Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R vs MSI P35 Neo2-FIR

alex_mit · Nov 16, 2007, 10:52 AM

Hello.

Would you please tell me which motherboard is better. I am going to overclock. Is it good to get the one with additional ddr3 slots for the future?

Is "Execute Bit Support" important, because Gigabyte doesn't have it?

Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R
MSI P35 Neo2-FIR

savo_x86 · Nov 16, 2007, 03:23 PM

...it's like this...it is still too early to go buying motherboard with ddr3 support...this specific board Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R supports ddr3 at 1333MHz...that is too low for ddr3 and also latencies are very bad...I get chills when I see number in latency that is far beyond 20...that is seriously slow...and the prices are astronomical...right now you wont get much out of ddr3 support because you can get ddr2 memory that runs at very similar speed and is faster than ddr3 at same speed because of lower latencies...
if you really want ddr3 my advice is to wait couple of months for some better chipset,but for now I would go with msi, it has much better cooling solution which is important if you want to overclock...

**kris23** · Nov 16, 2007, 05:37 PM

if you are pinched on cash, go with a gigabyte board with DDR2 for the best performance to the dollar.

dont buy MSI boards if you dont know how to deal with possible BIOS flashing issues (dead boards etc.)

alex_mit · Nov 16, 2007, 07:28 PM

savo_x86, may be you are right abour ddr3. I'll go to P35-DS3R then.

kris23, after you told me about MSI bios issues, I searched the net for it and for the Gigabyte's motherboard. It seems that both have bios issues. If you put aside these problems, which board is better? (btw P35-DS3R and P35 Neo2-FIR)

P.S. As I have told a friend of mine, nowadays, all electronics are crap. Work for some time (not much) and then - go to the shop for new one....

**kris23** · Nov 17, 2007, 01:50 AM

not all electronics are crap man.... thats why you do research.... and thats why you dont buy anything with an apple on it

MSI has a lot of issues from the BIOS update process where the board is bricked and needs service, not sure whether or not this is easily reversed, but it sure is annoying nonetheless. Gigabyte boards use the floppy/flashdrive method which is alot safer, i recommend a board with multiple BIOS chips (eg. Quad BIOS)

PangingJr · Nov 17, 2007, 04:46 AM

i can't say that they all are crap, i have not used them all yet.
can't say the Gigabyte one is a crap product either.
i know a few who uses the board, so from what i know about it, it looks okay, work good, overclock quite good and its price is very cheap.
however, if your main concern is about overclocking your system, and you are also concern about your budget, then check out DFI INF BloodIron P35-based i heard this board is a very good overclocker, and its price is very reasonable. however, maybe i am wrong, so don't just take my words for it check it and see it for yourself.

alex_mit · Nov 17, 2007, 06:57 PM

OK, I will probably go with Gigabyte. But it does not have Execute Disable Support. As I know it is something against viruses. Is it a big deal that it lacks?

P.S. About the crap - I didn't really mean that everything is a crap, but for example, when you pay 100 Euro or more for MB from the middle or top class, you expect a no-problem product, not one which has BIOS issues!?

**kris23** · Nov 17, 2007, 07:09 PM

execute disable bit support is a feature all Intel processors had since i believe 2004? im pretty sure it suppports it even though it doesn't say. its really one of those things that are common on boards today