P45 or X48 - Which is the best & newest?

For starters I wanted to thank everyone who has been helping me over the past week build up my new system - given the massive constant advice I have opted to go with a Asus DDR2 motherboard as opposed to my inital Rampage Extreme X48 DDR3 - for the lack of benifits (none - given that I won't OC) and insane price it just isn't worth it - thank you all for helping me come to that conclusion.

So now I must find a replacement board for a DDR2 system (note - I am an Asus fan so going to stick with them). Initially the obvious choice was the Rampage Formula (X48 DDR2 - winning awards left/right/center) - but today some of you mentioned the Asus P45 series instead - this opens up an entire new can of worms and I was hoping to - once again - get some advice...

First off - I was always under the impression that P45 was an older chipset, I thought intel released the P45 -> X38 -> X48 (making it 3 generations old), I mean why release the new Rampage Extreme with X48 if it isn't the latest & greatest - can someone confirm this point for me - I want to be sure I know what I am talking about (P45 better...)

Given my immediate love for the Rampage Extreme, and that it looks like P45 is better for me then X48 (Q9550 - no OC) - I automatically fell for the MAXIMUS II FORMULA.
I also did some reading and found a comparable P5Q-DELUXE which seemed good.

So - here it is - the last leg of my investigation - the final choice ...
X48 VS P45
Rampage Formula VS Maximus II Formula (or P5Q-Deluxe)

Doing the comparing of the specs it looks to me like the Maximus II Formula is the winner .... But as I've shown lately ... what do I know?

BTW - all 3 boards are pretty much the same price so....
Whats the general concencus?

Thanks,

The P45 is Intel's newest chipset...a google search would probably answer your questions a little better than our muddled input on this subject

X48=More stable, more mature chipset...
P45=newer, not as feature rich, performance on PAR with x48.

Read some reviews on the web and make a decision, afterall, it's ultimately your call.

Well - I see you have the "Asus P5E Deluxe" - any general reasons...
Why that over the others?

yes i would say maximus II forumla would win to answer your question , unless using high end crossfire.

from what i gather,
x38 is (2)16x pcie2.0 slots. chipset "capable" of DDR3.
x48 is (2)16x pcie2.0 slots. chipset "capable" of DDR3. 65nm manuf process
p35 is capable of (2)16x pcie 1.0 slots (my board is only 1 slot)
p45 is capable of (2)16x pcie 2.0 slots (8x/slot in CF). has ICH10 SB. 65nm manuf process

id imagine more. if anyone has corrections / additions, thatd be cool.

Well - I'm looking to use a single card solution (1x 4870) with a Q9550 (maybe OC'ed to 3.0ghz) - so I gather the P45 is a better choice...

And for the $30 diff between Maximus II Formula and the P5Q-Deluxe - I assume the Maximus Formula is the best choice...

yeah. $60 diff on egg tho..

Well - that decides that - Maximus II Formula it is...
I guess the only thing left is the RAM - I've got no clue what's best for the board in question...

I was looking at these....
OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2RPR10664GK - Retail - @$133
OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2P10664GK - Retail - @$110
CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-8500C5D - Retail - @ $139 (no fan)

What do you think?

Shaitan000 said:

Well - I see you have the "Asus P5E Deluxe" - any general reasons...
Why that over the others?

Click to expand...

I chose the X48 chipset for several reasons, some you might be interested in, others maybe not. First, I like the way it handles voltages better than the P45. Second, It has 2 full 16x PCIE Slots versus 2 8x on the P45. Third, it is a very stable and mature board, and I had BAD experiences with the P45 Chipsets. Lastly, the X48 is officially supported as 1600MHZ bus speed, not that that means much....

For semantics sake, remember that the X38 and X48 are Intel's premier top dog chipsets...the P45 replaced the P35, so it is "technically" the lower budget chipset.