help picking mobo (X38 only)

[MasterKromm]

Ok, so my current mobo (abit quadgt) is dead and apparently Abit RMA sucks, as I filed the RMA request at the end of Nov. and they have yet to deny or accept it... Thus I now plan on buying a new x38 chipset board and simply selling my quadgt as soon as I can get it back. My board's death was sudden and unexpected and I have been out of the chipset loop since I bought my quadgt...

Few quick questions,

1) I have heard that Asus and Abit now manufacture their boards in China and Taiwan, is that true? If so, which mobo makers solely manufacture their boards in Taiwan? I am of the mindset that Chinese quality and quality control are suspect, but proof to the contrary is welcome.

2) Are all x38 mobo PCBs 6 layer? Which has(have) the best PWM(s)?

3) I have this memory kit Patriot PDC24G6400LLK http://shop3.outpost.com/product/5447899, are there any issues with x38 mobos and 2x2gb of ram? If not, which x38 board offers the best memory tweaks/performance/clock?

4) I currently have an e4300 that is FSB limited @ 385fsb (on my quadgt anyway), will an x38 mobo raise the FSB wall any?

5) I plan on upgrading to an e8500 the moment they become available, are they guaranteed drop in compatible?

6) Which mobo makers offer the best warranty and RMA/tech support(Abit has left a poor impression thus far)? I've also noticed newegg only offers a 30 day replacement on all x38 boards... Is that a new policy or is that indicative of an overall lower build quality with respect to motherboards?

Thanks in advance!

 

[cliff_nj]

I am glad you posted this topic as I am also curious to hear some responses myself. I was interested in the QuadGT myself as I had read such stellar reviews of the IP35-Pro. I have not seen any sites that have done a recent review on x38/DDR2 motherboards. I have had a bad taste in my mouth from some of the last few asus boards I have had bios updates/drivers. I am mostly interested in performance and forward processor support. Please lets get some good replies up for this topic!!!

 

[MasterKromm]

[:wr2] -Bump- [:wr2]

I didn't think my inquiry was that difficult, heck opinions solely based on empirical accounts are alright by me...

 

[totenkopf]

Honestly? If you were happy until your quadgt choked... I would use the RMA board. I have that same board and it's working splendidly! For me, the hardcore mobo reviews are funny... most boards with the same chipset run within a couple percentiles of eachother and it's not enough for me to notice. Pick one with the specs you like, read some reviews and try it out. You were probably just unlucky.

 

[MasterKromm]

Honestly? If you were happy until your quadgt choked... I would use the RMA board. I have that same board and it's working splendidly! For me, the hardcore mobo reviews are funny... most boards with the same chipset run within a couple percentiles of eachother and it's not enough for me to notice. Pick one with the specs you like, read some reviews and try it out. You were probably just unlucky.

Sorry I should have been more specific... I have the Abit p965 QuagGT and not the X38 QuadGT, and while I loved my p965 quadgt's performance(Maxed out NB/FSB strap @ 1066 = fastest P965 mobo clock for clock) I hated the lack of a decent BIOS early on and the consant hiss/electrical noise coming from the digital PWMs.

 

[BUFF]

you had a bad board then as by no means did they all have PWM noise.

1. I don't think that any mobo manufacturer makes mobos purely in Taiwan these days, it's too dear.
In fact some of them are looking at opening plants in Vietnam/Thailand etc. as apparently China is starting to get more expensive ...

4. if it truly is the CPU that is fsb limited then changing mobo/chipset won't have much effect.

6. at least in the UK abit support is very good (far better than Asus or DFI).
abit USA moved premises ~Novenmber iirc.
if you post on the abit forums RMA section I believe that somebody is meant to be monitoring that now.

 

[eck]

I just built a new X38 system after much research and reading tons of reviews. I finally settled on the Asus P5E. I built my PC a few days ago and I do have to say that I absolutely love the board. It auto-recognized my Corsair 8500 with 5-5-5-15 timings and I didn't have to change a single setting. The board also has tons of overclocking headroom from what I've read. It has 5 stars on NewEgg with ~80% of the users rating it that high. Today I bumped the FSB on it to 300MHz (making my Q6700 3GHz) and I didn't change the voltage. I loaded Windows and noticed it automatically set the voltage to 1.32v. This board is stellar, really.

Check out http://3ck.us/quad for some pics.

 

[xrodney]

I was about to get ASUS P5E WS Professional before find that x38 could have problems with my PCI-e raid card.
If you dont use PCI-e raid card its great board, little expensive, but i think best anyon can offer.

http://www.asus.com.tw/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=82&l3=593&l4=0&model=1899&modelmenu=1

 

[hive_]

If I were you, my choice would be a MSI X38 Diamond board.
Google it up if you want to know more~

 

[xrodney]

If I were you, my choice would be a MSI X38 Diamond board.
Google it up if you want to know more~

MSI x38 Diamond have few cons, only 1 PCI whitch is not usable in case 2 dualslot GFX used. and i dont see any pro in having another 2 PCI-e x16 slots whitch have only 4 PCI-e lanes. Most of PCI-e cards either require only 1 or 8 PCI-e links.

EDIT: Almost forgot, it support only still too much expensive DDR3 memory modules.

 

[MadHacker]

myself i am considering the Foxconn X38A
3 x PCIe x16, 2 x PCIe x1, 2 x PCI
supports DDR2(4 slots) and DDR3(2 slots).

 

[hcforde]

I currently have 3 ASUS boards. The latest is the Maximus Formula SE. It has the X38, 2 Pcie 2.0 slots. Check it out . I have never had a problem with high end ASUS boards-Rock Solid Stable.

 

[hcforde]

Oops forgot, comes with a sound card and runs DDR2.