Please help me choose today. Abit IP35-E or Asus P5K-E Wifi-AP Edition?

[shaolin95]

Hi all!
I need to decide today...the abit or Asus. I have an E2160 with Crucial Tracer 6400 coming this Thursday so I need to decide today on the mobo. Now, this is for HTPC use and gaming is not important.
I am hoping to get 3GHZ or better but I dont think either board should have problems with that correct?

I guess the better Audio (at least thats what I have read) with the Asus will be nice so that I dont have to buy a sound card right away for good quality analog output.

So, does it come down to features only or is there a better chance for a higher OC with one or the other?
Can I use the WIFI to connect to my router or is that just to use the asus as THE router? Havent been able to figure that one out yet. If I could stream the 1080p mkv files from my main pc via wireless...that would rule but thats probably asking too much.

Well, all opinions are welcome as I am buying today.
Thanks!

[loonym]

Yeah, that wifi card can provide connectivity to any access point you may have. I think they are both rather nice boards and imo neither is superior over the other in oc.

[vocch]

Had both...would have to say Asus...not dissing the Abit great cheap board but max with Q6600 was 445fsb...now with Asus board max 460fsb and running 24/7 @ 8x450fsb.

[Cronos]

These are different class boards. ASUS has much better CPU power module.

IP35-E shares weak 4-phase VRM with their "high-end" P35 board - IP35-Pro. Both aren't suitable for Quad-core overclocking. Dual-cores will be OK.

If you don't need Wi-Fi, ASUS also has cheaper and better board -P5K PRo.

[shaolin95]

I think I am going with the Asus in order to take advantage of the WIFI plus having a better sound card doesnt hurt.

[AndyM]

For HTPC use, I'd want to throw a bit of caution out there about the heat generated by the P5K board. The -E is the same board as the Deluxe minus a few parts, and lemme tell you, this sucker sure heats up the mosfet areas (and there are lots of them). I'm wondering about heat and cooling noise in HTPC usage and keeping this thing cool. Keep in mind that my Deluxe is running ~1.5+ vcore, so this might be a factor, but I thought I would throw this out there.

Other than that, the P5K board seems awesome, I like mine.

[vocch]

For HTPC use, I'd want to throw a bit of caution out there about the heat generated by the P5K board. The -E is the same board as the Deluxe minus a few parts, and lemme tell you, this sucker sure heats up the mosfet areas (and there are lots of them). I'm wondering about heat and cooling noise in HTPC usage and keeping this thing cool. Keep in mind that my Deluxe is running ~1.5+ vcore, so this might be a factor, but I thought I would throw this out there.

Other than that, the P5K board seems awesome, I like mine.

Same goes for the abit but the Asus has a heatsink in the area where mostly needed the abit ip35-e needs a fan mounted to blow on that specific area ( mosfets left of cpu socket which need fan on Abit e and can be awkward to mount one ) ....and if you are going for prime stable defo needs one as can burn out mosfet...as it will get really hot.

[shaolin95]

Well, I decided to go with the Asus and should be here by Friday. When I get to upgrade my gaming PC then I will go all the way with a DFI LP as I normally do more than likely. :-)