Best P55 Motherboard & Memory combo for an i5 750?

[Dog909]

Hi All

I'm looking to upgrade. Currently got an E6420 @3.2ghz, ASUS P5W-DH Deluxe, Geforce 8800 GTS 512, 2GB Corsair dominator Ram.

This will become my second rig in a simple 2 machine gaming lan set up.

 

So far I've read about a billion thread arguments for & against i5 vs i7 & 1156 vs 1366 as a whole.

I decided to go down the i5 750/1156 path as for me it boils down to gaming performance now, bang for buck & overall cost.

I know 1156 will be phased out but tbh future cpu upgrading isn't a massive issue either as my current pc eventually becomes my

secondary pc. Crossfire/SLi aren't a big consideration either (also hence 1156 route). I like simple yet stable overclocking but I'm not heavily into

voltage tweaking etc. - preferably I change a simple value in the bios & I'm done (less risk of fryage!) My current mobo &

chip work nicely for that, & i5's also seem pretty easy to tweak from what I've read.

 

Anyway, I just wondered if anyone has good/bad/indifferent views or recommendations on their P55 mobo's & memory combo's

which work together well or o/c nicely in a gaming rig?

 

Many thanks in advance

[Dog909]

After more research I think it's looking like the Gigabyte GA P55 UD5.

The only negative I can find about this board (very close with the Asus P55)

is that it doesn't represent particularly good value as it's anywhere between

[Hedghawg71]

I got 3 for you. The EVGA P55 FTW 657 KR and the EVGA P55 Classified 200 being the first two. Personal experience with the 657 has left me speechless. It doesn't like dual 4870X2's in crossfire worth a damned and no one at EVGA knows how to fix this, BUT if you're not using that setup it rocks with single gpu cards in 2 and 3 way Crossfire or Sli and I haven't tried this yet but Crossfire with an Nvidia card for PhysX looks promising on either board. (doing that this weekend with a 9800GT) The second one is the MSI P55 GD65. It was my first P55 board when the p55's came out back in September. It accompanied with an affordable price tag has alot of bang for the buck. It doesn't overclock as well as the EVGA's I mentioned earlier but it does yield very descent results.

[Dog909]

I got 3 for you. The EVGA P55 FTW 657 KR and the EVGA P55 Classified 200 being the first two. Personal experience with the 657 has left me speechless. It doesn't like dual 4870X2's in crossfire worth a damned and no one at EVGA knows how to fix this, BUT if you're not using that setup it rocks with single gpu cards in 2 and 3 way Crossfire or Sli and I haven't tried this yet but Crossfire with an Nvidia card for PhysX looks promising on either board. (doing that this weekend with a 9800GT) The second one is the MSI P55 GD65. It was my first P55 board when the p55's came out back in September. It accompanied with an affordable price tag has alot of bang for the buck. It doesn't overclock as well as the EVGA's I mentioned earlier but it does yield very descent results.

 

Thnx for that m8 I was beginning to think I was going to be the only one to reply to myself!

I kinda like Asus & Gigabyte for quality & easy (non-extreme) overclocking.

I've never had an EVGA board & the only MSi I ever had died rather quickly!

What are EVGA like for reliability? I hear MSi weren't currently that hot (some issues with

voltage on current P55 boards?)

I looked at the EVGA boards but they are at a higher price point than I had in mind. They look tidy

though

Edited March 14, 2010 by Dog909

[Hedghawg71]

The 657KR would be a good board unless you wanna go over the top with the Classified. I Physically broke my first 657KR knocking it off my table. (it broke at the 3rd pci exp. slot because of the jolt from the video card when it hit.) It STILL worked! I contacted EVGA and they said it wouldn't be covered under warranty. WELL! I NEVER! J/K Knowing it was probably most likely the case and that it was going to turn out that way I had already planned for the second one. It runs real good and stable. Stays cool in my Antec 1200 without issues. There is an issue with the power up that can be fixed with a bios upgrade but if it isn't necessary and I wouldn't worry about it. It starts up, shuts down for a second and then restarts. Windows Vista Fires up before I know what's happening right afterwards. It is the motherboard setting the voltages and testing them or something like that. The manual and the "road Map" they send is semi helpful but the Forums is where you will get the most in depth info on it.

Edited March 14, 2010 by Hedghawg71

[Dog909]

The 657KR would be a good board unless you wanna go over the top with the Classified. I Physically broke my first 657KR knocking it off my table. (it broke at the 3rd pci exp. slot because of the jolt from the video card when it hit.) It STILL worked! I contacted EVGA and they said it wouldn't be covered under warranty. WELL! I NEVER! J/K Knowing it was probably most likely the case and that it was going to turn out that way I had already planned for the second one. It runs real good and stable. Stays cool in my Antec 1200 without issues. There is an issue with the power up that can be fixed with a bios upgrade but if it isn't necessary and I wouldn't worry about it. It starts up, shuts down for a second and then restarts. Windows Vista Fires up before I know what's happening right afterwards. It is the motherboard setting the voltages and testing them or something like that. The manual and the "road Map" they send is semi helpful but the Forums is where you will get the most in depth info on it.

 

As I'm the most impatient person on earth I went for:-

 

Gigabyte P55 UD5

Intel i5 750

OCZ 4GB ddr3 pc1333

Antec True Power New 650w Modular

Asus HD5850

 

I'll stick all this in my current Antec 1200 case

Should give me plenty of power for some time to come.

 

Thanks for all your input m8

[Hedghawg71]

As I'm the most impatient person on earth I went for:-

 

Gigabyte P55 UD5

Intel i5 750

OCZ 4GB ddr3 pc1333

Antec True Power New 650w Modular

Asus HD5850

 

I'll stick all this in my current Antec 1200 case

Should give me plenty of power for some time to come.

 

Thanks for all your input m8

 

 

Gigabyte is a top notch board dude. I'm not a real fan of the colors but they are solid built motherboards. I have had them in the past, all were real good motherboards. Enjoy your new toy. :thumbs-up: