 100% stable and I havn't not seen one review claiming otherwise. The only reviews that critisie this board for having one or 2 errors are now fixed by BIOS updates. Where-as I have heard that the Quad-GT does not have such a good service when it comes to the BIOS. As for problems such as memory they have all been solved in the latest BIOS's. I prefere the layout of the Commando too. I prefere the look of the BIOS layout, its more simplified and more to the point. I have not heard of anyone that has had the Commando and it been rubbish. With the latest BIOS installed this board appears to be top notch, error free and a CPU FSB support of a standard 1333mhz. I would guess that what you apprently reckon of the commando having 'ram and noise' problems are either fixed in the BIOS updates, a dodgy board that needs RMA'n or simple a user who doesn't know what hes doing... If you can find me one review, where they have the latest BIOS update and its authentic then I will think twice but other then that this board is pretty much the bees knees. 
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VortX said:Im not worried about the price... I can get the asus commando for £130 free delivery when the Quad gt is around £115 so I hardly think £15 is anything to argue about... I prefer the look of the commando becuase I just prefere their service for one... The board is 100% stable and I havn't not seen one review claiming otherwise. The only reviews that critisie this board for having one or 2 errors are now fixed by BIOS updates. Where-as I have heard that the Quad-GT does not have such a good service when it comes to the BIOS. As for problems such as memory they have all been solved in the latest BIOS's. I prefere the layout of the Commando too. I prefere the look of the BIOS layout, its more simplified and more to the point. I have not heard of anyone that has had the Commando and it been rubbish. With the latest BIOS installed this board appears to be top notch, error free and a CPU FSB support of a standard 1333mhz. I would guess that what you apprently reckon of the commando having 'ram and noise' problems are either fixed in the BIOS updates, a dodgy board that needs RMA'n or simple a user who doesn't know what hes doing... If you can find me one review, where they have the latest BIOS update and its authentic then I will think twice but other then that this board is pretty much the bees knees.
Well, that's us told.
If you want to spend too much on a slower board whose main attractive features to you appear to be a black PCB with "Republic of Gamers" written on it and an LCD on the back panel that I would imagine you have to get on your hands and knees to look at, then be my guest.
WJA96 said:Well, that's us told.
If you want to spend too much on a slower board whose main attractive features to you appear to be a black PCB with "Republic of Gamers" written on it and an LCD on the back panel that I would imagine you have to get on your hands and knees to look at, then be my guest.
I can't see how this board is slower... mabye in micro milliseconds but thats all. You can hit a 500mhz stable FSB a 3.7ghz+ stable cpu overclock (e6700) and current memory can go up to 1200mhz+. I would hardly call that 'slow.' As for the LCD on the back... I never even mentioned it so its hardly a point to throw in my face. I look at the board and the software as a whole. I agree an LCD on the back is not much use but I never even said it was in the first place lol. Plus there are features that have to be taken into consideration such as the commando has more PCI slots. I just admire the commando because you can tell just at a glimpse that they cut no corners when creating the board, every part you look at is quality, no bodging involved. Please don't get me wrong the Quad GT is a good board, the Commando and the GT are competitors...The GT has things that are better then the commando and vice versa but neither of the boards is bad value for money or slow.
I'm just pleased it works compared with the DS3 and DQ6
To be fair the QuadGT probably is a slightly faster board. My requirements now are more on the stability side rather than out and out performance. Right now I've got a small overclock going at stock voltages, no problems, no worries, that will do me fine
To be fair the QuadGT probably is a slightly faster board. My requirements now are more on the stability side rather than out and out performance. Right now I've got a small overclock going at stock voltages, no problems, no worries, that will do me fine
I can find you a lot of users (& not noobs) on their 2nd or 3rd board or plain given up after that ...VortX said:If you can find me one review, where they have the latest BIOS update and its authentic then I will think twice but other then that this board is pretty much the bees knees.
& the Commando problems appear to be hardware related whereas the minor problems in the QuadGT were BIOS & have been sorted.
The price difference between the QuadGT & the Commando on average is ~£25-£30.
The Commando is slower (not a lot maybe, but still slower) clock for clock because the QuadGT stays on the 1067 strap all the way up to it's 500+fsb top (highest I've seen a screenie of is 574fsb) whereas the Commando runs the looser 1333 strap over 400fsb.
It probably has a slightly higher fsb ceiling because of this & it certainly will run a higher RAM bus speed than the QuadGT albeit less agressively.
VortX said:Im not worried about the price... I can get the asus commando for £130 free delivery when the Quad gt is around £115 so I hardly think £15 is anything to argue about... I prefer the look of the commando becuase I just prefere their service for one... The board is 100% stable and I havn't not seen one review claiming otherwise. The only reviews that critisie this board for having one or 2 errors are now fixed by BIOS updates. Where-as I have heard that the Quad-GT does not have such a good service when it comes to the BIOS. As for problems such as memory they have all been solved in the latest BIOS's. I prefere the layout of the Commando too. I prefere the look of the BIOS layout, its more simplified and more to the point. I have not heard of anyone that has had the Commando and it been rubbish. With the latest BIOS installed this board appears to be top notch, error free and a CPU FSB support of a standard 1333mhz. I would guess that what you apprently reckon of the commando having 'ram and noise' problems are either fixed in the BIOS updates, a dodgy board that needs RMA'n or simple a user who doesn't know what hes doing... If you can find me one review, where they have the latest BIOS update and its authentic then I will think twice but other then that this board is pretty much the bees knees.
Errr the board has problems with squeeling coils, how can a bios fix squeeling coils? Obviously not every board but a fair few users have said their boards do this and have to cover them in silicone to make them stop.
A commando at 8x487 and QuadGT at 8x475. QuadGT on the 1066 and the Commando at 1333 stap....boot @ 400 FSB clockgen in windows to 487and the commando is faster. I read this and although its not for me (want it all done in the bios), but in a one off test to reach the fastest OC i am thinking the Commando would just edge it?
The Commando it has quite a few voltage options,2nd gigabit lan, reset,CMOS button,1333.The quad GT has some probs with its bios and the ICH8R and the Commando some of them seem to have squeeling coils
and all have that Vdroop but they can be fixed.Both Vgood IMO it depends on what you want I guess.
But they are all the same the DS3P wth its ram issues and the 680i with its issues and so on and on. I guess they all will have some issues with them,its just a shame that we the customer end up being the testing department.But thats half the fun eh!
The Commando it has quite a few voltage options,2nd gigabit lan, reset,CMOS button,1333.The quad GT has some probs with its bios and the ICH8R and the Commando some of them seem to have squeeling coils
and all have that Vdroop but they can be fixed.Both Vgood IMO it depends on what you want I guess. But they are all the same the DS3P wth its ram issues and the 680i with its issues and so on and on. I guess they all will have some issues with them,its just a shame that we the customer end up being the testing department.But thats half the fun eh!
Don't forget the commando with it's double boot "feature" ... which is stupid.
Read the last few pages of the commando thread on XS and you will see a few people complaining.
To be honest, it isn't worth the price.
I myself can't wait for DFI Infinity to become available over here, 1066 strap goodness and fast memory addressing.
Read the last few pages of the commando thread on XS and you will see a few people complaining.
To be honest, it isn't worth the price.
I myself can't wait for DFI Infinity to become available over here, 1066 strap goodness and fast memory addressing.
RKF said:
I have no idea what you mean by this? What we are all saying is that @ 8 x 475 vs. 8 x 475 the Abit is faster. It completes benchmarks faster on a clock for clock basis.
RKF said:
The QuadGT has all that except the 2nd Gigabit LAN port.
RKF said:
Fixed.
RKF said:and the Commando some of them seem to have squeeling coils
The coils and VDroop need hardware fixes, a BIOS update won't do it.
RKF said:But they are all the same the DS3P wth its ram issues and the 680i with its issues and so on and on. I guess they all will have some issues with them,its just a shame that we the customer end up being the testing department.But thats half the fun eh!
Yes, it is half the fun, but some people apparently want to pay over the odds for the priviledge and won't be dissuaded. Lets look at the original post questions;
VortX said:
Yes.
VortX said:
No. Even the "Really Good Review" that has been posted says it's not worth the money and claims the top 4 pros of the board are;
Clean, all black PCB
It’s a Republic of Gamers board
LCD display on the back is a neat novelty
On board power, reset and clear CMOS buttons
Err.... Yes... Well..... I'd say they're scraping about for positives here.
VortX said:
Deafening silence.
WJA96 said:
I agree that it appears to not be woth the money. Aside from the value for money issue, my main aim was to find a top end board, that would also look good through a side window. The Commando seems to tick all the boxes with a little bit more here and little bit less there compared to others. Scraping for positves you seemed to have missed a few from that review
100% rock solid stable
Overclocks well, even at default settings
Ships with Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter (no use but its there)
Completely stable foundation for Windows Vista
VortX said:Scraping for positves you seemed to have missed a few from that review
I only listed the top 4 in the order from the review
WJA96 said:
And lets be honest, the other 4 are a bit soft too;
100% rock solid stable - OK - you'd expect that in a board that costs what this one does
Overclocks well, even at default settings - So does the DS3P, P5N-E SLi, P5B-E etc. etc. and most of them are half the price.
Ships with Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter - What's that scraping sound I hear?
Completely stable foundation for Windows Vista - and again - down at the bottom of the barrel, using the scraper.
WJA96 said:
I've had a real good look at this board and after reading loads of reviews... Not one single one says oh it’s slow and crap, get a cheaper board. The only cons I can find that are even the slightest bit concerning is the price...as I said thought aside from the price which I am willing to spend as I can get the board cheaper. My view, opinions and statements are backed up by evidence... so far all I have seen from everyone on here is good wording. I never said the Abit Quad GT was slower or faster then the Commando but I did say it might possible be faster in micro milliseconds. Yes I agree you Quad GT might possible be a touch faster... but in benchmarks...I have seen that the Commando climbs above the rest when It comes to Games and pure performance. One thing I noticed with this board is the memory speeds, which it is mostly the fastest or not far off compared to other top tend boards. Like I said the Commando also has more features then the Quad GT... It has 4 PCI slots compared to the GT's 2 for example. Yes the LCD display might be a bit of a gimmick but to be honest if an error happens and your computer is unable to display the info then the LCD comes in useful. I am not just looking for performance, I am looking for features as well, even the tiniest of details can make all the difference... Some extra features that the Commando has:
Q-Fan plus
Q-Connector
EL/IO
On Board LED's
8-Phase Capless design
The Commando also has a good software bundle in the way of drivers and utilities. It has an excellent BIOS. The Commando also supports a 1333Mmzh FSB as standard (BIOS update required) where-as the GT doesn't.
As said earlier I prefer the board's layout:
1. Clear and out of the way.
2. Clear and simple on-board BIOS options.
3. 6 SATA II ports stacked and keeped out of the way, facing sideways I belive is better It will prevent my having to bend the lengendary weakness of the SATA cables.
4. Clear and to the side, including a IDE socket facing outwards which is an advantage comapred to upwards saves having to bend the cables.
5. Plenty of breathing space for a good sizes CPU cooler.
6. 4 PCI slots.
Here you can see the advantage of having the SATA ports positioned as the are. Some people may prefer otherwise but personally I think they are better. You can also see the BIOS area, supporting the 3 BIOS switches.
Can we just agree that both boards are too good to dismiss. The Quad-GT has some specifications that the Commando doesn't on the other hand the Commando has some specifications the Quad-GT doesn't. Both board are almost shoulder to shoulder when it comes to benchmarks, nevertheless the Commando can overtake the GT and vice versa. Both boards are competitors...The features such as the LCD display, fancy 'gimmicks' you might call may be of no use to some people, but they are advantages not disadvantages to the board. So...when trying to find negatives to a board then try to find real ones rather then features that effect the board only in a positive way. Agreed they may also affect the price in a negative way but you get what you pay for.
Thanks for all your input, appreciated that you took the time to reply
. As you can tell I've looked in depth at the Commando. Due to everything said I’m gonna go away and do the same for the Quad GT, then I shall decide as both these boards seem to do what I want.PS: If I get the board I will post my overcooking results. As said before though the board is capable of a 500mhzFSB a 3700 MHz CPU speed OC (e6700) and memory speeds of around 1200 MHz (crucial Balistix). So I don't know what you will be expecting, however I will not be pushing the system to the absolute limit as I do not want to fry my setup. I only wish to have a max board for some leg room for the components. My overclock will most probably be a 400 MHz FSB and around a 3.4 GHz e6600 with crucial balistix of 1066 MHz CL5 (6400/5300 default).
OK, the QuadGT has an onboard LED POST reporter in a more usable position if your case has a window.VortX said:
If it doesn'thave a window you can add a Guru panel or Clock which adds more features as well as repositioning the readout.
Q-Fan Plus isn't as good as abit's uGuru - in uGuru abit has the best fan control/hardware monitoring of any of the mobo mfrs.
Q-Connector - I will give you although judging by my P5N-E it could be further improved (mine is a bit wobbly)
EL/IO - LED POST reporter on the abit
On board LEDs - QuadGT has that with 7 different programmes available (incl. all off)
8-Phase capless design - I'm not sure that it truly is 8-phase (in the past they've had 8-phase that didn't actually operate that way most of the time) but no. of phases of itself means little - that board like most Asus mobos has bad Vdroop etc.
The QuadGT on the other hand use a 5-phase solid state PWM, solid caps etc.
So does the QuadGT - it doesn't have a £7 game though.
Do you know that?
All the Asus does is add a CPU identifier string & tell you to configure it manually.
I'm pretty certain that when Intel launch the 1333 fsb CPUs that abit will do exactly the same - the mobo has absolutely no probs at running at 1333.
Layouts are a very personal thing so I can't really argue against that but then again I don't think that anyone can really argue too much against the QuadGT's either.
I think that the QuadGT would pass this too
I might give you the sideways ports although I've never had a problem with other esp. as the cables that abit supply are latching ones unlike Asus.
& don't forget that the abit has 2 eSATA ports as well.
Looked at the QuadGT's IDE socket?
Very definitely true of the QuadGT
True, but you are likely to lose the use of a couple with dual slot gfx cards & the QuadGT gains a PCI-E which will probably be more useful in the future.
1 other thing - it looks like the Commando is another Asus without a socketed BIOS.
Now I'm sure that Asus say that with all their different ways of recovering a BIOS that it's not necessary but it is possible for a BIOS chip to fail & certainly going by the P5N-E posts on forums a no. of people have had to RMA mobos after a bad flash etc. where they couldn't recover using the various options.
I still like the belt & britches backup of being easily able to simply swap BIOS chips if need be.
I can confirm that someone on Xtreme Systems has used the Abit AB9 Quad GT with a E6750 ES.
I have received my 6750ES today
i have tested and it works perfectly :
Hey VortX, why don't you just get the ASUS P5B-Deluxe? I mean what does the Commando do that the P5B-Deluxe doesn't?.VortX said:
Don't know anything about the ABIT Quad XYZ, although I seen a few posts the last couple of days where a few people are hailing it as the second coming? Some people scare me the amount of passion and enthiusiam they can get for a new product.
This thread reads a bit like two guys discussing which is better, a Mc Donalds Big Mac or a Burger King whooper "Oh but the sesame seeds are spaced just right on the big mac" says guy one . . ."That doesn't matter because the double whooper has 42% more lettuce" retorts guy two.
Its always good to have an appreciation for the finer details of a product. but there comes a point where you have to step back and see the bigger picture, its a motherboard, by the time you made up your mind there will be a new chipset out
lol around 2 months. . .Big.Wayne said:Its always good to have an appreciation for the finer details of a product. but there comes a point where you have to step back and see the bigger picture, its a motherboard, by the time you made up your mind there will be a new chipset out
& the vicsious circle starts all over again. . . & people flog their hardware lol.