Help. I am trying to put together a new puter and am beating myself over the mb choice. I already have an Antec P180b, Corsair 620HX, Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400C4, Seagate barracuda 7200.10 320gb and c2d 6600. I was thinking about either the P5B deluxe or the bx2. I like the fact that the p5b+ is cheaper, comes with e-sata and extra lan (not that I may ever use them but they are there) but I also like the fact that the bx2 seems to be so stable from what everyone says. It will be a general use computer (games and work) and I will try to overclock a little but not the main goal. Sorry if this has been asked before but hopefully someone can push me one way or another. Thanks rich
![[H]ard|Forum](/styles/hardforum/xenforo/logo_dark.png){kind=logo}
Asus p5b+ or Intel bx2?
- Thread starter rersoap
- Start date
I wrestled with the exact same choice. I finally decided on the BX2 for a couple of reasons:
1. The high multiplier on the E6600 means you don't need such a high FSB, so you don't really need the higher FSB capability of the 965
2. Clock for clock the 975X is supposed to provide better performance than the 965 (not sure if that is really significant, but it's a small factor at least).
3. The 975X has native support for PATA devices, which I still own. I guess the 965 boards are probably fine, but I have heard talk of problems with PATA devices not working really well on them in some cases.
4. The BX2 has a great reputation for stability
5. There are tons of threads on overclocking tips for the BX2, so info is easy to find - not so many for the P5B series.
It was a close thing for me, but in the end I went BX2 - that is if Microcenter ever decides to get around to shipping it. Check around for prices too - Newegg is really overpriced on those boards.
1. The high multiplier on the E6600 means you don't need such a high FSB, so you don't really need the higher FSB capability of the 965
2. Clock for clock the 975X is supposed to provide better performance than the 965 (not sure if that is really significant, but it's a small factor at least).
3. The 975X has native support for PATA devices, which I still own. I guess the 965 boards are probably fine, but I have heard talk of problems with PATA devices not working really well on them in some cases.
4. The BX2 has a great reputation for stability
5. There are tons of threads on overclocking tips for the BX2, so info is easy to find - not so many for the P5B series.
It was a close thing for me, but in the end I went BX2 - that is if Microcenter ever decides to get around to shipping it. Check around for prices too - Newegg is really overpriced on those boards.
I have a P5B-Dlx and while I do like it when its stable i HATE it the rest of the time. I spent $1500 on my pc and this board was a big mistake.
I'm in the middle of RMAing my once stable (3 months), now very ram picky and dead PS2 port P5B. If I did it over again I'd get something else.
If its 500Mhz slower but WORKS every time its all the difference in the world.
I'm in the middle of RMAing my once stable (3 months), now very ram picky and dead PS2 port P5B. If I did it over again I'd get something else.
If its 500Mhz slower but WORKS every time its all the difference in the world.
Just a passing thought, seeing as how I weighed the differences between the two chipsets not too long ago, and I have experience with Intel-manufactured and Asus boards.
First of all, yes, there are issues here and there with JMicron controllers for IDE on the P965 boards. Not every P965 board suffers from this issue, though (I haven't heard of any directly related to Asus, if it helps any). However, I knew that going in and I purchased a SATA disc drive when I purchased my ABIT board. If IDE drives are a sticking issue, you may want to lean towards the 975 boards, or maybe look into nVidia 650i or 680i boards.
What works against the 975 boards is just the age of the architecture. The P965 and nVidia 6x0i chipsets have a wider FSB to work with and legitimately support the speed of the RAM that you own, rersoap, which, in my user experience in each of these platforms, makes overclocking less of a crap-shoot. As well, you may notice in reviews around the web and here at [H] that better overclock results have come from the newer chipsets.
As far as a face-off of Intel versus Asus on board manufacturing, I have found that both board manufacturers are good in that they make solid products. Finding answers to any issues you might have with an Intel board, however, means you have to wade through their gargantuan website or rely on word-of-mouth solutions from internet forums. Asus has a great community online, and their utilities they include with every board are quite usable. My only grievance with Asus is their boards are notoriously picky about what RAM they want to accept.
In a direct shoot-out between the Intel 975XBX2 and the Asus P5B Deluxe, I'd lean towards the Asus board. It has an (arguably) better layout, it overclocks with fairly little effort (Forceman: there are more threads on how to overclock the XBX than the P5B series because anyone can overclock a P965 board. Here's how you do it: Step 1- Increase FSB, Step 2: Increase voltage when the board becomes unstable [which generally doesn't happen until you go well beyond 400 MHz FSB]. I'm not big on overclocking myself, but it's that simple
), and the overall package for the P5B Deluxe or, heck, the P5B Deluxe Wi-Fi (which still costs less than the 975XBX) is a better value.
I'm sure the Intel XBX has it's place, but it's out-shined by so many other boards at this point that I don't see why anyone would pay a premium on such a middle-of-the-road performer.
Just my two cents.
First of all, yes, there are issues here and there with JMicron controllers for IDE on the P965 boards. Not every P965 board suffers from this issue, though (I haven't heard of any directly related to Asus, if it helps any). However, I knew that going in and I purchased a SATA disc drive when I purchased my ABIT board. If IDE drives are a sticking issue, you may want to lean towards the 975 boards, or maybe look into nVidia 650i or 680i boards.
What works against the 975 boards is just the age of the architecture. The P965 and nVidia 6x0i chipsets have a wider FSB to work with and legitimately support the speed of the RAM that you own, rersoap, which, in my user experience in each of these platforms, makes overclocking less of a crap-shoot. As well, you may notice in reviews around the web and here at [H] that better overclock results have come from the newer chipsets.
As far as a face-off of Intel versus Asus on board manufacturing, I have found that both board manufacturers are good in that they make solid products. Finding answers to any issues you might have with an Intel board, however, means you have to wade through their gargantuan website or rely on word-of-mouth solutions from internet forums. Asus has a great community online, and their utilities they include with every board are quite usable. My only grievance with Asus is their boards are notoriously picky about what RAM they want to accept.
In a direct shoot-out between the Intel 975XBX2 and the Asus P5B Deluxe, I'd lean towards the Asus board. It has an (arguably) better layout, it overclocks with fairly little effort (Forceman: there are more threads on how to overclock the XBX than the P5B series because anyone can overclock a P965 board. Here's how you do it: Step 1- Increase FSB, Step 2: Increase voltage when the board becomes unstable [which generally doesn't happen until you go well beyond 400 MHz FSB]. I'm not big on overclocking myself, but it's that simple
), and the overall package for the P5B Deluxe or, heck, the P5B Deluxe Wi-Fi (which still costs less than the 975XBX) is a better value.I'm sure the Intel XBX has it's place, but it's out-shined by so many other boards at this point that I don't see why anyone would pay a premium on such a middle-of-the-road performer.
Just my two cents.
kirbyrj
Fully [H]
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2005
- Messages
- 30,693
IIRC, the P5B plus is a new board isn't it?
From what I've read it is more in the 400 range - maybe mid-400s but not 500. As yojimbo pointed out, the 965 is an overclocking machine, but for an E6600 I don't think you really need that much FSB, unless you plan to go to a lower multiplier for the higher FSB. But I don't know that you'd go wrong with either choice.
rschissler
Weaksauce
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2003
- Messages
- 125
I just finished building a P5B-Deluxe and it seems to be doing great so far.
My Corsair 6400-C4 ram booted with no problem. I know este had a problem with a different brand of ram.
I too read a lot about problems with getting IDE CD/DVD drives to work and debated whether I should purchase a SATA CD/DVD to alleviate any worries I had. Well, I had no problem with that either, using my old IDE Pioneer. Like I had read in other threads, I didn't load any drivers for it from the ASUS disk. Vista seems totally happy with whatever driver it's using for it.
My Corsair 6400-C4 ram booted with no problem. I know este had a problem with a different brand of ram.
I too read a lot about problems with getting IDE CD/DVD drives to work and debated whether I should purchase a SATA CD/DVD to alleviate any worries I had. Well, I had no problem with that either, using my old IDE Pioneer. Like I had read in other threads, I didn't load any drivers for it from the ASUS disk. Vista seems totally happy with whatever driver it's using for it.
Intel has always produced very stable boards, so if overclocking is not your #1 priority then the Intel is the board for you.......... If you do decide to overclock, that board will be more than enough to fill your needs..... The way I look at it nobody knows better with Intel cpu and chipset than Intel itself.... Same reason I buy Ati video cards from ATI and not asus, gigabyte etc.....
I've just swapped mine from P5w to P5b e plus, so far no probs with e6300, early days of ramping it up. but first run @ 3ghz no probs And since it is so much cheaper than the BX. Found it worth it.
But only bdue to have the e63 CPU, if you have a better one then its might be better to go for the 975chipset on the BX.
The P5w will be going back in if I upgrade the CPU this month.
But only bdue to have the e63 CPU, if you have a better one then its might be better to go for the 975chipset on the BX.
The P5w will be going back in if I upgrade the CPU this month.
Unless I am wrong, nobody is really saying that getting one board over the other would be a big mistake. I am planning on getting a sata dvd burner and also have a new sata hard drive to go in. Only old stuff would be the floppy and old hard drive to copy onto the new one. Once it is copied, it goes back into the old box. So right now, I am leaning towards the cheaper asus, but please speak up if that will be a mistake on my part. Also, as far as the memory, it was on the approved list from Asus, so that should not be a problem, at least that I know of. rich
kirbyrj
Fully [H]
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2005
- Messages
- 30,693
The Asus is a good choice. I might look into one of them myself. You won't be disappointed (unless you get a DOA motherboard
).