Which P35 / ICH9R Motherboard?

Jason W · Post by **Jason W** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 12:34 pm

Based on responses I've read in another thread I started here, I have come to the conclusion that I should get a motherboard with the P35 and ICH9R chipsets. I've also decided that I will only buy a board from either Gigabyte or Asus.

So here are the boards I've narrowed my choices down to:

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R - $129.99
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P - $149.99
Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R - $158.99
Asus P5K Deluxe/WIFI AP - $219.99
Asus P5K WS - $224.99
Gigabyte GA-P35-DQ6 - $228.99

All 6 boards support DDR2 800, have enough SATA and USB connections, have good on-board sound chips, and seem to have good passive-cooling designs for the NB and SB chipsets. I do not need WIFI or remote controls or anything like that. I also think that all 6 offer adequate BIOS features if I want to do some mild overclocking.

So I guess my question is this: is there a reason NOT to buy the cheapest board of these 6 (the GA-P35-DS3R) and instead buy one of the other boards?

Thanks in advance for your comments!

Jason

Andario · Post by **Andario** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 1:42 pm

IÂ´m no expert, but I think that selecting a "better" motherboard (starting from the price point you started) is just for the people who REALLY need/want specific features. My wild guess is that if you donÂ´t know the reasons why you want those features, itÂ´s quite probably because you donÂ´t "need" them...

Any of those should be fine.

I, however, and just to contradict myself a little bit, recently discovered the magnificent microGuru from Abit, and IÂ´m all for it, since it seems to be the most complete system out there to control your fans, to the point that can make the use of a rheobus completely unnecesary (Great thing to do if youÂ´re looking for silence).

So, let me add to your list the ABIT IP35 PRO, cheaper than some of the ones you mentioned, and IMHO, the one that better suits my personal needs:

http://www2.abit.com.tw/page/en/motherb ... YPE=LGA775

merlin · Post by **merlin** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 2:54 pm

Jason W wrote:Based on responses I've read in another thread I started here, I have come to the conclusion that I should get a motherboard with the P35 and ICH9R chipsets. I've also decided that I will only buy a board from either Gigabyte or Asus.

So here are the boards I've narrowed my choices down to:

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R - $129.99
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P - $149.99
Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R - $158.99
Asus P5K Deluxe/WIFI AP - $219.99
Asus P5K WS - $224.99
Gigabyte GA-P35-DQ6 - $228.99

All 6 boards support DDR2 800, have enough SATA and USB connections, have good on-board sound chips, and seem to have good passive-cooling designs for the NB and SB chipsets. I do not need WIFI or remote controls or anything like that. I also think that all 6 offer adequate BIOS features if I want to do some mild overclocking.

So I guess my question is this: is there a reason NOT to buy the cheapest board of these 6 (the GA-P35-DS3R) and instead buy one of the other boards?

Thanks in advance for your comments!

Jason

Well I own the "cheapest" one of those...however there are much cheaper p35 boards made by other manufacturers. All depends on if any other feature you want is on one of the other boards. If not, get DS3R

derekchinese · Post by **derekchinese** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 4:04 pm

how about asus p5k vanilla? It will probably be the same price as the cheapest gigabyte board and should allow for more than "mild" overclocking! But I do like the suggestion of the abit board. I don't know much about it, but having complete fan control is a real good feature.

Derek

Jason W · Post by **Jason W** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 4:28 pm

derekchinese wrote:how about asus p5k vanilla? It will probably be the same price as the cheapest gigabyte board and should allow for more than "mild" overclocking! But I do like the suggestion of the abit board. I don't know much about it, but having complete fan control is a real good feature.

Derek

The P5K board does not have the ICH9R southbridge chipset, it has the ICH9 southbridge chipset. That's why I didn't include it in my list.

Jason

Wedge · Post by **Wedge** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 6:46 pm

Jason, I am in the same boat as you (as are a lot of others since we are all wanting that Q6600 after prices drop).

My question I pose to you is why you concluded that the P35 wins over the 965 (or 975 for that matter)? What makes it more valuable? Is there a feature that might be improved upon with future BIOS updates to the P35?

Help me out here because i'm wanting to understand why anybody would choose the P35 right now over the 965/975. If it is because of DDR3, then that issue is dead in the water with me. I already purchased 4GB of DDR2 sticks.

Jason W · Post by **Jason W** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 7:53 pm

Wedge wrote:Jason, I am in the same boat as you (as are a lot of others since we are all wanting that Q6600 after prices drop).

My question I pose to you is why you concluded that the P35 wins over the 965 (or 975 for that matter)? What makes it more valuable? Is there a feature that might be improved upon with future BIOS updates to the P35?

Help me out here because i'm wanting to understand why anybody would choose the P35 right now over the 965/975. If it is because of DDR3, then that issue is dead in the water with me. I already purchased 4GB of DDR2 sticks.

Bear with me here while I do a brain dump. I apologize in advance.

I guess the main reason I am choosing the P35 chipset instead of the P965 and 975X chipsets is that it is the newest. I was skeptical at first of "newest" because of potential problems with anything technology-related that is new. But after reading a lot of reviews at Newegg, reading a lot of threads here, and reading a lot of reviews on various other sites, it seems like the P35 chipset is doing just fine with the vast majority of users.

In addition, for the money spent, it is a cheaper solution if you want a board which supports quad-core processors as well as a 1333MHz FSB.

If you're thinking "what about nVIDIA chipsets, I cannot explain why I am leaving out nVidia chipsets - other than to say for whatever reason, I gravitated towards the 965 and 975 chipsets first when starting my research (maybe they're more popular so I was able to read more about them here and elsewhere, I don't know) so it made sense to then move to the P35 chipset due to it being newer.

Not sure if this is entirely logical to those with more knowledge of all this than what my feeble brain comprehends right now. I'm glad to have anyone refute any of what I am saying as false or otherwise. I really am here to learn and make a wise purchase so that I do not have to do a complete re-vamp of my PC before another 3-5 years has passed. Keep in mind I'm not a gamer - this PC is for home office tasks and photo editing with Photoshop CS3 and Lightroom.

I hope this has been of some help.

Jason

Alex · Post by **Alex** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 8:31 pm

Wedge wrote:Jason, I am in the same boat as you (as are a lot of others since we are all wanting that Q6600 after prices drop).

No, we are currently in the E6750, E6850 or any other FSB 1333 MHz, G0 stepping CPU boat thats why.

Check this
Intel Price Cut July 22
http://www.vr-zone.com/index.php?i=4976

About G0 stepping (in french) but look at the tables.
http://www.matbe.com/articles/lire/385/ ... /page5.php
In short G0 and M0 stepping CPUs are running fast + "low power" at idle. Also from other sources E6750 seems to have very good over and underclocking (voltage) abilities.

Wedge wrote:My question I pose to you is why you concluded that the P35 wins over the 965 (or 975 for that matter)? What makes it more valuable? Is there a feature that might be improved upon with future BIOS updates to the P35?

With a P35 instead of 965 you can run the new CPUs without having to flash your BIOS first. BIOS flashing will require an older CPU on the mobo first (=will cost you the old CPU more + installation time if you don't happen to have a Socket 775 CPU already). Some 965 mobos might also lack BIOS upgrade support for the new CPUs.

Also P35 probably has support for faster memory and good memory speed handling together with FSB of 1333 MHz. On 965 boards you will have to flash BIOS for that if it is possible. Possibly also Penryn support (45 nm Intel CPU). And as you mentioned there is also DDR3 support witch is not so interesting yet (just some future proofing). P35 => All this support with a nice working BIOS from scratch and the chipset and mobo is engineered for the FSB 1333 MHz speed from start (= nice).

The bottom line is that E6750 is cheaper, faster, lower power and more over/underclockable than E6600 for instance, so you probably would like to go that way (=easier with a P35 mobo).

As for mobo quality (also featurewise and good support) Asus and Gigabyte are amongst the best but Abit is getting into that league too.

merlin · Post by **merlin** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 9:44 am

derekchinese wrote:how about asus p5k vanilla? It will probably be the same price as the cheapest gigabyte board and should allow for more than "mild" overclocking! But I do like the suggestion of the abit board. I don't know much about it, but having complete fan control is a real good feature.

Derek

P5k vanilla is far worse than Gigabyte. First gigabyte uses far better components on the motherboards, second gigabyte uses far less power. Third the gigabyte board uses the ICH9R rather than ICH9. And the gigabyte board is definitely more full featured (see 8 sata slots and esata bracket). If you're going to buy an asus, the only reason would be for one of the high end versions imho...but watch out for that extra power/heat

In terms of P35 vs P965, P35 has a better memory controller, support for penryn guaranteed, guaranteed 1333fsb, likely 1800-2000 fsb overclocking for most good boards. Also now the price difference is usually $20 or so for a comparable P965. There's not much reason to buy a P965 now.

Jason W · Post by **Jason W** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 10:14 am

Question: I see that with the GA-P35-DQ6 board there are what appear to be some copper heatsinks on the back side of the motherboard right where the CPU and southbridge are. If I wanted to use a Ninja on the CPU, and wanted to use the Scythe SCURK1 Unversal Retention Kit with the backplate, would I have to remove the copper material on teh backside of the board first? Anyone have any experience with this?

Any particular reason to get the DQ6 instead of the DS3R? I want to make the purchase today so I need to choose fast!

Thanks!

Jason

merlin · Post by **merlin** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 10:43 am

Jason W wrote:Question: I see that with the GA-P35-DQ6 board there are what appear to be some copper heatsinks on the back side of the motherboard right where the CPU and southbridge are. If I wanted to use a Ninja on the CPU, and wanted to use the Scythe SCURK1 Unversal Retention Kit with the backplate, would I have to remove the copper material on teh backside of the board first? Anyone have any experience with this?

Any particular reason to get the DQ6 instead of the DS3R? I want to make the purchase today so I need to choose fast!

Thanks!

Jason

Yes you have to take off the backplate cooler for certain heatsinks. I really dislike the DQ6 just because of the proprietary cooling on it. I like small heatsinks that are non-intrusive perosnally.

The main advantages of the DQ6 are firewire, 2 pci x16 slots, better power circuitry, and better cooling via the insane heatpipe designs. I think every mobo maker out there has gone crazy with useless heatpipe contraptions that make their $200-250 boards look like amusement park rides.

Jason W · Post by **Jason W** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 11:34 am

merlin wrote:
Jason W wrote:Question: I see that with the GA-P35-DQ6 board there are what appear to be some copper heatsinks on the back side of the motherboard right where the CPU and southbridge are. If I wanted to use a Ninja on the CPU, and wanted to use the Scythe SCURK1 Unversal Retention Kit with the backplate, would I have to remove the copper material on teh backside of the board first? Anyone have any experience with this?

Any particular reason to get the DQ6 instead of the DS3R? I want to make the purchase today so I need to choose fast!

Thanks!

Jason
Yes you have to take off the backplate cooler for certain heatsinks. I really dislike the DQ6 just because of the proprietary cooling on it. I like small heatsinks that are non-intrusive perosnally.

The main advantages of the DQ6 are firewire, 2 pci x16 slots, better power circuitry, and better cooling via the insane heatpipe designs. I think every mobo maker out there has gone crazy with useless heatpipe contraptions that make their $200-250 boards look like amusement park rides.

Sounds like since I don't need FireWire, don't need 2 pcix16 slots, and don't need the hassle of the backplate cooler, I should save the $100 and get the DS3R.

Decision made! Thanks for your help!

Jason

Slosa · Post by **Slosa** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 3:25 pm

My choice of mobo has of late come down to Gigabyte's P35 line. Much for the same reasons as the original poster.

Currently I'm eying one of these two:
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R
Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R

the C model adds support for ddr3 memory as well, considering that it isn't much more expensive that the regular model (~10â‚¬) it's very temping to future proof my system a bit. Even if I never make use of the ddr3 slots on this board I can at least find comfort in that I didn't waste too much money.

So are there any drawbacks to the GA-P35C-DS3R board? The one review I found online seemed skeptical to the whole ddr2/ddr3 on the same board... perhaps the price was higher a couple of months ago?

merlin wrote:P5k vanilla is far worse than Gigabyte. First gigabyte uses far better components on the motherboards, second gigabyte uses far less power. Third the gigabyte board uses the ICH9R rather than ICH9.

I have also looked a bit at Gigabyte's cheapest P35 offerings:
Gigabyte GA-P35-S3
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3

These two boards use the ICH9 chipset instead of ICH9R. Otherwise I couldn't find any reviews online or anything... do they just scream cheapskate or what's the deal here?

The little info I found about these two chipsets is that R adds raid support and more SATA ports, is there anything else of significance?

Wedge · Post by **Wedge** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 4:24 pm

As for the BIOS updates per 965/975 chipsets to handle 1333MHz front side bus as well as 45nm Penryn, unless I am misunderstanding the article altogether, X-bit labs seems to say it is now available.

The points made by Jason, Alex, and others about the guarantees of out-of-the-box compatibility are valid, no doubt. And it is for this reason I have leaned toward the P35 since it became available.

I kind of wanted the P5W DH Deluxe for the remote control capabilities. I don't think there is a P35 equivalent solution available yet. But looking beyond that, I think I'll go P35, too. Should i not, however, I will get the P5W DH.

mr_plow_king · Post by **mr_plow_king** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 5:08 pm

I got the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R last month with a Core 2 E6420, it works great, the NB is cool even with a tower HS, ( the Ultra-120 ) and it even overclocks itself up to 2.6 Ghz when needed. Great board

oakdad · Post by **oakdad** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 7:09 pm

This Gigabyte GA-P35-S3L board looks really nice, but I am a noob when it comes to mobos and have no idea why one would spend more money for the ones you listed over it.
http://www.gigabyte-usa.com/Products/Mo ... GA-P35-S3L

Here is a NewEgg link for an idea of price
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128057

Jason W · Post by **Jason W** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 7:22 pm

Wedge wrote:I kind of wanted the P5W DH Deluxe for the remote control capabilities. I don't think there is a P35 equivalent solution available yet. But looking beyond that, I think I'll go P35, too. Should i not, however, I will get the P5W DH.

What about the P5K Deluxe / WIFI AP board... isn't it the P35 chipset version of the P5W DH Deluxe / WIFI AP?

mr_plow_king · Post by **mr_plow_king** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 7:26 pm

The GA-P35-S3L has only 4 SATA and no RAID, the GA-P35-DS3R comes with 8 SATA with RAID. Also, the audio chip is not the same

merlin · Post by **merlin** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 1:36 am

oakdad wrote:This Gigabyte GA-P35-S3L board looks really nice, but I am a noob when it comes to mobos and have no idea why one would spend more money for the ones you listed over it.
http://www.gigabyte-usa.com/Products/Mo ... GA-P35-S3L

Here is a NewEgg link for an idea of price
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128057

Plow King mentioned the basic spec differences of the S3L, but imho the biggest thing is not all solid capacitors..and worse vrm. I got my gigabyte specifically for Ultra Durable 2. I'd also assume that this will also not overclock as well.

pputer · Post by **pputer** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 4:19 am

I'm considering:

E6750 CPU
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R
Corsair 520 PSU
Hitachi 500 GB Drive
CPU Cooler (which one for under $50?)?
Samsung 203B DVD Burner
Case: undecided - probably Antec Solo or P180B
Windows XP Pro

Main tasks: video encoding/DVD creating/watching, surfing, music creation (e.g. I have a copy of Cubase)
Comments?

mr_plow_king · Post by **mr_plow_king** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 5:10 am

it looks great but instead of the 180B, I suggest you take the 182 for a few $$ more. For the cooler you could get the Ninja or the XP-120 with the adapter if you don't want to use a tower cooler. You forgot the RAM, 2 Gb, Corsair XMS2 PC2-5300, about 100$

JazzJackRabbit · Post by **JazzJackRabbit** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 5:46 am

I know you OP said you only want Gigabyte or Asus, but I'll second Andario suggestion and take a look at Abit IP35 Pro. I'm waiting until Intel releases Penryn, but if I were to buy motherboard for it, it would be IP35 PRO. I know my choice is heavily influenced by case, but IP35 PRO seems to have the best layout for P180. The floppy connector is at the bottom right, IDE connector is in the middle right, SATA connectors are positioned at 90 degree angle (just like on Asus Striker), power connectors are at the sides of the motherboard, all of these features make make IP35 PRO ideal choice for neatly rounding cables. It also doesn't have obnoxious NB/SB heatsinks like Gigabyte motherboards do, and it also have better expansion slots design (at least IMO) so that you do not lose too many slots if you use high end video cards. Just about the only negative I can find about it is backplate firewire connectors which are right underneath videocard so while it's possible to install them alongside 8800 series, it's going to be a tight squeeze.

pputer · Post by **pputer** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 6:38 am

The Abit IP35 is almost as feature-set as the Pro version. I think that is more comparable to the Gigabyte DS3R and Asus P5K boards. The Pro version is a lot more expensive than the other ICH9R (ICH9) boards. The 'Dark Raider' IP35 is an interesting board and I was considering it but it's still $40 more than the DS3R. Is it worth the extra $$? I don't know.

JazzJackRabbit · Post by **JazzJackRabbit** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 7:08 am

The reason I'd go for PRO version is that because according to user reviews it doesn't have double boot problem like Non-PRO versions have.

In any case I think IP35 PRO is reasonably priced, at $190 shipped it offers all features you would ever want and at the same time it has far better layout than Gigabyte DQ6 and Asus P5K Deluxe and of course noticeably cheaper.

Jason W · Post by **Jason W** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 9:23 am

JazzJackRabbit wrote:I know you OP said you only want Gigabyte or Asus, but I'll second Andario suggestion and take a look at Abit IP35 Pro. I'm waiting until Intel releases Penryn, but if I were to buy motherboard for it, it would be IP35 PRO. I know my choice is heavily influenced by case, but IP35 PRO seems to have the best layout for P180. The floppy connector is at the bottom right, IDE connector is in the middle right, SATA connectors are positioned at 90 degree angle (just like on Asus Striker), power connectors are at the sides of the motherboard, all of these features make make IP35 PRO ideal choice for neatly rounding cables. It also doesn't have obnoxious NB/SB heatsinks like Gigabyte motherboards do, and it also have better expansion slots design (at least IMO) so that you do not lose too many slots if you use high end video cards. Just about the only negative I can find about it is backplate firewire connectors which are right underneath videocard so while it's possible to install them alongside 8800 series, it's going to be a tight squeeze.

For me, I just didn't think the additional $55 for the IP35 Pro over the GA-P35-DS3R was worth the layout differences. I am using a P182 case.

fjf · Post by **fjf** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 11:54 am

The abit can control 6 fans, linking them to any of the 3 temps monitored in the board, selecting the high-low temp and the high-low voltage you want on them. If you want a silentPC, the abit seems better.

Fayd · Post by **Fayd** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 12:13 pm

i'm in a similar boat... i'm considering this board

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813130098

MSI p35 neo2-FR

Jason W · Post by **Jason W** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 2:49 pm

fjf wrote:The abit can control 6 fans, linking them to any of the 3 temps monitored in the board, selecting the high-low temp and the high-low voltage you want on them. If you want a silentPC, the abit seems better.

I asked this question in your topic you started about this, so I figure I should ask it here as it's relevant here also: Why wouldn't I want to save the $55 by buying the GA-P35-DS3R and then using the free SpeedFan software to control my temps and fans? Is there critical functionality of this ABIT board that I can't get with the Gigabyte board and SpeedFan?

Thanks for any candor and light you can shed on this question.

Jason

nick705 · Post by **nick705** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 3:51 pm

Jason W wrote: I asked this question in your topic you started about this, so I figure I should ask it here as it's relevant here also:

Probably not a good idea to cross-post, things can get a bit untidy and confusing with replies to the same post in more than one thread.

Jason W · Post by **Jason W** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 8:06 am

nick705 wrote:
Jason W wrote: I asked this question in your topic you started about this, so I figure I should ask it here as it's relevant here also:
Probably not a good idea to cross-post, things can get a bit untidy and confusing with replies to the same post in more than one thread.

Guess I should read the rules closer. Sorry about that. I didn't think it would clutter anything up, but instead bring the issue to light for a greater cross-section of users.

Which P35 / ICH9R Motherboard?

Which P35 / ICH9R Motherboard?

Re: Which P35 / ICH9R Motherboard?