Hi,

I'm going to get myself a Intel P45-based motherboard, but I really don't know which one to buy?

ASUS Maximus 2 Formula for sure got the sexiest look, but the design of the motherboard is that last thing I really care about, I want the most stable and decent card, not the best looking.

And when thinking of ASUS Maximus Formula which never really was as good as people seem to want it to be, there were several other X38 based boards which were / are better, still Maximus Formula was priced pretty high? For me it seems like most people got the Maxiums because of the name, not because of the actually quality and performance of the board itself?

When it comes to X48 boards Rampage Formula did better than what Maximus Formula did compared with the X38 opponents. And Maximus 2 Formula seems to be more or less using the exact same design as the Rampage Formula, and that might be a good thing?

The best X48 board I suppose is the ASUS P5E64 Evolution? Sadly it was never available in a DDR2 edition, also it cost quite a lot more than the other X48 based boards.

The impression I’ve got from forums is that also both the Gigabyte GA-X48-DQ6 and the GA-X48-DS5 is superior to the Rampage Formula?


Bottom line is, the previous generations of the Maximum 2 Formula cards haven’t really made it to the top? The Maximus Formula was never “the best buy”, the Rampage Formula did better with its rather okay pricing compared with the superior P5E64 Evolution, but it got beaten by Gigabytes GA-X48-DQ6 and GA-X48-DS5?


Then I guess the Maximus 2 Formula is going to suffer the same faith?
A bit overpriced when thinking of what you get? What makes the Maximus 2 Formula being priced higher than the ASUS P5Q-Deluxe and GA-P45-DS5 and on level with the P5Q-Premium and Gigabyte GA-P45-DQ6? Is it just the overflowed bundle with useless stuff and the name which makes it that “expensive” compared with what you actually get? Or is the Maximus 2 Formula superior to the P5Q-series and the Gigabyte GA-P45-series?


I’m wondering which of these ones to buy:

ASUS P5Q-Deluxe
ASUS P5Q-Premium
ASUS Maximus 2 Formula
Gigabyte GA-P45-DS5
Gigabyte GA-P45-DQ6


But which one would be the best choice?

ASUS P5Q-Premium

ASUS P5Q-Deluxe

I'm waitng to see what this one can do.

http://www.abit.com.tw/page/en/mot [...] YPE=LGA775

personally I'm waiting for that one [Abit IP45 Pro] or the trusted review sites to get in the BIOSTAR TPower I45.

I wish i knew more about that biostar one as it seems extremely interesting seeing as that one guy beat the world record for some certain overclock or something w/ it so I am curious, but there are no real reviews on it...sadly enough too, I was begging to think biostar was gonna finally star making nice high end boards...

The board that was used for the record is not the retail version, don't recall exactly what was different and I don't remember where I read that. I'll see if I can't find it in the morning after I've had some sleep.

thnx chuck

Well, if you believe that the 12 phase power and the 16 phase power is for the marketing hype than for performance gain like me then you would not go with Maximus II Formula and any of GIGABYTE's DQ6 or 6 Quads.

"Republic of Gamers" is also more like a marketing hype name because even with Biostar TPower I45, you can easily break the World Overclock Record and play PC Games as well but Biostar does not use that fancy name for marketing hype.

Most motherboards would be designed with 4 phase power or 6 phase power. Somebody also told me that anything above 6 phase is overkill and is more for marketing hype than for performance gain.

Interestingly, I also found out that the ASUS P5Q Deluxe also has True 16 Phase Power but the problem is that it is not truely a 16 phase power motherboard because it has an auto switch phase which changes the phase depending on the CPU loading. The other websites that I read, says that during the heavy loading, it will be 16 phase and during small loading, it will no longer be 16 phase which is a problem with P5Q Deluxe. This was meant to save energy so just to say that P5Q Deluxe is not really truely a 16 phase power motherboard due to the auto switch phase.

Anyway I think P5Q Deluxe or GA-EP45-DS4 would be enough I guess...

If you wanted an Additional Feature: ULTRA SECURE with the USB Key then go with GA-EP45-DS5.

see that's just the thing though, the biostar tpower looks like it has only a 4 phase solution, and ic an't seem to get some clarification, b/c biostar doesn't have any real reviews out on that motherboard, yet, well at least none that I know of that are trustworthy...

I know biostar is cheap but come on, you gotta give samples of it away so that techies can at least see if its as great as a mobo as it is being said that it is.. u know?

Well, What can I say?... Well, I am not a professional reviewer or a professional poster of information either, I say things based on what I've read from some people or some websites so I cannot guarantee you that the information I posted is correct but it is just part of the rumor. On 1 website that I read: http://www.hardocp.com/news.html?news=MzMyODMsLCwsLCwx, mentioned that an Aussie overclocker had broke the World's Overclock Record with Biostar TPower I45. Believe it Or not? It is up to you....

Why they don't give out samples? Well, I don't know...

Thats all I can say for now...