GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3R or GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R?

[australis]

Hi. I plan to build a computer, I decided on most of the parts but I couldn't decide on which board to choose. According to the forums and some reviews most of the users having problems with the p45 chipset mainboards. All of the mainboards are Rev.1 and it seems most of them are problematic including other brands as well. So should I buy a stable but old card or a problematic "new" card? I won't use crossfire, what I need is to make use of intel matrix raid and this is supported with p35 (?) And plan to use it with a mild overclock with a Q6600 cpu (2400@2800 maybe). Here is the system I plan to build if it makes you help me out! :)

Q6600 C2Quad (my first choice was Phenom 9950 but there is no solid sb750 chipset mainboard out there)
Gigabyte mainboard??
SCYTHE ZIPANG cpu cooler
HIS ATI HD 4850 IceQ 4 TURBO
OCZ REAPER 4 GB 1066 MHz CL5 HEAT-PİPE DDR2 KİT (2x2GB)
2xSEAGATE 500 GB 7200 RPM 32MB CACHE NCQ SATA2 HDD ST3500320AS

P.S.:I know this will be an "old" system but I don't want to wait for nehalem or new amd platforms, 'cause these new platforms won't be affordable till next summer I guess.

[GaryR]

Re: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3R or GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R?

I'm certainly no expert but I just built this system and it has been running flawlessly since day 1.

Antec P182 case with Antec True Power 850w
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R
Intel E8400 running at 3.61Gz
Mushkin 4GB PC9500
640 and 500GB 7200 16Mb drives
ATI 4870 1Gb video

I used LSDMEASUP'S setup and followed his advice on using Mushkin RAM, and this box smokes anything I throw at it. I am even running the OEM Intel cooler so far, though I will be switching that out soon..

[australis]

Re: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3R or GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R?

Well after reading a lot about p45s I'm not sure about them. Well I think p35s are stable but who guarantees it? Some say p35c's are also problematic. So I'm stuck.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3R or GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R?

P45 BIOS is far more advanced then P35, that is the ONLY reason you see more issues about P45 help. That and not many users are buying P35 anymore, so it is all P45 Posts now.

P45 works great, rev 1 is not a issue really. Sure things will likely get improved a bit when Rev 2 boards come around, but as for now most all issues people have are with getting the far more advanced BIOS setup properly.

Intel Matrix RAID can be used on either board, but be sure you get one that has a Northbridge with a letter R on it. Like in P35 this is ICH9R, and P45 it is ICH10R. The ICH9/10 without the R does not use the matrix RAID software

Like P35-DS3R or P45-DS3R, or any of the higher valued boards such as DS4 and DQ6 also have the RAID Chipsets

So, I would say based on your question it is really up to you and what you feel you can handle BIOS-wise. If you are not sure about BIOS or don't have time to play around alot then P35 may be better off for you. Ram Computability is also a huge thing to keep in mind, and as said above my Top Suggestion for ease of use is Mushkin

[australis]

Re: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3R or GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R?

Thank you for your suggestions. I'll reconsider p45 again. By the way nehalem is being launched on 16Th of this month. Do think that there will be a price cut for the "old" intel cpus in a month? Should I wait a few weeks? As for the memory, should I choose "MUSHKIN XTREME PERFORMANCE 4GB DDR2-1066 DUAL KIT (2x2GB) – 996599" over "OCZ REAPER 4 GB 1066 MHz CL5 HEAT-PİPE DDR2 KİT (2x2GB) - OCZ2RPR10664GK"? (same priced) Thanks again for your help.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3R or GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R?

I sure hope so about the price drop! I want to get me a Xeon X3350, although I do see some on Amazon that are $100 less then everywhere else new right now

Ya, I would choose the Mushkins if it was me

[australis]

Re: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3R or GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R?

According to the news of price cut, there'll be 10$ off for Q6600 :) And I'll go with the mushkins even though the brand is not in the list of gigabyte's memory compatibility. Btw you were the only one here who kindly replied me, thank you Lsdmeasap ;) (never tried lsd ahah)

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3R or GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R?

New price cut? Where do you see this info at?

Ya, Mushkin is for sure compatible!

Thanks for your kind words, and go ahead and try you some when you see it

[australis]

Re: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3R or GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R?

Many sites on this. Here is one of them about price cuts.
HEXUS.net - News :: Intel preparing pre-Nehalem price cuts for Core 2 chips : Page - 1/1

[australis]

Re: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3R or GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R?

Ohh I forgot to ask. In the mainboard's compatibility list there is an abbreviaton SS/DS (I guess it's for single sided and double sided) for dual channel ability. How can I know that my mushkin rams are ds or ss? Btw they are not listed at all! Will I be able to use them at dual channel mode? Sorry for that much questions! :)

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3R or GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R?

Thanks for the link

They are Fine, just not on the list as Gigabyte does not test their ram I suppose.

I use them in several builds I own, and have built MANY gigabyte systems with them, they are 100% compatible

Yeah you can use Dual channel mode for sure with them, and yes ss/ds you have correct

[australis]

Re: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3R or GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R?

Thanks again ;) I've decided on all of the components except a psu. When I find a dead silent psu I'm ready to go :)

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3R or GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R?

Not sure what to suggest there, just dont go cheap!

[zenzike]

Re: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3R or GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R?

I bought the GA-EP45-DS3R last week as part of a silent computer build.

I can recommend Corsair PSUs since they're really silent, I bought a Corsair PSU 520W CMPSU-520HX ATX12V, and it's not audible inside the case.

However, I can't recommend GIGABYTE motherboards right now -- they do not have much fan control, allowing only PWM control for the CPU. It would be nice to have voltage control, but alas, it seems that GIGABYTE don't do this, and so I'd have to recommend you go for one of the ASUS boards instead.

Without fan control, you may as well give up going for a quiet PC. As for case fans, go for Noctua, they are superb (although expensive).