Building a new work rig - opinions on P8P67LE vs P67 Sabertooth

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aphex187

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Jun 24, 2001
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So I'm building the following PC for work:

Intel i5-2500k
4GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3
60GB OCZ Vertex 3
500GB WD Caviar Black
EVGA 9500GT 1GB
Coolermaster 460W PSU
Coolermaster Centurion 5 Case
2 x 23" Monitors

I will never play a game on this machine but I would like to squeeze as much CPU performance out of this as possible for Photoshop and some light video editing as well as normal day to day work. Originally I had planned on A P8P67 PRO but in the two days that I originally spec'ed my system out, Amazon sold out. The only two boards I see that I can still order are these two.

So with no gaming going on but I'd like to have the ability to do some light overclocking (stock CPU cooler) what do you guys think?

(edit - there is also a Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD3-B3 that is available - I know nothing about that board though).

Thanks!
 
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For the WD, what color is that? I wouldn't get a Green, but the Blue or Black should be fine. If you want performance though, the SpinPoint series is doing quite a bit better than the Black at most benchmarks even though it is a 5400 RPM drive.

If you aren't gaming at all, that GPU is probably overkill. The Intel ones should be fine, and you could use the money to get a better quality PSU. Just my two cents.
 
firefox15 said:
For the WD, what color is that? I wouldn't get a Green, but the Blue or Black should be fine. If you want performance though, the SpinPoint series is doing quite a bit better than the Black at most benchmarks even though it is a 5400 RPM drive.

If you aren't gaming at all, that GPU is probably overkill. The Intel ones should be fine, and you could use the money to get a better quality PSU. Just my two cents.
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Its a black (and I've updated the post). I figured a $69 wouldn't be overkill but maybe I can find a cheaper option. AFAIK the boards I'm looking at do not have onboard video so I have to get some kind of GPU.
 
firefox15 said:
If you aren't gaming at all, that GPU is probably overkill. The Intel ones should be fine, and you could use the money to get a better quality PSU. Just my two cents.
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If he's thinking of overclocking his CPU to improve Photoshop performance then no, a 9500 is not overkill. CS4 and CS5 both support GPU acceleration.

Also OP I'd consider a cheap but good aftermarket cooler for your CPU even if you don't overclock at all, the difference is huge.
 
Wasn't aware that CS4/5 had GPU acceleration. In that case, I would agree that the GPU is a good choice.
 
Personally i'd scratch the LE off the list once overclocking enters the equation. I wouldn't go lower than the Asus P8P67 (non-LE) especially if you're considering the Sabertooth..

There's some related info in this thread on a few different Asus boards: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1593084
 
SJetski71 said:
Personally i'd scratch the LE off the list once overclocking enters the equation. I wouldn't go lower than the Asus P8P67 (non-LE) especially if you're considering the Sabertooth..

There's some related info in this thread on a few different Asus boards: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1593084
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I agree. The LE lacks features and in my opinion the Sabertooth would be rock solid with no OC or a modest OC. Anything more than that and you're stability will be questionable... and who wants questionable stability for work.

Personally, for work... I'd just get a Dell. GASP! .... yes, I said it. The reason is because time is money when it comes to production machines. The more you have to deal with hardware issues, software updates and so on.. the more money (time) is lost. With a Dell, if something breaks, you call them and usually they have the part to you NBD or at least in two.

We used to build PCs for clients, and lost a ton of money because of what I mentioned above.

If you hit the Dell Outlet... www.dell.com/outlet you can get a Dell Optiplex with a 3 year warranty for 400 - 500 bucks. Throw in your 9500GT card and you're rockin.

Then if you want, build a custom PC for yourself. Even with the extra 400 bucks factored in for a Dell, you'll come out ahead as you won't have to deal with down time.
 
Ultima99 said:
If he's thinking of overclocking his CPU to improve Photoshop performance then no, a 9500 is not overkill. CS4 and CS5 both support GPU acceleration.
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Uh, I think you've confused Photoshop with Premiere Pro. Photoshop has little if any GPU acceleration features whatsoever (as does Premiere Pro CS4).

And if overclocking stability is important, scratch the P8P67 LE off the list: Certain voltages and load level settings cannot be set manually.
 
I have the P67 Sabertooth with an i5-2500K and coudn't be happier. It runs at 4.3 GHz quite nicely and I have an inexpensive cooler - CM Hyper 212+. I've read of some folks managing pretty decent overclocks on the stock cooler without trouble, but given the slight cost of something like the Hyper 212+, its probably a safer route.
 
E4g1e said:
Uh, I think you've confused Photoshop with Premiere Pro. Photoshop has little if any GPU acceleration features whatsoever (as does Premiere Pro CS4).

And if overclocking stability is important, scratch the P8P67 LE off the list: Certain voltages and load level settings cannot be set manually.
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Oh really?

http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/404/kb404898.html

http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/405/kb405745.html

http://www.nvidia.com/object/adobe_photoshop.html

http://blogs.nvidia.com/2010/04/adobe-cs5-accelerated-gpu-features/
 
Ended up getting the Sabertooth, the LE seemed (is?) like the bottom of the barrel for Asus P67 Mobos.

Originally when looking for a new work PC I had debated on a Mac but the only thing in my budget was a Mac Mini and for what you pay its... crap. I did look at getting pre-built box from Dell/Lenovo/Compaq/HP but as the manager of an I.T. dept I wanted something a little more interesting in my office. With the parts I'm using I really don't except many problems and If I do overclock it will be mild. I think that I5-2500k running around 3.7 w/ an SSD will fly.

I appreciate everyones help with this. My parts all arrive on Thursday and I can't wait!
 
aphex187 said:
Ended up getting the Sabertooth, the LE seemed (is?) like the bottom of the barrel for Asus P67 Mobos.

Originally when looking for a new work PC I had debated on a Mac but the only thing in my budget was a Mac Mini and for what you pay its... crap. I did look at getting pre-built box from Dell/Lenovo/Compaq/HP but as the manager of an I.T. dept I wanted something a little more interesting in my office. With the parts I'm using I really don't except many problems and If I do overclock it will be mild. I think that I5-2500k running around 3.7 w/ an SSD will fly.

I appreciate everyones help with this. My parts all arrive on Thursday and I can't wait!
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If you get a C300 SSD, make sure it's at least the 128 GB, I have the 64 and my writes are around 70GB..... I didn't realize it at the time, but your writes double when your space increases (at least it did from 64 to 128).
 
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