I want to build a new PC but i'm truly confused about what motherboard to choose. From all the different options available i think the best ones for me are P8P67 PRO / GA-P67A-UD4. However, i can't make my mind. Asus's motherboard has UEFI, and overclocks with turbo boost, so when in idle state the system dont waste that much power but has many issues with their bios, problems fitting some coolers and i don't quite like the looks (sorry people xD). On the other side gigabyte's motherboard looks nice, performs a little bit better in games(almost unnoticeable), and seems to have less bios issues as it's using the old implementation, but there's no friendly UEFI and it uses a fixed multiplier so that it wastes more power even when doing nothing(overclocked). I'd like to hear the opinion/experiences of those who have bought any of these mobos so as to know which feactures weigth more. Just in case, i'm planning to build: i7 2600k + Thermaltake Frio 2x4GB ram 1TB HD 2x6850 CF PSU 750W Thanks in advance!
i was under the impression that all sandy bridge CPUs would dynamically overclock themselves based on load...
All overclocking is done via TurboBoost, it's how Intel 'allows' it. Whether BIOS' mask that fact under different options or not, is another matter. You can play with the C1/3/6 power saving states to allow the CPU to fall out of its high power state or not.
@karagiosis, you know that since Windows Vista, now Windows manages the CPU speed already. At idle your CPU is not consuming max power and not going at full speed. My Core i7 930 is at 1.598GHz at idle, and when I put my system under load it peeks at 2.931GHz (multiplier boosted). I have all CPU power saving features disabled in my BIOS, as Intel power management is garbage.
...mmm sorry if i'm mistaken, seems that i have to read again how Sandy Bridge is overclocked... =P Anyway, i'd like to hear what is your experience with these boards so that i can make up my mind...
On my UD7, you can disable Turbo boost in the bios so the cpu runs at full speed all the time. I haven't done this as I don't see the advantage in having a cpu running at 4.8Ghz even when not under load (I did try it though and it worked). But as Bindi says, this may just be some sort of work around.
I don't have experience with these specific boards... But my experience with ASUS are overpriced boards with low quality... Since my first computers, I was using ASUS boards, and since 2002-03, ASUS cut on quality like no tomorrow. Something on it always break after the warranty.. ethernet, SATA controller, eSATA ports, or the whole board. This also includes friend. In Canada, ASUS warranty is total garbage. They make Acer service look good. ASUS are rude and inpolite on the phone, they take a RMA as an insult, and they take 1 month or based on one of friend experience a month a half, to get at the end, someone else RMA'ed board... meaning it's full of dust (I kid you not), and the problem you faced, while fixed, you have another problem. When that happened to me, this was the last draw.. I and my friends switch motherboard manufactures. Me and one of friend switch to Gigabyte and since never looked back, and I have another who went with the high-end MSI boards... he has no complaints. It was for all 3 the first motherboard that we touch, that you can plug everything, and everything works perfectly at the first run. ASUS you always have a problem with RAM, like you need to 1 stick of RAM, boot > turn off, add another stick, boot > turn off, and so on. Or some strange BIOS settings to disable to increase voltage from "normal", or similar strange issues/solutions. I don't get why people praise ASUS boards.
The Gigabyte P67 boards are built like tanks (at least my UD7 is). I couldn't believe how much it weighed when I took it out of the box. I think the colour scheme if awesome too and it also booted straight away, no probs. Based on my experience of the UD7, I would really recommend the UD4.
I agree. I was disgusted when the chipset fan when on my A8N-SLI Deluxe and it took Asus forever to send me a new one. Common problem, bad design. After reading about all these cold booting problems in the other thread, its reinforced me to never buy an Asus board.
I have had several bad exp. with ASUS, issues from - memory not handling a tiny OC, Dual BIOS failing (P5Q something or other) to mATX in HTPC only sleeping once, then never again (know issues too!) I pass on ASUS. Gbtye all the way.
I've had 3 Asus boards and they have all ran perfectly. Went from socket 939 to am2 then Am2+. So my experience may be different from someone who had an intel Asus board. I loved my crosshair so much I never wanted to sell it but in the end I had to. Was so gutted. Would have framed it and put it on my wall if I could. Actually I've had one intel Asus board and that sits in my parents comp and has never had anything go wrong.
I've had two Asus boards (S939 & AM2) and a Gigabyte board (AM2+), have to say they have all been great, the S939 Asus was a deluxe model and was fantastic, but the Gigabyte board was excellent. All boards still working and running in the kids computers. Also had very cheap AsRock & Foxconn boards which have been great, only board I've had which has been a bit of a disappointment is my current MSI board.
I've gone through three Asus boards, and I've never had a problem - although in the past I tended to go for the more 'enthusiast' models, rather than the base-line. However, lots of people seem to be having issues with the new P67 Asus boards (something to do with the BIOS, iirc) so perhaps Gigabyte is a safer bet?
I have the P67A-UD4 and haven't had problems with it. This is what you loose in choosing it over the P8P67 PRO -Third PCIe x16 physical (x4 electrical slot). It doesn't have nearly enough bandwidth to be usable for tri-fire or tri-sli, but it could run a x4 card like a RAID card or PCIe SSD, or a low power GPU to drive extra monitors without reducing the main card from x16 to x8. -Intel gigabit NIC. The UD4 has a Realtek one, which isn't as good. - Two SATA6 ports. Both boards have the two provided by the PCH, but Asus has a dedicated controller to drive two additional ones. AFAIK, in benchmarks they are slower than the PCH ones. -UEFI. The UD4 bios and boot menu aren't particularly pretty, but they are just as functional -Firewire. I've had boards with and without firewire, and cases with and without firewire front panel connectors. Nobody uses firewire besides people doing audio recording and stuff. What you gain -Ubersexy blacked-out PCB -Seems to be less problematic
Well, at last the ud4 motherboards have arrived to my country. i live in Argentina by the way so don't be shocked by the prices. p8p67 PRO U$S 240 p8p67 deluxe U$S 320 sabertooth p67 U$S 300 gigabyte GA-P67A-UD4 U$S 330 ... I don't know the reason, but the UD4 is priced the same as a p8p67 deluxe -_-. With some luck i think can manage to fetch one at U$S 315. Do you still think i should go for the gigabyte, or should get an asus and pray for fast bios fixes or wait for a price drop in the future??? It's a big difference between the PRO and the UD4. U$S 90 are no joke...
