Which P5K

[mis33]

I am building a new P35 PC in the next few weeks, waiting for the Intel CPU price cut. I am leaning towards a Asus MoBo because of its reliability.

I visited my local PC retail stores and found 3 P35 Asus MoBo available: P5K, P5K Deluxe Wi-Fi and P5K3 Deluxe Wi-Fi.

The P5K3 is out of the running because it does not support DDR2. According to my readings, DDR3 is now too expensive and it does not offer great boost in performance.

So, I am now deciding between the P5K and P5K Deluxe Wi-Fi. When comparing features of the 2 MoBo, I see the lack of Wi-Fi and Raid functionalities in the P5K. I do not plan on using these 2 features. Anything else will I be missing if I buy the P5K ?

I also saw the P5K-WS in Asus site. The only difference in features I can see between P5K and P5K-WS is PCI-X. Is PCI-X important?

 

[IcY18]

It really depends on what you need/want. A P5K Deluxe has a lot of features, most of them most likely would go unused but in the past the "Deluxe" model has also been the good overclocker. Luckily for us this year the non-deluxe model, the P5K, is a good overclocker. I believe it will be more than sufficient for you.

PCI-X is a a slot you would never use so don't bother even considering the WS, workstation, version.

 

[mis33]

This is what I figure.

In Toronto, the price difference of the 2 P5K is $90 CAN. Since I don"t plan on using the Wi-Fi, 2nd Lan and Raid, not sure if I should spend more for the higher model. For additional colling, I can buy a better CPU cooler.

Any need for the chipset cooler (north bridge, ICH9, etc)?

 

[IcY18]

No, but you should make sure you have good airflow through your case. If you do you won't have a problem.

 

[mis33]

I am thinking to get the Antec P182 case.

There are the standard 3 120 mm fans (top, rear and in the low coamber). I will add a 4th fan to the top HDD cage right behind the front panel.

 

[IcY18]

Will do great then.