CPU/Mobo Gigabyte P35-DS4 vs. Asus P5K dlx/wi-fi

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P.Ping Tom

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Hey all,

(Warning - :noob: alert in effect)

SOME INFO - I'm looking to build an all-round system. I'm an average gamer at best - nothing hardcore - but it is one of the things I'll be using my rig for. I'd like to know which mobo is better for multi-tasking/running several apps at once - email, excel, stock ticker, torrents, winamp, games.
CPU - c2d e6750
Monitor - Samsung 206BW (if any of you guys think the viewsonic 20" is a better choice, pls lemme know)
RAM - most likely corsair 2gb @ 667/800.
Will decide on graphics card and other items after choosing the mobo.
Will be using the onboard sound for now.

I'm looking at the following two boards for my new rig -

1. Gigabyte P35-DS4.
Review - http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=643

2. Asus P5K Deluxe/Wi-Fi.
Review - http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=644
Yes - I've read the reviews, but what I'm looking for is input from those who may be using and/or are extremely familiar with these mobo's. I've seen a bunch of reviews (online and those of TE members) for the P5K dlx, but for the GA P35-DS4, reviews are pretty scarce. LegionHardware is the only place that seems to have a full-fledged one so far, so I'm hoping it's with this one that you guys can help me out. I'd like to know what YOU guys think are the pros/cons of, and differences between, the two boards. Do I need 3 PCI slots (Asus) or 2(G'byte)? What's the trade-off? What do you think of the board layouts? What do you think of the different I/O panels? Etc, etc.

Lookin forward to your responses. Thanks in advance. :hap2:
PICS -
Asus I/O - http://www.legionhardware.com/Pics/ASUS_P5K_Deluxe/Image_02.jpg

Gigabyte I/O - http://www.legionhardware.com/Pics/Gigabyte_P35-DS4/Image_15.jpg
 
Definately asus P5k Deluxe, I am using it and happy so far. I play games on lan a lot so other than ocing features i like 2 RJ45 Jacks behind Asus m/b.

Plus chipset cooling runs all the way up.

When i enquired last time Gigabyte P35 Ds4 was 2.7K xpensive than P5Kdeluxe (13.7k).
 
The Gigabyte board seems to be using quite an efficient cooling system and you will not need to spend extra money to cool the NB or the SB...the solid capacitors and cooling would/should mean better overclocking capability...but be warned that it does not have any IDE support...
 
Silent Shout said:
When i enquired last time Gigabyte P35 Ds4 was 2.7K xpensive than P5Kdeluxe (13.7k).
Click to expand...

Really? I thought the DS4 was coming in for way less than the P5K, which was why I was kinda leaning towards it. Lemme look into that again. Where u gettin your prices from?
thebanik said:
The Gigabyte board seems to be using quite an efficient cooling system and you will not need to spend extra money to cool the NB or the SB...the solid capacitors and cooling would/should mean better overclocking capability...but be warned that it does not have any IDE support...
Click to expand...

Yes someone else also told me the cooling system on that board is very good. I've heard diverging views on IDE support. Some say that everything is soon goin to be SATA so IDE isn't really needed, while others say its still necessary. I'm still very n00b-ish when it comes to that level of technicality, so in your opinion - why do you think IDE support is still necessary? Also, given my current requirements (mentioned in first post), does it make any difference if I have 3 PCI or 2 PCI slots? :S
 
hmmm....your friend may have said the truth, but people still buy CD/DVD rom as IDE/PATA drives, all you need to do is when you buy your Harddrive, CD/DVD drive make sure that they are SATA.

Another con might be that if you borrow a friends Harddrive for some data transfer but if its IDE then you woud be stuck, all i am giving you is scenario, it might be possible that you may not feel the lack of a IDE support at all, though i would agree that IDE is going day by day the Floppy Drive way.
 
If you go through the reviews you have posted, there is not much of any difference in performance of these two.

+ for P5K Dlx -
1. Better overclocker
2. Has lot of added features
3. Dual GB lan ports

I would get the cheaper of these two as in terms of quality both are pretty good.

^^ DS4 does have IDE support. There is no difference between these two boards in terms of IDE support. All these boards have a secondary jmicron IDE controller as Intel has stopped IDE support on its chipsets.
 
random2 said:
^^ DS4 does have IDE support. There is no difference between these two boards in terms of IDE support. All these boards have a secondary jmicron IDE controller as Intel has stopped IDE support on its chipsets.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't have noticed that. Thanks for pointing that out. You're right, the two boards seem to be extremely similar in terms of performance. I'm assuming you think both the boards are equally well laid out. I was leaning towards the P5K because of all the 'bells and whistles', but I am getting the DS4 for a really good price - significantly less than the P5K. One question (sorry if its kinda n00bish) - can I add eSATA and USB 2.0 I/O on the DS4 to make up for the lack of those connections (as compared to the P5K) on the back I/O panel?

Thanks again.

(aside - any truth to the rumors that the P5K BIOS is having some issues with its stability?)
 
AFAIK, DS4 has 8 USB2 ports on the back panel. It also comes with a 3 port SATA bracket. So not much of a difference. Only diff is Gigabyte having a single ethernet port and P5K dlx having 2.
 
P5k Deluxe.. Personal Experience.. needed a BIOS update tho.. Everythin went smooth thru the EZ Flash utility... from 0202 to 0311..

My present E6850 did a smooth o'clok from 3Ghz to 4Ghz...

Xcellent board..
 
Thank you all for the advice. I will be asking more annoying and stupid questions over the next few days regarding the rest of my components. Hope ya'll are up for it. :rolleyes:
 
P.Ping Tom said:
Picked up the DS4 - for 7.9k :). Would have preferred the P5K, but the GA price was too good to resist.
Click to expand...
at 8k it was a no contest especially if you don't need the added features (bells and whistles) of the Asus P5K Dlx.

Your mind apparently was made up before you started the thread - :no:
 
I got my mobo from Malaysia, which is why I got it for cheap. I was leaning towards the P5K, which was going for about 11k (Malaysia price), but for the last few weeks not a single retailer had that board in stock (I scoured Low Yat Plaza for it - there was a shortage of quite a few Asus mobo's during this current period). Since I didn't wanna wait, and since I felt the DS4 was comin in at a pretty good deal, I went for it.

My monitor doesn't have the S or A or C stamp on the back. There's also a shortcut thru the monitors menu (which Samsung doesn't tell you about) thru which you find out what what panel you really have, but it doesn't apply anymore. Apparentely, in the wake of all the bad press Samsung has been receiving over it's non-'S' class panels, the company has removed the stamp at the back from all of it's new monitors, and also line in the menu display shortcut which states panel type. Since my monitor is brand new (manufactured in August), there isn't anyway of knowing as of now - at least not to me. Whether this means Samsung has learnt it's lesson and are making all panels the same, or whether it's now simply luck of the draw for me, I don't know. Given the deal I got tho, it's a chance I'm willing to take.

P.S. - I'm sure most of you guys have heard of Hadwarezone.com. Up-to-date prices in Singapore, Malaysia, Bangkok, etc. Kuala Lumpur seems to have the best prices, so check out the Malaysia section, You can even d/l full pdf pricelists from various retailers. Yes - in many cases international waranty is an issue - but if you're O/C'ing or modding your rig you;re robably voiding your warranty here as well (I think?). And the price differential in many cases is pretty good to pass up.

*WHEW*
 
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