ABIT IT7 Max2 2.0 vs. ASUS P4PE

I'm putting together a new deck and I've decided to go with a 845PE chipset based mobo as I really want the 9700 AIW and I have read alot about difficulties w/ Granite Bay & Sis chipsets. So, it is down to the Asus P4PE and the ABIT IT7 Max2 2.0.

RE: ABIT HardOCP indicated they had an occasional cold boot issue with the ABIT board. Has a BIOS update solved this issue? I have also heard that too many USB devices and memory slot configuration can cause issues.

RE: ASUS I saw a thread on another site (can't remember which one) discussing cold boot issues with the P4PE. Is this a problem or just users who don't know how to properly configure their bios? I also heard the P4PE bios setting interface is slow... I don't mind as long as it works.

Ultimately, I get the impression that the P4PE is stable but not as amenable to overclocking as the IT7 (overclockers dream supposedly). I should state that I am not looking to blow the socks off anyone -- just get a little more juice out of my hardware with some conservative oc and air. STABILITY IS THE MAIN PRIORITY.

For other system components, I am looking at an Intel 2.66 CPU, OCZ 3200 Performance Series RAM (2-512k sticks), probably the Thermaltake Volcano 7+ heatsink/fan (w/Artic Silver), 2-WD 120G (8m cache) in a RAID-0 with my legacy Maxtor 80G as main HD, a Thermaltake Xaser III V2000A case and a Vantec Stealth 520W PSU. Also, probably go with a Panasonic DVD-RW A05 as my burner.

I am looking to put this system to work as a gaming/Tivo type machine. Stability #1, oc/performance stats nice but #2... Which board do I pick? Anyone know which one has the lower RMA rate?

Any feedback on my overall setup is more than appreciated.

Sorry for the long post.

I have an IT7 and my friend has a p4pe. To summarize what you said, yes the IT7 does overclock better but the p4pe is much more stable and performs better on the same mhz. You can check reviews from other websites pitting different motherboards against each other.

For example, both of us tested out an SL6RZ Malay L2 week 44 on both our systems (from fry's electronics sale). We both have similar setups in cooling, memory and power supply (both antec true 480).

I was able to get the p4 up to an astounding 3.5 ghz on 1.7v! On the downside, he was able to only get it up to 3.33. The IT7 has much more 'stable' vcore vs the p4pe (which overvolts and then severely undervolts under load).

Another thing to consider is the number of usb ports,firewire ports, and even a raid controller on the IT7. Needless to say there is a great plethora of them. That was the contributing factor for me to buy the IT7 since I run my hard drives in raid 0, have a usb printer, scanner, mouse, kb, webcam, pen drive/mp3 player, game pad , and external firewire hard drive etc.

I hope this can help you make your decision,

-efini

I forgot to answer the RMA part of your question.

I had to RMA my IT7 as soon as I got it. It was undervolting like mad and two days it eventually would not boot up. The problem was faulty capacitors. My replacement one has been working rock solid stable for the past few months. Maybe I just got a bad motherboard from newegg?

My friend has had his p4pe since day one and its also been working rock solid stable. The upside is that the p4pe is easy to find locally, so if you do need to RMA it, you can take it back to a retail store.


-efini

I have the P4PE and its been fine. Had I gotten the it7 im confident that my oc would be a perfect 1ghz or higher, instead of my current oc of about 950mhz at 2.75ghz. Its perfectly stable at my current FSB setting. Its a motherboard.. nothing too spectacular about it, IMO. The sound is fine, but i havent had any fantastic sound cards. The only problem i have with it is that sometimes when i turn it on the POST chinese woman repeats, "Unable to start because of CPU overclocking". So i would have to just click the power button off and then on and everythings fine. Thats hardly a problem though, more of an annoyance.

Also, i dont think you would need the fan - stock fans are perfectly fine for P4s unless youre planning to overclock to the ultimate limits of the CPU (considering you have all the right parts that would allow you to) - and it doesnt seem like you are. And the 520 PSU might be a little much. A) I dont think it would be necessary. B) Seems expensive, especially from a brand like Vantec.

Both these items are fine, just that they might be a little expensive if youre tight on cash - and theyre not really essentials.

OK, well it seems like the P4PE will probably be best for me... Although, since then, I've thought about the MSI 845PE Max2... I still think I will go P4PE though unless somebody can make a convincing argument otherwise.

As far as the PSU I guess I could do with a little less... How about a Antec TRUE 430W ATX? Doing RAID do you think I might ever need more than that (assuming I add more drives for example)?

Finally, I had been thinking about OCZ 2700 sticks but the place I am shopping at says that Kingmax should be fine (and they don't sell OCZ). No copper heat spreaders but, as I said, I don't plan on being the top overclocker in my particular ZIP code so I probably don't need that anyhow.

Any comments?

Well i have kingston pc2700's and they didnt limit my oc at all. Antec has always been the top of the line PSU manufacturer and im sure you cant go wrong with that particular PSU. You can ask around on that specific forum or just search, you wont be disappointed.

My friend who I discussed in earlier posts is using that same Antec True power 430 you mentioned. It works great and should be plenty of power for both overclocking and extra hard drives.

-efini