Motherboard Opinions

[TVeblen]

I am considering 2 boards for a new Core i7 build.
The ASUS P6T Deluxe
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=179&l3=815&l4=0&model=2593&modelmenu=1
and the GIGABYTE GA-EX58-DS4.
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products...rboard&ProductID=2959&ProductName=GA-EX58-DS4
Both on Newegg.

I like to build as "future proof" as reasonably possible, meaning a box that
can handle anything thrown at it for about 4 years or so. I don't have any
extreme needs (high-end gaming, overclocking, etc). Just your basic
workhorse. I'm looking for the most bang for the buck. At $245 that would
seem to make the Gigabyte the hands down winner. Anyone have any red flags
or opinions on this?
Thanks

 

[Conor]

I am considering 2 boards for a new Core i7 build.
The ASUS P6T Deluxe
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=179&l3=815&l4=0&model=2593&modelmenu=1
and the GIGABYTE GA-EX58-DS4.
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products...rboard&ProductID=2959&ProductName=GA-EX58-DS4
Both on Newegg.

I like to build as "future proof" as reasonably possible, meaning a box that
can handle anything thrown at it for about 4 years or so. I don't have any
extreme needs (high-end gaming, overclocking, etc). Just your basic
workhorse. I'm looking for the most bang for the buck. At $245 that would
seem to make the Gigabyte the hands down winner. Anyone have any red flags
or opinions on this?
Thanks

So WTF are you buying an i7 for if you're not going to be gaming?

 

[John Weiss]

I am considering 2 boards for a new Core i7 build.
The ASUS P6T Deluxe and the GIGABYTE GA-EX58-DS4.
I like to build as "future proof" as reasonably possible, meaning a box that
can handle anything thrown at it for about 4 years or so. I don't have any
extreme needs (high-end gaming, overclocking, etc). Just your basic workhorse.
I'm looking for the most bang for the buck. At $245 that would seem to make
the Gigabyte the hands down winner. Anyone have any red flags or opinions on
this?

I have the P35 and X48 versions of the DS4, with E6850 and Q9450 CPU,
respectively. I'm very happy with both.

 

[Dave]

So WTF are you buying an i7 for if you're not going to be gaming?

\

WFT kind of ****ed-up question is that? Who died and made you the hardware
buying god? -Dave

 

[Dave]

I am considering 2 boards for a new Core i7 build.
The ASUS P6T Deluxe
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=179&l3=815&l4=0&model=2593&modelme
nu=1
and the GIGABYTE GA-EX58-DS4.
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Spec.aspx?ClassValu
e=Motherboard&ProductID=2959&ProductName=GA-EX58-DS4
Both on Newegg.

I like to build as "future proof" as reasonably possible, meaning a box that
can handle anything thrown at it for about 4 years or so.

Never build for the future. Always build for now. As little as two years
from now, any significant upgrade will require a new motherboard. Yes, even
an i7 motherboard will likely need to be replaced in two years, if you want
to significantly upgrade it.

I don't have any
extreme needs (high-end gaming, overclocking, etc). Just your basic
workhorse. I'm looking for the most bang for the buck. At $245 that would
seem to make the Gigabyte the hands down winner. Anyone have any red flags
or opinions on this?
Thanks

You can certainly build a workhouse system for less money. But I believe
you'd be happy with the Gigabyte board. Go for it. -Dave

 

[TVeblen]

So WTF are you buying an i7 for if you're not going to be gaming?

Heh. That's funny.
I remember a friend (who was working IT at the time) telling me in 1992:
"What the **** are you buying a 120 MB hard drive for? You will never use
half of it."
And at that moment in time my friend, he was right!

 

[TVeblen]

If you can wait for few months, you'll be able to get the LGA 1156
Lynnfield. It will also be quad HT CPU, but will only require dual
channel DDR3. The Lynnfield is going to be the mainstream CPU
line, while the i7 will be the top end. Also, the PCI controller will
be integrated into the CPU chip.

I was thinking of doing the shopping in January and build in February. By a
"few months" do you think that means Feb/March or later in the spring?

And yeah, I noticed that PCI thing in the X58 design. It looks like they put
the express x16 bus direct through the processor but the rest of the PCI bus
through the southbridge. I'm assuming the performance is good despite the
unconventional design.

 

[TVeblen]

I FULLY support Dave's comments... Buying the latest technology to be
"future proof" is the
fastest way to waste loads of money. I would strongly suggest you buy a
good 775 mobo and
CPU and wait until the i7 CPU and mobo prices have dropped in a year or
two.

If you dont NEED the best possible performance, why buy the best possible
processor? It is nice
to have the latest and best but I don't know many people who don't have
other uses the cash could
be put to!

Personally I upgrade about every 12-18 months and I usually need to
upgrade major chunks of
the system, but buy buying 1/2 generation behind the cutting edge, I don't
spend major chunks
of cash!

Rarius

True. Can't argue with that logic. But... please don't confuse me with
someone who believes that future proof means never needing another computer
again. Far from it. I've been upgrading every 4 to 6 years. Been doing so
since 1992 (mail order system back then - Quantex- anyone remember them?).
1st computer I owned was a 386-33 in '92. Then a PII-400 in 1998. Then a
P4-3GHz in 2004. Each build was relatively "advanced" for the day, plain
vanilla by years end, and near obsolete in two, but in each case they was
able to handle anything I threw at them during their working lifespans.
Meaning I never had to upgrade the core components in order to upgrade OS,
or software, or add new peripherals while I was using each box as my main
rig. I've been happily computing (at home) for 17 years with 3 machines
which is pretty damned cost efficient. I don't know if building new every 18
months would actually save money comparatively even if they were bargain-bin
builds. I believe that the i7 platform will carry me another 4 years without
hitting the wall better than a 775 system would. Interestingly, the cost
differential between the "advanced" system and the then current
price-beater has always been about $300.

 

[TVeblen]

What has happened in the last few years is a good example of what I am
talking about...

When Armed Assault was released back in 2007, my PC of the time (Athlon
2400+)
wouldn't run it. Neither would those of my gaming mates.

My three mates all bought new E6600 based machines with nVidia 8800GTX
graphics
cards, expensive cases and wide flatscreen monitors. They each spent about
£1000.

I upgraded my system with a new mobo (AGP and PCIe, DDR and DDR2), cpu
(Pentium
D820) for £200... I used my previous AGP graphics card and DDR memory.

Later that year I upgraded to a Radeon X1950Pro for £120 and then new
4Gb of DDR2 memory for £75

In June this year, I upgraded again to an aBit IP35Pro mobo and a Q6600
CPU for
another £200...

So over the last two years I have spent about £600 and have a machine far
superiour
to the three mates who spent £1000 on top end PCs!

This is just my experience and opinion... its your money spend it where
you wish!

Rarius

Hey, I appreciate other opinions. Helps to keep the mind in line.
Yes, gaming is always the engine that drives the train, isn't it? But I
don't do "hard core" gaming so my needs are a bit different. I still have a
copy of Half Life 2 here that I've never installed. Someday....there will be
time.
I was just looking at Yorkfields and their motherboards this weekend. Not
much of a savings to be had there! Maybe on the memory. It looks like I'd
have to go 2 generations down to get the real savings. Then AMD starts
looking good again. Oh well.
The adventure continues.

 

[Bill Brumbaugh]

Personally I prefer the Asus boards over Gigabyte ones. They seem to be a
little faster and Asus updates their bios and drivers more often. The only
issue with Asus is they can be picky about memory modules. Don't know about
the X58 boards because I do not have one yet.

 

[JR Weiss]

I am considering 2 boards for a new Core i7 build.
The ASUS P6T Deluxe and the GIGABYTE GA-EX58-DS4.
I like to build as "future proof" as reasonably possible, meaning a box that
can handle anything thrown at it for about 4 years or so. I don't have any
extreme needs (high-end gaming, overclocking, etc). Just your basic workhorse.
I'm looking for the most bang for the buck. At $245 that would seem to make
the Gigabyte the hands down winner. Anyone have any red flags or opinions on
this?

I have 2 DS4 boards (P35 and X48) and am happy with them. They do have
significant overclocking ability (both "automatic" presets, and fully manual
tweaking) built into the BIOS, if you change your mind on that.

 

[TVeblen]

I have 2 DS4 boards (P35 and X48) and am happy with them. They do have
significant overclocking ability (both "automatic" presets, and fully
manual tweaking) built into the BIOS, if you change your mind on that.

That's good to know guys. Thank you for that feedback.
I also like Asus boards, and have not built using a Gigabyte board yet. I
like Gigabyte's documentation and website info - it looks like they try
harder than Asus to cater to the home builder. I'm sure people who build
more often than I do find it unnecessary.
As for now, I'm hoping there will be more options for the Core i7 processor.
I don't need dual video and would love to see an X58 board with a single
PCI-E x16 slot. Although I haven't checked in a couple of weeks. Maybe it's
here already?

 

[Ed Medlin]

That's good to know guys. Thank you for that feedback.
I also like Asus boards, and have not built using a Gigabyte board yet. I
like Gigabyte's documentation and website info - it looks like they try
harder than Asus to cater to the home builder. I'm sure people who build
more often than I do find it unnecessary.
As for now, I'm hoping there will be more options for the Core i7
processor. I don't need dual video and would love to see an X58 board with
a single PCI-E x16 slot. Although I haven't checked in a couple of weeks.
Maybe it's here already?

As hard as the X58 manufacturers are working to support both Crossfire and
SLI in all their 'confligurations'.. I doubt if you are going to see just
one x16 slot in a mainstream X58 board. There may be some budget boards in a
few months that may only have one though if you want to wait. The Asus P6T
build I just did was probably the most trouble-free build I can remember.
Everything just worked.


Ed

 

[TVeblen]

As hard as the X58 manufacturers are working to support both Crossfire and
SLI in all their 'confligurations'.. I doubt if you are going to see
just one x16 slot in a mainstream X58 board. There may be some budget
boards in a few months that may only have one though if you want to wait.
The Asus P6T build I just did was probably the most trouble-free build I
can remember. Everything just worked.

I like to hear that. Do you know if the x16 slots are bacwards compatible -
meaning one of them could be used for any other PCI-E device other than a
video card? Or is that bus pipelined for video only?

 

[JR Weiss]

I like to hear that. Do you know if the x16 slots are bacwards compatible -
meaning one of them could be used for any other PCI-E device other than a
video card? Or is that bus pipelined for video only?

AFAIK, PCIe slots are "universal," unlike the old AGP slots. Any PCIe device
from 1X to 16X can go in a 16x slot.