More stable? Asus Maximus Formula or gigabye GA-X38-DS4?

[Damn Dirty Ape]

Between the gigabyte ga-ex38-ds4 or asus maximus formula...

Which of these two would be more stable for everyday gaming and web surfing? The only OC I'd be doing on my E8400 or Q9450 would be what I could get without a voltage increase.

Equipment as follows:

E8400 or Q9450 might upgrade to a 9450 after the price cuts.
4gb (2*2) of Corsair XMS2 6400 sdram
velociraptor
neohe 550 antec power supply
antec solo case
ati hd4870 video card
liteon bd player
gateway 24" fhd2400 LCD

Thoughts: The green feature of either one isn't a huge importance. I usually keep a mobo about 9 months on average. If I OC, it's only what I can get without a voltage increase. I do game a lot (as you can tell by the 4870), and a lot of web surfing. I like to just set the settings and be done, I don't get into the bios daily and make changes.

I do notice that the asus seems to have a hotter NB/SB chipset, even with the heatpipes.

Thoughts and experiences shared are very much appreciated!

 

[Cork1]

Hey bro,

I'm sure they'd both kick ass. If your not a serious Hobbyist and Overclocker, why would you even consider an Uber Expensive and Uber featured board like the Maximus?

I haven't used either one so I can't comment from pesonal experience. Hopefully someone with that has used @ least one of them will chime in for yaz.

I decieded on the Ramage Formula (X48) personally or the P5E version(same board without some of the goodies and no sound card) after I part out the Amd system I just built.

BTW........With most any of those boards, if your planing on Oc'ing I'd definitely put a 40mm fan on the NB.

 

[vanilla_guerilla]

there is no such thing as more stable. its either stable or it isnt. and it depends on a lot more than the motherboard. now rephrase your question and come back.

 

[Damn Dirty Ape]

Well goodness I was able to purchase 2 website-reviewed boards, the Asus and the Gigabyte at a very nice price, with the intention of keeping one and selling the other. Being in a very good position to try them both before making a decision. Problem is that they are both very impressive and very nice. I was able to set a FSB of 385 on my e8400 and got 3.51ghz I think it was, up from 3.0, but the same FSB setting on the asus just provided a lockup upon post.

I'm not that experienced with OC or tinkering but it would be nice to try now and then or if I wanted to get more into it -- which board would be easier to work with? I guess the term 'more forgiving' come to mind too.

 

[BillParrish]

Me personally, the Gigabyte has the easier bios to work with and understand while still having everything you need.

I was able to set a FSB of 385 on my e8400 and got 3.51ghz I think it was, up from 3.0, but the same FSB setting on the asus just provided a lockup upon post.

Between the two boards you have in your hands, that kinda tells the story. If you are looking for a "which board name will impress the most" or has the most die hard fans, eh. As alluded to above, most of us (if I may take the liberty) are more impressed with someones skill in board prep, system integration(making board, cpu, memory and video all work together for high performance) and OCing results than the actual brand of hardware used. Making a soccer mom's van go 180mph is impressive, buying a car that will do 180mph just tells us you have extra money. This is not the situation you are in but illustrates the point. With tweaking both boards will have about the same end potential but it seems the Gigabyte is "behaving" better out of the box and might be an easier starting point.

The first thing you should do after you decide on which one you wlll keep, is to redo the boards thermals. After letting it run at least 24hours to make sure it is ok replace and improve the thermal grease and hardware mounting of the heatpipes and heatsinks on the board if you intend to go for a high OC. Keep all original parts and hardware. Google "bolt mod" or "heatpipe mod" its pretty simple stuff to do and cost is almost nothing. Cooling the NB is key to high OCing and cooling the mosfets a key to long board life.

This advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.

 

[Damn Dirty Ape]

Exactly the kind of answer/advice I am wanting to hear -- you made your point perfectly. That about sums it up, something that is 'better behaved' I think is what I amlooking for.

thank you!

Me personally, the Gigabyte has the easier bios to work with and understand while still having everything you need.



Between the two boards you have in your hands, that kinda tells the story. If you are looking for a "which board name will impress the most" or has the most die hard fans, eh. As alluded to above, most of us (if I may take the liberty) are more impressed with someones skill in board prep, system integration(making board, cpu, memory and video all work together for high performance) and OCing results than the actual brand of hardware used. Making a soccer mom's van go 180mph is impressive, buying a car that will do 180mph just tells us you have extra money. This is not the situation you are in but illustrates the point. With tweaking both boards will have about the same end potential but it seems the Gigabyte is "behaving" better out of the box and might be an easier starting point.

The first thing you should do after you decide on which one you wlll keep, is to redo the boards thermals. After letting it run at least 24hours to make sure it is ok replace and improve the thermal grease and hardware mounting of the heatpipes and heatsinks on the board if you intend to go for a high OC. Keep all original parts and hardware. Google "bolt mod" or "heatpipe mod" its pretty simple stuff to do and cost is almost nothing. Cooling the NB is key to high OCing and cooling the mosfets a key to long board life.

This advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.

 

[kirbyrj]

I've had a Maximus and other Gigabyte boards and I found they OC about the same with the same CPU after tweaking.

 

[hafiqb]

go easy on him...removing the heatpipes on a new mobo is not something you do, unless you have spare mobos lying around or can afford to have bad luck and slipping while trying to remove the push-pins.

Personally planning to do it on my Blitz after seeing that the heatsink does not sit flush on the NB but I get goosebumps looking at the circuitry being so close to the push-pins. Have only now the courage since it is in my 2nd rig.

Both are good boards, check a few more reviews on the net and note the good/bad points each reviewer has, then make up your mind based on the additional feedback provided. From personel experience I have had no issue with overclocking asus boards and there are quite a few guides/help on overcloking the Max/Ramp formula to get you started.

 

[Damn Dirty Ape]

Perhaps in this case with my minimal knowledge of OC at this point, the gigabyte process might be a little more friendly I'm thinking? Seems as that might be the case.

 

[Damn Dirty Ape]

Having ruined one board about a year ago with a slip of the screwdriver I am much more cautious than I used to be thats for sure. I think I must have found and read every review for both boards last night, seems nowadays the performance of any two boards w/ the same chip type (x38. x48, etc) is generally within maybe 5-10% of each other now. For the most part, as then the reviews start in on board design, things like that. I do know about changing outthermal grease for a better cooling, I do know the asus NB is hot-hot-hot. If I recall 59c within a couple of minutes in my otherwise decently cool case.

go easy on him...removing the heatpipes on a new mobo is not something you do, unless you have spare mobos lying around or can afford to have bad luck and slipping while trying to remove the push-pins.

Personally planning to do it on my Blitz after seeing that the heatsink does not sit flush on the NB but I get goosebumps looking at the circuitry being so close to the push-pins. Have only now the courage since it is in my 2nd rig.

Both are good boards, check a few more reviews on the net and note the good/bad points each reviewer has, then make up your mind based on the additional feedback provided. From personel experience I have had no issue with overclocking asus boards and there are quite a few guides/help on overcloking the Max/Ramp formula to get you started.