Asus P5B-Plus or Gigabyte DS3

[adnoto]

I know, I know... I hate these threads also but I need to pull the trigger in the next two days and I am hoping to solicit the knowledge here to help me make a decision. So, here is the deal if you have the time....

I had planned on getting the DS3 and was doing a last check just to see if anything new was out there and lo and behold there was this Asus P5B-Plus, which appears to be a new version of the P5B-E (?)

It looks like a nice board and it has a few more features than the DS3 that I think I might find useful such as the eSATA port and firewire. My questions are:

Do you think this is a new version of the P5B-E?
If so, how would it compare to the DS3 for OC'ing?
I did not see it listed but do you think or know if the P5B-Plus will support 1333 FSB like the DS3?
If not is that something that can easily be updated with a bios updated?
What are folks opinions about Asus boards in general?
And lastly please feel free to make comments or other observations that you can think of regarding the choice between the two.

Just for reference the rest of the rig will look like this:

C2D E4300
2 gigs of CAS 4 DDR2 800
Corsair 520 PSU
8800 GTS 320 - probably an EVGA
SATA combo optical drive
250 gig SATA HDD
etc.

Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[tnbasrc]

Check this thread out here:

http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=1640939#1640939

I just ordered this board with a e4300 with 2gb Corsair 6400c4 just like your core components.

With no reviews, I'm taking it on faith that it IS a newer version of the P5B-E.

From the front of the box it says 1333 ready but the specs don't, so I think it can be flashed to 1333. It does support Quad.

Check it out at the ASUS site.

I should be getting mine by Friday. Got it from MWAVE.

Good Luck

 

[Ninjaz7]

I've recently set up a 965p-s3,I thought it was a bit "quirky"as it was decribed online.Not voteing the canidate be the asus,but I actually wish I would have gone that route...Do your homework on it and wait for replys,IMO owning a mobo,you better love the company as well as the board...you're gonna be married to it,gl .

 

[adnoto]

Check this thread out here:

http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=1640939#1640939

I just ordered this board with a e4300 with 2gb Corsair 6400c4 just like your core components.

With no reviews, I'm taking it on faith that it IS a newer version of the P5B-E.

From the front of the box it says 1333 ready but the specs don't, so I think it can be flashed to 1333. It does support Quad.

Check it out at the ASUS site.

I should be getting mine by Friday. Got it from MWAVE.

Good Luck

Thanks to both of you for responding.

tnbasrc,

Yeah I actually tried posting to that thread (your thread) earlier. If you notice I got no response and I figured it might have been because it was buried, so I thought I would post a new topic in mobo general. Actually the reason I ran across your thread in the first place is because I did a search on the P5B-Plus and your thread was literally almost the only thing to come up. Looks like you and I had the same idea at about the same time.

Thanks for the tip on the 1333... I feel like an idiot now. I never looked closely at the box. I will take them on their word concerning that then.

To me the board looks like Asus specifically produced it to take on the DS3. The all solid caps and the price range/comparable features... I don't think it is a coincidence. For that matter, and from my brief look at it, I think this DFI "Dark" mobo that folks are talking about may be DFI's attempt to do the same. I have a sneaking suspicion that, rightly or not, the DS3 is kicking the crap out of all the other boards in its price range.

I hope I get a few more responses to this thread, especially "enthusiast opinion," because I basically know nothing about the P5B line. I know it is a brand new board and there isn't much out there, so opinions would be nice. I will do some more reading I suppose but I have put this off too long and simply have to get some stuff ordered.

Thanks again guys.