The Battle of the P67 Boards - ASUS vs. Gigabyte at $190
by Ian Cutress on January 20, 2011 4:15 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- Gigabyte
- Asus
- P67
Board Features
| ASUS P8P67 Pro | |
| Market Segment | Performance |
| CPU Interface | LGA 1155 |
| CPU Support | i3/i5/i7 Sandy Bridge |
| Chipset | P67 |
| Base Clock Frequency | 100 MHz, 80 MHz to 300 MHz in 0.1 MHz intervals |
| DDR3 Memory Speed | 1333 MHz by default, 800-2133 MHz supported |
| Core Voltage | Auto, 0.800V to 1.990V in 0.005V intervals |
| CPU Clock Multiplier | Dependant on CPU |
| DRAM Voltage | Auto, 1.20V to 2.20V in 0.00625V intervals |
| DRAM Command Rate | Auto, 1N to 3N |
| Memory Slots |
Four 240-pin DDR3 DIMM slots in dual-channel Regular unbuffered DD3 memory Up to 32GB total supported |
| Expansion Slots |
3 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots (PCIe 1 and 2 operate at x16 in single mode or x8/x8 in dual; PCIe 3 operates in x4 mode) 2 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots 2 x PCI slots Supports ATI Crossfire Supports NVIDIA SLI |
| Onboard SATA/RAID |
2 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s ports (gray) supporting RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 4 x SATA 3.0 Gb/s ports (blue) supporting RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 2 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s ports (navy blue) from Marvell 9120 (No RAID) 2 x eSATA 3.0 Gb/s ports (1 x Power eSATA) from JMicron JMB362 |
| Onboard |
4 x SATA 3 Gb/s w/ RAID 4 x SATA 6 Gb/s (2 w/ RAID) 1 x USB 3.0/2.0 connector supports additional 2 USB ports (19-pin) 3 x USB 2.0/1/1 connectors support additional 6 USB ports 1 x IEEE1394a connector Front panel audio connector 1 x S/PDIF Out Header System Panel(Q-Connector) 1 x MemOK! Button 1 x EPU switch 1 x TPU switch |
| Onboard LAN | Intel® 82579 Gigabit Ethernet |
| Onboard Audio | Realtek® ALC892 8-Channel HD Audio |
| Power Connectors | 24-pin EATX Power connector 8-pin EATX 12V Power connector |
| Fan Headers |
1 x CPU Fan connector (4-pin) 2 x Chassis Fan connectors (1 x 4-pin; 1 x 3-pin) 1 x Power Fan connector (3-pin) |
| I/O Panel |
1 x PS/2 Mouse port (green) 1 x PS/2 Keyboard port (purple) 1 x Coaxial S/PDIF Out port 1 x Optical S/PDIF Out port 1 x Bluetooth module 2 x eSATA ports (1 x Power eSATA) 1 x IEEE1394a port 1 x LAN (RJ45) ports 2 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports (blue) 6 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports 8-channel Audio I/O ports |
| UEFI Revision | 1053 (Release UEFI) |
In the Box
- I/O shield
- USB 3.0 rear bracket
- SLI 2-slot bridge
- 4 x right-angled SATA connectors
The USB 3.0 rear bracket connects in the board to the USB 3.0 header, and stretches across the GPUs and intended for the bracket position between the PCIe slots. The cord is just long enough for this, but this kit will not reach to other bracket positions if you already require that PCI slot between the PCIe slots and both PCIe x16 slots for GPUs.
Software
ASUS Ai Suite II
ASUS have wrapped all their OS features into one overall program, called Ai Suite II. Through this program, you can overclock, auto tune, enable/disable EPU, control the VRMs, control the fans, and update the UEFI. In my experience, it works rather well.
Ai Suite II initially comes up as a toolbar, and selecting one of the buttons creates a popup menu, from which you select the feature you want to use. This is a roundabout way of doing it; I would have preferred a tabbed system personally. The first screen is the TurboV EVO module, the heart of the TPU. On the fly BCLK, voltages, and CPU ratios are applicable here. Increasing various parameters results in them turning yellow, to see that they are all changed, and on clicking apply, all modifications are made. The only downside of this overclocking mode is in the inability to modify the RAM sub-timings on the fly.
The auto-tuning section is a one-button click. The program then restarts the computer, loads into the OS a couple of times, and stability tests the system. I like this feature – the i5-2500K went from 33x multiplier at 100 BCLK to 43x at 103.5 BCLK, giving a total overclock at 4.55 GHz. Every time I used it, it caused at least one blue screen, but as long as I left to its own devices, it provided a suitable overclock. I managed to get a better 24/7 overclock, which I describe in the overclock section, which means the auto-tuning could be considered a little conservative.
The EPU control panel gives the user greater control over the EPU, in terms of power saving. Alongside the fan controller, the user can adjust the level of power saving in terms of VCore, chipset voltages, HDD spin downs, etc. for when the computer isn’t doing anything too strenuous.
This software also allows complete temperature control of two of the fan headers. As shown below, we can describe the fan power curve against temperature in its entirety, or at preset levels provided by ASUS.
The BT GO! software allows Bluetooth connection with your smartphone (Android, Apple, Windows Mobile, Symbian). If you can download the BT Turbo Remote software from the respective marketplace, you can also overclock via your smartphone – despite being able to connect to BT GO! (and having very little options apart from music control), I was unable to download the BT Turbo Remote software from the Android marketplace. I am currently running a HTC Hero smartphone using a custom ROM to enable Android 2.2 functions. At the time of publication, this program was not available to me on the marketplace.
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7Enigma - Tuesday, January 25, 2011 - link
And in my experience I'm on the exact opposite. Built a gaming computer for my dad last summer. Started to randomly refuse to turn on after 2 months of use normal. After ruling out peripherals I pulled the HSF off and popped the CPU out to see a DISCONNECTED PIN on the mobo! Just sitting there on the ground like it had decided to fall off. Contacted Gigabyte through Newegg and received NO response. TONS of people were having similar issues both on their forums and on Newegg. I never received a response from them and ended up shelving the $130 mobo in my basement and buying a $140 Asus which has been rock-solid since installation last fall.Prior to this lack of customer support I was a huge fan of Gigabyte. My last 2 mobo's and video card were from them and I had nothing but praise when asked for a recommendation by friends/family. After the mobo fiasco and clearly being ignored (both myself and other enthusiasts) I've sworn off the company.
Makaveli - Thursday, January 20, 2011 - link
was that 920 D0 at stock speeds for the gaming test or overclocked?MeanBruce - Thursday, January 20, 2011 - link
Really feel it's worth waiting for the SandyBridge E LGA-2011 Asus Rampage IV Extreme X68 with Quad memory. That mobo will last through Ivy Bridge 22nm and maybe even into Haskins! In the meantime think I'll drive over to motor city and pick up some new rocks.vol7ron - Thursday, January 20, 2011 - link
Mmmm quad mem.Gothmoth - Thursday, January 20, 2011 - link
honest the H67 and P67 boards, as good as they are, are only to suck the money from the dumb enthusiasts who will not wait for the REAL DEAL.im not buying this stuff from, intel im waiting for Z68.
this overclocking/quick sync sillyness with the current chipsets really sux.
don´t know what intel is thinking but im not buying this crap thats for sure.
vol7ron - Thursday, January 20, 2011 - link
Second. It's actually a good marketing move to get rid of old partsMeanBruce - Thursday, January 20, 2011 - link
Mmmm Z68...strikeback03 - Friday, January 21, 2011 - link
Well, for some users the current offerings do make sense. If you are building a pure gaming system P67 shouldn't limit you any, as QuickSync isn't likely to be that important to you. Or our work computers, for example, will never be overclocked, so H67 boards would be fine for that use.That said, any mild enthusiast building some form of general-purpose system should probably wait for Z68. Dunno how Intel screwed that up, but it was dumb.
7Enigma - Tuesday, January 25, 2011 - link
Here here. I'll read the reviews for Anandtech but wouldn't touch this junk with a 10 foot pole. All the mobo manufacturers should be ticked at Intel for pulling this stunt as it doesn't affect them, just us as the end users and the mobo companies.GoodBytes - Thursday, January 20, 2011 - link
I agree with Beenthere.Since 2003-04 I notice ASUS cut on quality like no tomorrow. And their RMA service (well at least in Canada) is non-existant. Staff are rude, don't want to work, takes a month to process a replacement (this is NOT one of those once in a life time experience, this happened to me twice, and friends), and you get at the end someone else RMA'ed board with a different problem and packed with dust. When I got that as a second time, now they draw the line. I switch to Gigabyte. The boards feel quality over ASUS high-end boards, and unlike ASUS boards, they don't break soon after the warranty.
So yes, Gigabyte boards are more expensive for what you get in term of features, but in terms of life span and quality, Gigabyte wins by far. And I used to be a ASUS-fan, hence why I closed my eyes on my first bad experience, and the ones of my friends. Idiot I was.
When Gigabyte said that ASUS boards where crap.. they were not kidding... When that was said I was like most people "Pfff what are they talking about"... and now I see how crappy the boards are.
I really don't get what's so special about ASUS, and I am tiered of reviews who ignore quality and long term usability. Did the reviewer tested the computer to go into sleep, and hibernate several time in a row, and long period of sleep for a week, to see if the board wake up, and that EVERYTHING is fully function (every USB, Ethernet port(s) and eSATA (if any))? Does the review test the board under stress for really long time. How about leaving the computer turned on for a week, no reboot, how many time if failed (if any). How about heat dispersion, to ensure that the board can last longer over 3 years in a state of being overclocked. All this is ignored by all review sites... They all cover the same things... performance, warranty by years (and not actually SEEING how the server is, and the time it takes for a replacement), how it overclocks, and features numbers.
These are the moment where I wish that if I had more time, I would collect resources and start my own review site. But the problem is I am already anti-ASUS... so I can't even be legitimate.