Author Topic: Asus P5B or P5W-DH for the E6600? (Read 1108 times)

DmdFiat · « **on:** February 26, 2007, 09:49:35 AM »

I still can't figure out if this is important or not
Apparently there people who use either one of the 2 mobos below with the E6600 even though Asus says that the 975X chipset needs the P5w-DH.
What's the difference?

Asus P5B deluxe $194
or
Asus P5W-DH Deluxe $209
?

Grazie.

humble · « **Reply #1 on:** February 26, 2007, 10:49:43 AM »

According to the
Press blurb the P5B supports the 775 socket completely. Personally given the low price differential I'd pick the MB thats most current....but both should be fine.

Krusty · « **Reply #2 on:** February 26, 2007, 11:18:53 AM »

I wasn't sure til I checked newegg. Now my money's on P5W DH. Why?

Image

P5B:

image

The P5W DH has copper heatsinks over the north and south bridges, and a heat pipe with a radiator leading to where the case fan usually is for bigger chip It's got a different layout for plugs on the board itself (not really a pro or con), a built in IEEE 1394, an external SATA (cool but not very practical) and it seems the better board for a difference of only $12.

EDIT: Oh and the W DH has built in wifi if you like that sort of thing.

DmdFiat · « **Reply #3 on:** February 26, 2007, 12:35:54 PM »

the W-DH also has better sound. Would that be good enough for AH?

Krusty · « **Reply #4 on:** February 26, 2007, 01:04:00 PM »

Probably. When I had my ASUS P4P I used the onboard sound for a while. Sounded better than my SB Live! in some cases. I liked the digital out, and used it. Now my current mobo doesn't have digital out and my SB Audigy is better than it (about the level of a plain SoundBlaster).

When I did use it I didn't spot any problems with AH. You should be good there.

DAVENRINO · « **Reply #5 on:** February 26, 2007, 02:00:07 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by DmdFiat
I still can't figure out if this is important or not
Apparently there people who use either one of the 2 mobos below with the E6600 even though Asus says that the 975X chipset needs the P5w-DH.
What's the difference?

Asus P5B deluxe $194
or
Asus P5W-DH Deluxe $209
?

Grazie.

The big difference is the 975 chipset on the P5W and the 965 chipset on the P5B. I can't remember exactly, but also remember something about the P5B not having dedicated IDE controllers.

Quote

Originally posted by DmdFiat
the W-DH also has better sound. Would that be good enough for AH?

I have been using the onboard sound for 4 months now with no problems. I have an Audigy 2 ZS but have been to lazy to install it. The SPDIF out of the onboard shows as Dolby Digital on my 7.1 receiver. The Audigy always showed as Pro Logic II.

Quote

Originally posted by Krusty

EDIT: Oh and the W DH has built in wifi if you like that sort of thing.

I don't use the ob wi-fi but the DH designation means it has a Remote Control. I do use the Remote control function to turn my puter on in the AM since it is hidden in a desk bay. One button press on my Harmony 880 and I am watching CNN on the 27" and ready to check email, etc on the 58". It turns on the 58" set to PC input, turns on PC, turns on the cable box/DVR set to CNN, turns on the Surround Sound and 27" set to CNN audio, and turns on the lights.

715 · « **Reply #6 on:** February 26, 2007, 02:44:37 PM »

The main difference is the chipset: the older 975X for the P5W and the newer 965X for the P5B. The 965X chipset has no IDE controller, so the mobo manufacturers have to add a separate chip and most use a JMicron chip that adds IDE as well as extra SATA and the e-SATA. Many problems have been reported with this combination, including not being able to recognize IDE CD/DVD drives, not being able to use RAID if you use SATA CD/DVD drives etc. Supposedly those have been worked out with new BIOS upgrades? Check the mobo section of Anandtech.com for their 965X mobo roundup for discussions of the problems.

In terms of chipset performance, the older 975X is supposed to be better, but chipset differences are usually neglible (like fractions of 1%).

The P5B also has an ADI sound controller vs the RealTek on the P5W. I think I remember Anandtech or SharkeyExtreme saying the ADI was better for surround sound in games than the RealTek because the Realtek EAX driver implementation of occlusions and obstructions was flawed. I can't remember where I saw this but a Google search on ADI Realtek occlusion will bring up lots of hits that you can judge for yourself. Try this link: http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=3948.

There might also be differences in overclocking ability. Most Conroes are locked when it comes to the multiplier. Supposedly Asus has found a way to unlock them with a new BIOS for the P5B: http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2822&p=1. I don't understand overclocking so it would be best to read that link. Having an unlocked multiplier apparently gives you more options for overclocking without forcing your memory out of spec by just increasing the clock.

715

DmdFiat · « **Reply #7 on:** February 27, 2007, 09:27:31 AM »

Lots of info. thnx.
I've been reading A LOT about these 2 boards and I just realized I missed a bit of info that would have helped me decide fast.

The P5B allows only 2 IDE devices. I will only use 1 SATA HD and between my other IDE HD and the 3 Burners I'd be already out of IDE ports.

The P5Wdh dlx allows 4.

Big deal to me.
For the rest, since I don't plan to overclock much at all, both cards will take my E6600 and the ( single ) 1950XT pro card.

DAVENRINO · « **Reply #8 on:** February 27, 2007, 02:06:52 PM »

I thought I was a bit overkill with 2 DVD burners.

I also use 2 SATA2 HDD's in Raid 1 and another IDE backup drive.

DmdFiat · « **Reply #9 on:** February 27, 2007, 02:15:17 PM »

Well, what I meant to say was a burner and a rom

Still though...I need at least 3 IDE channels and the P5B won't do.
Easy choice now. The headhache is now for the RAM. I'm too anal to just buy whithout knowing what I'm buying and why.
It looks like .SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) F2-6400CL4D for only $185 is the winner judging by the many benchtests.

Krusty · « **Reply #10 on:** February 27, 2007, 02:33:35 PM »

2GB for $185?? Damn that's a screaming steal.

So much so, that I'd read a LOT of reviews about it before trusting it.

DmdFiat · « **Reply #11 on:** February 27, 2007, 02:46:47 PM »

If you saw the size of the spreadsheet I'm creating with all the different parts, links, prices ...you'd laugh

here's the 2 gskill 4-4-4-4-12

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) ModelCL4D 2GBPK $185
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231087

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Model F2-6400PHU2 $249
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231065

same timing rate but so different in price??

DAVENRINO · « **Reply #12 on:** February 27, 2007, 07:25:15 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by DmdFiat
If you saw the size of the spreadsheet I'm creating with all the different parts, links, prices ...you'd laugh

here's the 2 gskill 4-4-4-4-12

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) ModelCL4D 2GBPK $185
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231087

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Model F2-6400PHU2 $249
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231065

same timing rate but so different in price??

You may have noticed I have the more expensive version and I think it was closer to $300 @ newegg 4 months ago. Works as advertised @ 12 -4-4-4 but I haven't tried any overclocking, yet.

DmdFiat · « **Reply #13 on:** February 27, 2007, 08:28:05 PM »

I have more than noticed them....my system will look very similar to your ..coincidentally

.,... but I read in 2 benchmarks that the cheap one performed great with overclocking plus on new egg .. I thing there were 193 reviews and by reading most of them only 2 had to RMA them. Corsair is another story.... peopole are really happy if they need to RMA just on stick!

I believe in competition!

DAVENRINO · « **Reply #14 on:** February 27, 2007, 08:59:25 PM »

I guess DDR2 prices have come down now that Conroe has been out a while. I just checked my Newegg order history and it was $299.99 on the 4th of November.