GIGABYTE P35C-DS3R Vs Asus P5KC

[gmattey]

As some of you know i decided to get a mobo that supports ddr2 and ddr3. I've found two so far:


GIGABYTE P35C-DS3R
Asus P5KC

I've read on different forums that the gigabyte is better built and the better option. I've had Gigabyte once before it was ok but had quite a few Asus boards and they where brill. The Gigabyte mobo is the cheaper of the two too.

What does anyone else think?

 

[wahnula]

gmattey

I know that Asus and Gigabyte reached an agreement where "X" models branded by Gigabyte are actually built by Asus:

http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/9...join_forces_our_questions_answered/index.html

That said, I have built PCs with every brand imaginable (except Gigabyte LOL) and always come back to Asus for quality builds and nice bundles. Out of dozens built, I have had zero come back w/ bad mainboards.

In fact, one memorable build for a mate came back the next day covered in beef stew; in spite of the side window he had opened the case to show the innards to a friend when in comes his boy with a bowl of beef stew that somehow spilled vertically all over the shiny-new Asus P5GDC-V board.

Luckily it was not running at the time and a quick bath with DI water and patient cleaning with a Q-tip and canned air, the board is still running fine today. Sorry for the digression one gets nostalgic this time of year.

Check with known sites like

http://www.tomshardware.com

for comparisons and reviews, and stick around for Martin's (paparazi's) opinion. He seems to be up on the latest and you can take his opinion to the bank.

Tony

"Buy what you like, or you'll be forced to like what you buy"...me

 

[paparazi]

I get the impression that our colleagues over the pond generally have a better impression of Asus motherboards than we do here in the UK.
Don't get me wrong, my main rig is Asus based but I have know particular loyalties with the brand.
My choice is simple; what is the best feature set for the price (having already decided on the platform) are the revews favourable (if I haven't already used one in a build)
Yes make does come into it and for my own builds I favour one of the first tier brands; Abit, Asus, MSI and Gigabyte but even I accept that manufacturers work so closely nowadays that second tier manufacturers can often be just as good, makes like; DFI, Foxconn
To the question; I actually like the Gigabyte board better than the Asus (think the P5KC gives up PS2 mouse) and I've never rated Asus support where as I've always found Gigabyte moby's easier to update but there you go, just an opinion, is the PS2 port an issue for you? what's the difference in price?
Remember you don't get something for nothing and combo boards are a slight compromise; only two DDR3 slots, but I guess when it comes to buying the DDR3 (next year) 2gig modules will be cheaper and more readilty available. I would have thought the four DDR2 slots ideal for your 4gig of DDR2 667 with an eye on upgrading to DDR3 middle of next year?
If you read reviews a couple mention low multitasking performance with combo's but also point out improvments with bios updates, this is the price you pay with new products and early adoption (think I mentioned this when talking about that foxconn X38A board) which now has it's third bios release.
You might want to read Toms review now it has a better bios (but by know means fully matured bios)

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/11/26/x38_comparison_part2/

http://www.foxconnchannel.com/product/Motherboards/detail_overview.aspx?ID=en-us0000355

You can see I'm sitting on the fence a bit with this one.
I think it's one of those times when I need to sit back and see how things develope as a lot of these technologies have not fully revieled themselves as of yet.
Martin

We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[gmattey]

ps2 i don't need for mouse as it's usb, my keyboard is ps2 though.

I'm looking to get ddr3 when the price comes down from the ridiculous £200 a stick, whatever it is.

I was going to get the foxconn x38a but i'm just trying to save money and when i heard about the other cheaper ddr2/ddr3 boards i thought it would save me some cash.

Both the asus and gigabyte are similar price, £70-£80. Would save me £50 from buying the foxconn or a higher spec asus board.

I've had both gigabyte and asus boards, i've just always been impressed by all the features asus manage to fit on one board. My current asus m2n sli deluxe board was only about £80 when i got it and it's great, packed with features and runs well. Just a shame it isnt an intel board and its amd.

After looking on some sites though, ddr3 is hardly any better than ddr2, 5-10%.

Might be just as well getting a cheap but good ddr2 board with p35 or x38 chipset, i'm still unsure.

Anymore help appreciated!

 

[paparazi]

I know what you mesan, we are at the cross-roads, we know that ultimately DDR3 is the way to go but just as it was with DDR and DDR2 it took some time before the DDR2 boards out performed the older technology.
This was mainly due to the higher latencies of DDR2 compared to DDR and just as it is today between DDR2 and 3.
You still have to except though, at some point DDR3 will be a better option and if you only upgrade every 2 years it would make sense to go with a board that supports it.
If on the other hand you upgrade every 8-12 months like me, the a DDR2 P35 based option is exceptable knowing that in the summer I will go completely over to a DDR3 platform.
Like I say, sitting on the fence time.
Martin

We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[gmattey]

ddr3 will take over from ddr2 but i feel ddr3 needs improving.

No one is going to pay £170+ for a 1gb ddr3 stick when you can get a 1gb ddr2 stick for £25 and have very little difference in performance.

There must of been about 10+ different mobo's i've considered, i just keep changing my mind.

Asus P5K series seem to look good and are relatively cheap too.

 

[paparazi]

I agree but i'm not suggesting that you buy DDR3 now, as I keep saying, stick with your 4gig of 667 DDR2 and perhaps upgrade to DDR3 this time next year when prices should have taken a dive.
Martin

We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[wahnula]

LOL substitute "Rambus RDRAM" for "DDR3" and we're in a time machine! The only difference is I KNOW that DDR3 will take over from DDR2, unlike RDRAM which never took off due to its high price and lack of manufacturer's support. DDR3 has been used by GFX cards for some time now so it's a safe bet it will eventually replace DDR2. I was tormented at the time (2001?) as everyone was predicting RDRAM was the wave of the future, but I just couldn't bring myself to part with that much coin for RAM, so I chose DDR. Now it's cheap as, well, chips!

I bought an early Asus that supported DDR plus DDR2 and now that I can easily afford 2GB of DDR2 (~$50 US at this time) I am glad I bought a forward-looking board now, three years later.

Tony

"Buy what you like, or you'll be forced to like what you buy"...me

 

[gmattey]

Didnt get either of these boards, got a Asus P5B only because i got it for £15, which is very cheap and ordered a crappy pentium 4 3.06Ghz 775 for now so i can at least run my pc and then i can sell my amd 6000+ and asus m2n-sli deluxe to get the e6850.

I'm not working at the mo so low on funds so thats why ive bought the pentium 4 for £20 so i can have a pc while i sell my old parts to get the money for the e6850.

The asus p5b has a intel p965 chipset and fsb of upto 1333, i'm sure it'll be fine but anyone got anything to say about the p965 chipset, any good?

 

[paparazi]

Fine chipset that has improved much improved the last year and at that price all I can say is.... get you get me one! lol
I think you will be very pleased with your stand in and not so much of the crappy, this is a pretty decent setup and not so much of a come down as you might think.
Martin

We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[gmattey]

yeah i know it's 3ghz like my current amd but it's not a dual core and pentium 4's are getting old now so i thought they might not be up to scratch and my performance would be poor but if you think it'll be ok for now then thats good.