Choosing a mobo for an E3110 in a brand new rig

[GamingDaemon]

Hi Everyone,

I am building a new gaming rig. I will be doing some overclocking (4GHz with an E3110 on air is feasible so I have heard), and will mostly be playing games. I'll be taking the eVGA 880GTX card from my sig below (along with an X-Fi sound card). Otherwise, everything else will be brand new.

I have already purchased an Antec 900 case, and an E3110 proc. Now I need a mobo.

I've heard good things about the P35 boards, and I'm looking for one that supports DDR3. I won't start with DDR3, but I'd like to have the freedom to go there when I'm ready.

So, right now my choices are:

• Gigabyte GA-EP35C-DS3R
• ASRock 4Core1600P35-WiFi+ (could care less about the WiFi)

Can anyone provide feedback on these two mobos? Or suggest something else that will meet my needs?

Thanks in advance...

 

[Nebulous]

My vote goes to the Gigabyte over the Asrock.

 

[ghost_recon88]

Yea between those 2 you want the Gigabyte.

 

[stdu007]

+ 1 for gigabyte ...

 

[NettieZoom]

+1 for Gigabyte.

Have had nothing but negative experiences when it comes to Asrock, not to mention like 1 in 3 Asrocks come DOA hehe.

 

[meionm]

Gigabyte

 

[GamingDaemon]

Ok sounds like Gigabyte is the clear winner. I have seen in other forums where Gigabyte gets a bad rap. Anyone know why?

 

[DRCRAWFISH]

No one talks about ASROCK at all because they are a POS motherboard maker and sell the cheap ones that would come free at Frys.

 

[Nebulous]

Ok sounds like Gigabyte is the clear winner. I have seen in other forums where Gigabyte gets a bad rap. Anyone know why?

Where? Evry company has goods and bads. Here alot of members that have the Gigabyte boards are pleased with them..well most of them anyways. There's really no single board that is perfect, but Gigabyte has a good record so far, and I don't even own one, lol.

 

[maxfly]

^^^i think its just misinformation tbh.one or two people have a bad experience and suddenly there is a complete culture change at some forums.kind of the repeat what you hear rather than what you know thing.
gigabyte is a solid manny i would have no qualms using one or suggesting one to someone.

 

[GamingDaemon]

Here is a quote from another forum:

Quote:
Originally Posted by GamingDaemon
It seems like Gigabyte gets a bad rap for mobos. Anyone know why?

Because their boards suck. Vdroop is outta control and no working pencil mods. I still have my DS3R, crap for overclocking.

It is comments like this that make me scratch my head, considering the positive reviews I see elsewhere. I know there are no absolutes, nor is everyone going to be pleased by one manufacturer. But such powerful negativity in the face of other positive reviews make it difficult to make an accurate decision. And when so much money is involved, I'm trying to get accurate feedback.

 

[russocp]

I do know that many (if not all) Gigabyte p35 mobos and the new 45nm quad cores do not play nice with one another. As with another thread I started about my problems with my 3110 and Gigabyte DS3L, you need to flash the BIOS on some mobos to update it to support the new 45-nm dual core chips. I'm not saying these are dealbreakers for 100% of people looking to upgrade to gigabyte, but take it into consideration.

And yet, with all that said, i'd STILL recommend the Gigabyte

 

[jason4207]

I won't recommend any board that supports both DDR2 & DDR3. A board designed for both does neither very well. DDR3 doesn't provide any advantage on the P35 platform. Stick w/ a pure DDR2 board. DDR3 will come to life when Nehelem gets released...which will require a new socket...new motherboard.

I'd say get the Abit IP35-E, Asus P5K, Gig P35-DS3L or if you want RAID - IP35/Pro, P5K-E/Pro, EP35-DS3R.

 

[GamingDaemon]

Want to pick this thread up again. After a bit of research I am going to go with a DFI mobo.

Here are my two choices:

1. DFI LP LT P35 T2R
2. DFI LANPARTY DK P35-T2RS

Now the only difference I can see between the DK and the LT is that the DK has a 4-phase pwm, while the LT has an 8-phase pwm, which I understand delivers better, more stable power. I am not interested in the UT because I don't want to mess with the transpiper.

Which board should I purchase to overclock my e3110 to 4GHz? Is the 8-phase pwm worth an extra $50?