Continued from Free Intel Core2 Extreme quad-core processor QX9650
There are 2 motherboards in my mind to choose from… ASUS P5Q PRO and GIGABYTE EP45-DS3. I have few must have features in my selected motherboard. First thing is ATI CrossFireX support. I want the ability to add on another display card to improve 3D processing performance in the future. I don’t want to “throw away” the existing card and buy a new one. I seldom upgrade my hardware unless it is a must. I add on usually.
Second is the ability to overclock and stability of the motherboard. With Intel Core2 Extreme quad-core processor QX9650, you must overclock it else you are just wasting its unlocked CPU multiplier ability.
Both ASUS P5Q PRO and GIGABYTE EP45-DS3 has its own advantages. And I have a hard time to decide which one to choose. ASUS produces quality motherboard for quite some time. My old ASUS P2B motherboard (Pentium II) is still working well after 10 years. No worry to choose ASUS motherboard for sure. On the other hand, GIGABYTE motherboard is going pretty well lately after “merged and divorced” with ASUS. GIGABYTE learns lot of good stuff from ASUS. You can see that from its motherboard.
Overall, GIGABYTE EP45-DS3 is selling at RM460 while ASUS P5Q PRO at RM510. ASUS P5Q PRO wins in hardware components quality while GIGABYTE EP45-DS3 wins in features that I want. Gigabyte has another model ~ GIGABYTE EP45-UDS3P that suite most of my need, but the price is much higher, RM600.
Basically, I just want to overclock Intel Core2 Extreme quad-core processor QX9650 by changing CPU multiplier. I would not like to overclock FSB speed. With these conditions, which motherboard should I choose?
Continued on Corsair Twin2X4096-6400C4DHX vs Kingston KHX6400D2LLK2/4G
Back to Main Page
My dream computer system
