Motherboard For E6600...Asus P5WDG2-WS Best Choice?

So I am trying to figure out what motherboard will be the best decision for my new E6600 that is coming in the mail...eventually :p:

S&M Recommended the Asus P5WDG2-WS, but I was wondering what the difference was between that and the Professional version aside from the price tag :lol:

But then again... are those the two best choices out there? To help you out, this is the computer I wil be using it on and features I know I want are two fully functional 16X PCI-e slots for my two 7900GTX's (S&M told me how to do modified drives for the SLI), and a solid RAID controller. I guess the options out there are:

Asus P5WDG2-WS
Asus P5WDG2-WS PRO
Asus P5B Deluxe 965
Wait for the nForce 590

Unless anyone has other recommendations, I guess that sums it up :D

My choice ... lol ...
Asus P5WDG2-WS Professional + Modified Drivers

The P5WDG2-WS Pro is a $300+ board that has two PCI-X slots that will be worthless to most end users. It's a workstation board so that's what it's built for. I would just get the P5W DH when it starts showing up in stock again as it will be cheaper and will have extra PCI-E slots you can actually use down the road.

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Originally Posted by burningrave101

The P5WDG2-WS Pro is a $300+ board that has two PCI-X slots that will be worthless to most end users. It's a workstation board so that's what it's built for. I would just get the P5W DH when it starts showing up in stock again as it will be cheaper and will have extra PCI-E slots you can actually use down the road.

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P5WDG2-WS Pro OCes much better

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Originally Posted by burningrave101

The P5WDG2-WS Pro is a $300+ board that has two PCI-X slots that will be worthless to most end users. It's a workstation board so that's what it's built for. I would just get the P5W DH when it starts showing up in stock again as it will be cheaper and will have extra PCI-E slots you can actually use down the road.

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Don't I want two PCI-X slots for SLI mode?

PCI -E is what you want PCI X is another thing....


i say wait until the 590 is out to see how it performs if its good buy if sucks go with intel 975

hmmmmmmmmmmm...i am getting the Pro on tuesday and the P5B Dlx on monday....

i would say the Pro right off the top of my head...i saw a post that said the pro was one of the easiest conroe boards to set up...

i'd forget about the plain P5WDG2 WS...it wasn't designed to handle the conroe.

if you want an upgrade able board for the Kentsfield then go with the P5B Deluxe

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Originally Posted by Natalia

Don't I want two PCI-X slots for SLI mode?

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You need the ASUS P5W64 WS Pro for crossfire

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Originally Posted by Ace-a-Rue

hmmmmmmmmmmm...i am getting the Pro on tuesday and the P5B Dlx on monday....

i would say the Pro right off the top of my head...i saw a post that said the pro was one of the easiest conroe boards to set up...

i'd forget about the plain P5WDG2 WS...it wasn't designed to handle the conroe.

if you want an upgrade able board for the Kentsfield then go with the P5B Deluxe

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The P5W64 WS Pro and the ASUS P5W64 WS Pro will support kentsfield also.

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Originally Posted by thegreek

The P5W64 WS Pro and the ASUS P5W64 WS Pro will support kentsfield also.

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my point was that Intel 965 chipset was designed to upgrade with newer cores but you cannot find that written in the 975 chipset spec from intel....the wording is missing...could it have been an oversight...possible, but unlikely.

It will have to be P5WDG2 Pro or P5W64 WS Pro... Either board is almost sexy and expensive.....

Just an FYI. I've used five different Conroe boards (965 & 975). And they all work with Kentsfield. The biggest problem you run into is a FSB limitation with some of the boards. The P5W DH, for example, will do only around 350FSB with Kentsfield. The Bad Axe is even worse.

The Asus P5B Deluxe is a very nice board, especially for high FSB. Of the boards I've tested it's probably the one I like the best.

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Originally Posted by sierra_bound

Just an FYI. I've used five different Conroe boards (965 & 975). And they all work with Kentsfield. The biggest problem you run into is a FSB limitation with some of the boards. The P5W DH, for example, will do only around 350FSB with Kentsfield. The Bad Axe is even worse.

The Asus P5B Deluxe is a very nice board, especially for high FSB. Of the boards I've tested it's probably the one I like the best.

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What are the big differences between the P5B, the Asus P5WDG2-WS PRO
and the not-yet-released P5W64 WS Pro?


And when people are voting for other... is that for the P5W64 WS Pro?

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Originally Posted by Natalia

What are the big differences between the P5B, the Asus P5WDG2-WS PRO
and the not-yet-released P5W64 WS Pro?


And when people are voting for other... is that for the P5W64 WS Pro?

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the basic advantage of the WS-Pro besides the prementioned o/c abilities
is the the existence of the pci-x slots
a while ago you were wondering about a raptors solid raid setup...
with this board you can get an openbox areca 1220 from newegg
and get yourself a blazing fast raid5 combination

in terms of future upgradeability (as pci-x is not that common in mainstream boards)
and since you don't currently own any pci-x devices,
you could go with the almost identical 64WS-Pro version and get a decent pci-e controller instead

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Originally Posted by Natalia

And when people are voting for other... is that for the P5W64 WS Pro?

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Thats what my 'other' meant.

Nox

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Originally Posted by Natalia

What are the big differences between the P5B, the Asus P5WDG2-WS PRO
and the not-yet-released P5W64 WS Pro?


And when people are voting for other... is that for the P5W64 WS Pro?

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I will be testing the P5WDG2 WS Pro very soon. Until then, I can't tell you. I think it's unwise to make a buy decision based on only a few user results. Many people have gotten burned that way, including me.:)

The P5B Deluxe holds the current record for highest FSB, if that means anything. Several people, including me, have gone above 500 with Conroe. 500+ with Allendale is not so difficult. Much harder to do with Conroe.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Natalia

What are the big differences between the P5B, the Asus P5WDG2-WS PRO
and the not-yet-released P5W64 WS Pro?


And when people are voting for other... is that for the P5W64 WS Pro?

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The P5WG2-WS Pro and P5W64 are sever\workstation boards and are fitted with true PCI-X 64-bit slots(like one needed for an Areca RAID card that is not PCI-E graphics slot).

The P5B on the other hand is aimed at enthusiast ect. The P5B also does not have true 8x 8x PCI slots for SLI.

Before someone gets lost in here, the p5wdg2-ws does not support conroe, I've tried it and it will not post with the E6600 or e6300. The P5wdg2-ws Pro will support conroe as it is the same board with the upgraded voltage specs etc for conroe ( and esata port ) ( as yet I don't have a pro or p5w64 in my hands ). DO NOT buy the non pro and expect it to work on conroe ( there are rumors that the E6800 will work on the non pro but none of the others will with out modifacations ). Now all 3 boards mentioned will support crossfire, the P5wdg2-ws ( not for conroe ), the P5wdg2-ws Pro and P5w64-ws PRO.

The P5w64-ws does not have pci-x slots but 4 16x pcie slots, more usable overall unless you already have pci-x cards. Only Andre have had their hands on the p5w64 as far as I know and it isn't out in stores here yet. The P5wdg2-ws Pro is out but some stores will send the non pro unless you specify! ( damn zip zoom crap :fact: :mad: ). Now with that said I will return to being a noob and send this board back and wait for the p5w64 :D

I just got my P5WDG2 WS Pro booting with a single 7950, after waiting a week for the PSU and Memory. Installing WinXP Pro currently.

AP

Lets us know how it runs....

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Originally Posted by thegreek

P5WDG2-WS Pro OCes much better

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According to what? I've seen like two people show they've tested this board so far. I'm quickly learning it's wise to purchase a board that multiple people have been using and has had multiple BIOS revisions. The P5WDG2-WS Pro is going to cost at least $100 more then what the P5B Deluxe can be found for. This is a server board designed for workstations, not enthusiests. The P5W DH and P5B Deluxe are the enthusiest boards. Why pay a lot more for the P5WDG2-WS Pro? It doesn't offer anything special outside of PCI-X slots which nobody uses unless you're seting up an expensive RAID array. I would personally rather have a board that has one or two more PCI-E slots in case i want to upgrade to a PCI-E sound card or physics card down the road and still have two slots for Crossfire/SLI.

All 3 boards are very similiar, here are the main differences:

Asus P5WDG2-WS
Came out about a year ago, does not support Conroe. Exact same layout as the Asus P5WDG2-WS Professional.

Asus P5WDG2-WS Professional
Basically this is the same board but with Conroe support and copper heatsinks. Of course, I'm sure other minor tweaks and improvements have been made as well.

Asus P5W64 WS Pro
Very similiar to the Asus P5WDG2-WS Professional, but instead of 2 x 16x PCI-E, 2 x PCI-X, and 2 x PCI; it has 4 x 16x PCI-E and 2 x PCI.
Everything else looks pretty similiar, it supports Conroe of course.
Other difference is it's not currently available, whereas the Asus P5WDG2-WS Professional is.

I'd go with the Asus P5WDG2-WS Professional, I did infact. Got it at ewiz for $308. Should be here Monday, so I'll let you know how it is.

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Originally Posted by burningrave101

According to what? I've seen like two people show they've tested this board so far. I'm quickly learning it's wise to purchase a board that multiple people have been using and has had multiple BIOS revisions. The P5WDG2-WS Pro is going to cost at least $100 more then what the P5B Deluxe can be found for. This is a server board designed for workstations, not enthusiests. The P5W DH and P5B Deluxe are the enthusiest boards. Why pay a lot more for the P5WDG2-WS Pro? It doesn't offer anything special outside of PCI-X slots which nobody uses unless you're seting up an expensive RAID array. I would personally rather have a board that has one or two more PCI-E slots in case i want to upgrade to a PCI-E sound card or physics card down the road and still have two slots for Crossfire/SLI.

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It's really a cross between enthusiest and workstation board. True server/workstation boards typically don't have the vast array of overclocking options these boards have.
And it's based on the regular P5WDG2-WS and plain P5WDG2 which were probably the top 2 boards for Intel overclocking before the Core 2 Duo chips came out.
Also, the P5W and P5B were designed by a different motherboard team, so it wouldn't be surprising to see some difference in their overclocking ability.
From what I've seen so far, everyone that has used both series likes the the P5WDG2-WS Pro and P5W64 WS Pro, however I agree it's to early to say for sure one is better than the other.

Just started testing the P5WDG2 WS Pro. This is the best board I've used for Kentsfield, by far. The BIOS allows me to use multipliers from 6 to 20. Also, the 4:5 ratio works well, unlike many other boards. Will run stability tests over the weekend.

1:1 tests

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v38/ds7510/3800.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...ebench3745.jpg

can someone clarify for me...the P5B deluxe can run crossfire/sli(hacked drivers of course)? I know there aren't many 965 boards that do. What are the disadvantages if you can even run it on this board.

I'm not sure anymore what I want. It's either the P5B deluxe that will probably not run dual-gpu to it's best but have a possible 500Mhz FSB which I probably won't use since I'm only looking to run at a max of 450Mhz. Or get a 975 board that will run Sli with hacked drivers better but most likely not reach the same FSB and have to struggle to get me to the mid 400's. man do I hope some of these 975 boards get better Bios's.

I have had the DH and now the WS-Pro. They are close in performance from what I can tell and the average person would not see mcuh difference. The ws-pro was at ewiz for $300 when I got it and the p5wdh was selling for anywhere from $250 to $300, so it wasn't that much more. The P5B Sierra likes is less expensive. The other difference in the ws-pro from the DH is the extra power 8pin vs 4 pin. The WS-Pro unscientifically seems to be a more robust board to me than the DH which I di have some issues with. The only big complaint so far on the WS-pro is high cpu temps readings. Also, it overvolts the vcore wheereas the DH undervolts. It also has up to 1.8 Vmch vs 1.65 in the DH. These things may or may not be important to you. So far I prefer the ws-pro. I have not tried th P5B.

wait for nf590

Sierra , what is with the 3.1v in cpuz?

CPU-Z does not read Kentsfield VCore correctly. Actual voltage is about half that much.

I will probably test with Kentsfield for the next week, and then Conroe. Not really interested in maximum FSB. Having multipliers above 10 makes that unnecessary. So far, this board looks like a keeper.

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Originally Posted by sierra_bound

Not really interested in maximum FSB. Having multipliers above 10 makes that unnecessary. So far, this board looks like a keeper.

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To bad not all of use have the cash to have that multiplier up to 10. :p:

I have not used my Conroe 6600 in this board yet. My guess is I will have only the 6-9 multipliers available. Kentsfield is basically like an Extreme Edition processor. With the right BIOS, you have a fully unlocked CPU.

Ok, i've now officially gotten mad enough at this Abit AB9 Pro that i just pulled the trigger on the Asus P5WDG2-WS Professional from eWiz for twice as much as i paid for this Abit board. Hopefully it will be actually worth it. I guess we'll see. The P5WDG2-WS Pro is $299 @ eWiz through Froogle.

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Originally Posted by burningrave101

Ok, i've now officially gotten mad enough at this Abit AB9 Pro that i just pulled the trigger on the Asus P5WDG2-WS Professional from eWiz for twice as much as i paid for this Abit board. Hopefully it will be actually worth it. I guess we'll see. The P5WDG2-WS Pro is $299 @ eWiz through Froogle.

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wow you have to click through froogle's link to get the low price
that's pretty low of them

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Originally Posted by Ender17

wow you have to click through froogle's link to get the low price
that's pretty low of them

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They do that through Froogle, Pricegrabber, and Pricewatch to get more hits from people doing a search for lowest price. If the person is already on eWiz.com then they figure that person will probably pay more not knowing to search for a lower price. It's pretty smart actually and i like it because i know to search and i get stuff cheaper :).

BTW, PCI-X is backwards comptabible with PCI hardware isn't it? That means i can just stick a PCI device like a sound card or TV tuner in one of the PCI-X slots?

Yes, PCI-X is backwards compatible. Of course, you won't get the same speed as you would with a PCI-X card.

I've always been looking for an excuse to buy some Seagate Cheetah's. This board gives me that excuse.:D

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Originally Posted by sierra_bound

Yes, PCI-X is backwards compatible. Of course, you won't get the same speed as you would with a PCI-X card.

I've always been looking for an excuse to buy some Seagate Cheetah's. This board gives me that excuse.:D

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Well i was just wondering so that i would know whether or not i could use those PCI-X slots for anything. I guess now i'll be able to install my X-Fi, 56k modem, TV tuner, ect.

Let me qualify what I said. It should be backwards compatible. PCI-X is just an enhanced version of PCI. I will test it this weekend to verify. The board also has a set of jumpers to maximize the PCI-X frequency.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sierra_bound

Let me qualify what I said. It should be backwards compatible. PCI-X is just an enhanced version of PCI. I will test it this weekend to verify. The board also has a set of jumpers to maximize the PCI-X frequency.

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PCI-X Architecture
PCI-X, the new and improved version of the previous PCI, offers faster data transfers and enhanced system reliability with ECC automatic single-bit error recovery and double-bit error detection. PCI-X enables users to keep pace with upcoming advances in high-bandwidth, business-critical applications such as Fiber Channel, RAID, InfiniBrand™ Architecture and iSCSI. It is backwards compatible with PCI-based hardware and software.

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http://usa.asus.com/products4.aspx?l...89&modelmenu=1

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Originally Posted by Natalia

So I am trying to figure out what motherboard will be the best decision for my new E6600 that is coming in the mail...eventually :p:

S&M Recommended the Asus P5WDG2-WS, but I was wondering what the difference was between that and the Professional version aside from the price tag :lol:

But then again... are those the two best choices out there? To help you out, this is the computer I wil be using it on and features I know I want are two fully functional 16X PCI-e slots for my two 7900GTX's (S&M told me how to do modified drives for the SLI), and a solid RAID controller. I guess the options out there are:

Asus P5WDG2-WS
Asus P5WDG2-WS PRO
Asus P5B Deluxe 965
Wait for the nForce 590

Unless anyone has other recommendations, I guess that sums it up :D

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WS non pro does not support conroe.

Only Pro supports conroe.

4.4ghz 965 @ 32m = 3.9ghz 975 @ 32m

Just another clarifacation on pci-x, while is is backwards compatible you may run into problems with a pci and pcix card on the same bus.

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Originally Posted by Torphoto

Just another clarifacation on pci-x, while is is backwards compatible you may run into problems with a pci and pcix card on the same bus.

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I guess it's a good thing i'm not likely to have any PCI-X devices :D. I mean seriously, outside of a RAID controller card what else would i even consider for a PCI-X device?

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Originally Posted by burningrave101

I guess it's a good thing i'm not likely to have any PCI-X devices :D. I mean seriously, outside of a RAID controller card what else would i even consider for a PCI-X device?

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Firewire 800 card?

More tests with Kentsfield

http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/3...0043400as5.jpg

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/5...nch3767eq0.jpg

http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/7552/3831ct9.jpg

This board seems to have less Vdroop than some of the other Asus mobos, which of course is good. Asus Probe reads temps a little high. But other than that, the board is solid.

All the important ratios work on this board - 1:1, 4:5, 2:3. There's also 4:3 and a couple others.

4:5
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/7624/376745zv1.jpg

2:3
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/8950/381023rh0.jpg

Thanks alot sierra. Looks like I maybe getting one of these if the p5w64 isn't out in 2 weeks.

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Originally Posted by sierra_bound

All the important ratios work on this board - 1:1, 4:5, 2:3. There's also 4:3 and a couple others.

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Really? That's awesome. The 4:3 ratio will be very beneficial to me with an E6300. My OCZ PC2-6400 Platinum Rev2 may crap out at 1:1 before i reach the limit of my CPU at 1:1.

Has anyone done any testing to see what the max FSB they can get with this board on a lower multiplier like 7x?

AndreYang did 473FSB with a retail E6300.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=110126

I will test for maximum FSB when I switch to Conroe, which may not be for another week or so. Kentsfield is not a high FSB processor. What it offers is awe-inspiring rendering power.

The P5WDG2 WS Pro is a major improvement over the P5W DH Deluxe, IMO. The only ratios that worked well on the P5W DH were 4:3 and 1:1. The P5B Deluxe does great with 2:3, but not as good with 4:5.

I'm starting to get the itch again to buy this board thanks to you guys.

After further testing, I have to conclude the 4:5 ratio on this board is not as good as I first thought. It's about on a par with the P5B Deluxe. It's usable, but not for DDR2-1000 speeds. 2:3 is good for DDR2-1000+. This board almost feels like a cross between the P5W DH and the P5B Dlx.

All the results I've been posting are with air cooling (Tuniq Tower 120).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...32M37672-3.jpg

Wow. Wait for the nforce 590.

Every Intel board using an Nvidia chipset has been a dud up until now. I think more people are going to be waiting for RD600 than they are for Nvidia 590.

Well I'm looking at these two boards aswell out of curiosity to find the major differences. Here are pictures of the boards side by side:
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/4862/imgcd5.jpg

Now after looking through the spec sheet for both boards WS and WS Pro, I have found the following notable differences:

• Standard has 8 SATA2-ports available, WS-Pro has 7 + 1eSATA (seems like a waste...)
• Standard board has Realtek ALC882 8-channel HD sound. Pro board has ADI 1988B 8-channel HD sound. Is there any notable difference between these two? Which one would be better in say games like Oblivion, Hitman, or the upcoming game Supreme Commander?
• Standard has the Marvell 88E8066/8062 PCI-E Dual Gb LAN controller whereas the Pro has the Marvell 88E8052 + 88E8001PCI-E Dual Gb LAN controller - does this mean that the number of PCI-E lanes the Pro takes up is more than the Std? Is the implementation of the Pro worse or better than that of its counterpart?
• Obviously the Standard comes with an optional WiFi module - is this module (if acquired) also usable in the Pro?
• Will NVidia SLI work on these board? The links show that the spec sheet says "ATI CrossFire" with the 975X chipset. Does anyone know if say a pair of 7950GX2's would work?

Another important question to those in the know - these are ATX cases. Can I mount them "upside down" in a BTX chassis? Would the heatpipe cooler on the Pro not work properly if I mounted it in a "desktop" or BTX-based orientation?

After reading the above posts, I'm even more confused. This is my "planned" system (no OC'ing, want an absolutely silent system):
- Conroe E6600
- 4GB Ram (not sure of type, want it to be 'relatively fast' so that when 4-core Kentsfield comes out, I can just swap CPUs and not get a performance hit due to low FSB)
- 1x 7950GX2 for now, perhaps a second when prices go down a bit. (Currently powering a 2405FPW but soon to power a 3007FPW).
- Areca 12-port PCI-X card + 6x 500GB Sata2 Hdd's (raid 5) [got these]

Haven't decided what type of primary drive (OS) to use yet, but am looking at an LSI 3080X-R with a pair of Cheetah 15K's. Obviously the Areca has space for another 6 drives, and the LSI would also accomodate any SAS or SATA2 drives in the future. Also not sure what power supply to use.

Any ideas?

The non-Pro board does not have support for Conroe. If you read the description of the non-Pro board on the Asus website, it makes no mention of Core 2 Duo.

"This motherboard supports Intel 65nm Pentium D/ Intel Pentium 4/ Celeron processors."

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Originally Posted by vmsein

I'm starting to get the itch again to buy this board thanks to you guys.

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Same goes for me, it should be here by Friday....:D

Nice board. I just got it yesterday. Chipset run really hot @ 1.8Vmch...Have to cool it a bit:).
6800ES B1 bugged @ 370ish max. FSB boot (the rest upped with clockgen). Probly Retail B2 and Allendale are ok.

http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/2...shot008ei3.jpg

So far tried with 1:1 and 2:3...Heres out of the box with TT Big Typhoon with 1.48Vcore in bios that actualy overvolted to 1.53V.

http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/6...shot009ka0.jpg

http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/744...shot013ql4.jpg

Dumo, Which chipset block is that? the i865/875 one or the other one?

I have an 5000 rpm sunon 60mm fan on my northbridge, with a 120mmx38 delta blowing under my Typhoon.

I see temps of 27-33c :)

@Chris...Its Danger Den Maze4 Intel, sku: M4CHIPINTEL lucite top.

Does this board support Crossfire? It doesn't say so on the ASUS site or on the box (P5W-DH does), but it is the 975X chipset.....