ABIT AB9 or ASUS P5B?

[brasco2006]

Hi All,

Planning on buying the following PC spec from SCAN in the coming weeks:

Intel Core 2 Duo E4300, Socket 775, 1.86 GHz, 800MHz FSB, Allendale Core, 2MB Cache, Retail
1GB (2x512MB) CorsairTwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800), 240 Pins, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5-5-5-15
256MB Sapphire Radeon X1950Pro, PCI-E(x16), Mem 1400MHz GDDR3, GPU 580MHz, 36Pipes, Dual DVI, TV-Out
160 Gb Western Digital WD1600JS Caviar SE, SATA300, 7200rpm, 8MB Cache, 8.9 ms
580W HiperPower Type-R Modular Black PSU Quiet Dbl Fan aPFC ATX2.2 20/24 Pin (RoHS)

But cannot decide on which motherboard to buy. I have read reviews and some say that the voltage options on the
P5B are limited and the layout on the AB9 is rubbish. Can anyone help with recommendations for which I should buy.

Thanks in advance.

[Nigelz]

Have a look here, for an indepth review.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/2006/1...e_2_corral_uk/

[brasco2006]

I think I am going to have to go with the P5B Deluxe - Lots of features and there are no big layout/BIOS issues. Thanks for replying with the link.

[Splash]

As a P5B Deluxe/Wifi AP owner I can wholeheartedly recommend them

[d3fiant]

As an Abit AB9 Pro owner I can wholeheartedly recommend....the asus mobo, too many problems with the abit, shame really.

Might be an idea to add a SATA optical drive, bout £20 for DVDRW, alot of the problems with the 965-based mobos relate to the lack of onchip PATA IDE. The use of the JMicron controller to add an IDE port has not been without its problems and while they can be overcome you will be overcoming a problem as well as moving away from PATA IDE

[brasco2006]

I have heard a lot about these IDE problems as the P965 chipset doesn't support them any more.

Was hoping to save some money not having to buy a SATA DVDRW drive, but can't be doing with those sort of problems. Thanks for the advice guys.

[brasco2006]

Shame about the ABIT AB9 being so problematic. I have been using the SktA Abit NF7 for the last 3 years and it has been a brilliant mobo.

[BUFF]

There are a lot of happy AB9 owers too though.
& the root of most problems is the same as it is on most 965 mobos - the JMicron controller.
I bought a SATA optical to use on my DS4 (now replaced by an AB9 QuadGT ) to avoid it.

[Agent]

Once the Abit is up and running, its a brilliant board, but for a simple set-up with potentialy less issues, go with the ASUS.