The Different P5B "Flavours"...

[[Grevane]]

I suppose an all encompassing question could start this thread like this...

What is, in your opinion, the best P5B board currently made by ASUS and why?

Now, to give you a little background as to why I am asking (some of you may or may not know this already) is that I recently 2months ago bought the P5B Premium Vista Edition and it died 2/3 nights ago. I'm sorting out getting it replaced but am considering exchanging it (if possible) for a different version of the P5B since the "Vista" additions to the board are not alot more use than just being "Vista Gimicks".

The ReadyBoost ASAP drive is too small to be effective on PC's with large amount of RAM, not upgradeable and isn't reliable when it is actually setup.

The ScreenDUO is a nice idea... IF it wasn't bound by a cable AND actually had some level of software support.

The AI Remote doesn't have enough programmable buttons to make it useable on a daily basis (such a nice idea for DVD watching but just not thought out properly).

So, my line of thinking, although i would imagine a little unlikely since I'm sure the supplier will want to do a direct like for like replacement, was that I was going to try and get it swapped over for say the Deluxe version... I like the P5B but having used the "Vista Gimicks" for 2 months, I just don't need them and I'd rather have a tried and tested reliable P5B... not one with extra bits stuck on so they can stick a "Vista Ready" advert on the box.

So is the P5B Deluxe (WiFi or not - don't mind either way - don't need WiFi right now but I suppose I "might" in the future) the best flavour of the P5B's or... well... any other opinions really??

[Clunk]

The p5b deluxe wifi is the most popular, mainly because of its excellent, stable, overclocking capabilities.

You get plenty of features that you need, and not much that you dont need.

[[Grevane]]

Yeah that was pretty much my exact line of thinking.

I'm a little concerned now that in light of this failure, it "might" have something to do with the fact that ASUS have (particularly with the ASAP drive) slapped a few things onto the board just to give it the Vista Ready image. And after 2 months of using these features, I don't believe any of them are worth having. I never turn on the ScreenDUO now even though the Temp and Volts reading on it was useful, I never use the Remote and I have the ReadyBoost thing turned off mostly because its totally unreliable and from what I've read, not big enough anyway. Plus, you can do the same thing on say the Deluxe board by just sticking a USB stick into a USB slot...

I think I will try to get it replaced by the Deluxe WiFi since I may sometime in the future need WiFi and I do like the OC'ing features of the P5B but I would definitely prefer a solid reliable board than one with loads of pointless Vista *cough* "Features"...

Thx again m8

[KingLouie3]

I chose the Asus P5B-E Plus mobo and it has been brilliant for the last two months.
It was a tough call between this mobo and p5b deluxe wifi.
In the end it was cost and I did not need the wifi feature.

[Pob255]

Are there any reviews/comparisons of all the differnt P5B flavours anyware?

Asus P5B Deluxe £108.09
Asus P5B Deluxe/WiFi-AP £109.63
Asus P5B £65.08
Asus P5B Premium Vista Edition £152.39
Asus P5B TELESKY £69.90
Asus P5B-Plus Vista Edition £107.14
Asus P5B-VM £71.66
P5B-E £76
P5B-E Plus £87

With the prices rangeing from £65 to £152 I'd like to know how much they vary.

[[Grevane]]

Hmmm, not sure I've seen a definitive one...

All I would say is this...

The Vista Edition is NOT worth the extra money in hinesight...

Better off saving the extra £50 and getting the deluxe version and spending that £50 on a 2Gb FAST USB Stick so atleast the ReadyBoost works in Vista properly.

The Remote is useless, 3 "trigger" buttons and the usual play, stop, ffw etc... but not enough buttons in total to program it so for example, you can watch a DVD in bed and then switch DVD's and later shut the machine down...

And lastly, the ScreenDUO is ok, but spoilt by the total lack of any software that supports it, plus, its a USB device so if you want to read your RSS news feed, or check your calendar or adjust the volume on your Windows Media player or even check the temps or volts with it on your PC, you have to be stood BY your PC anyway so there's no point in the end using the stupid ScreenDUO device. I used mine for about 2 weeks, then got hacked off with the software slowing my PC down or the software just out and out crashing on login and ended up just not using it cos I was using my PC anyway. It should've been wireless then MAYBE it would hold some substantial benfits/appeal...

[staffsMike]

i got a E Plus recently..very happy with it. Gives pretty good overclocks without any trouble. I'd only get the deluxe for maniac clocks..lets call it.."the clunk"

[[Grevane]]

Originally Posted by staffsMike

i got a E Plus recently..very happy with it. Gives pretty good overclocks without any trouble. I'd only get the deluxe for maniac clocks..lets call it.."the clunk"

rofl

[lanceuppercut]

Originally Posted by [Grevane]

Better off saving the extra £50 and getting the deluxe version and spending that £50 on a 2Gb FAST USB Stick so atleast the ReadyBoost works in Vista properly.

i'd actually suggest saving the money not getting a 2gb readyboost usb stick and get some proper ram instead.

[[Grevane]]

Originally Posted by lanceuppercut

i'd actually suggest saving the money not getting a 2gb readyboost usb stick and get some proper ram instead.

Yeah but ReadyBoost does more than just give the PC effectively "more RAM"... Unlike RAM, i beleive it actually saves info on the USB stick, so its there ready for the PC when it starts booting up... so with a large enough amount of "ReadyBoost" for the amount of RAM in your system, the PC should start quicker than just a heap load of normal RAM...

I'll check on the specifics and update this post...