quad 6600 hassle free motherboard advice

[Sparkynutz]

I am going to order the q6600 when i find a board that meets my needs and when my chances of getting a GO from newegg are a for sure thing.
things i need on the board-
atleast 1 IDE slot (located in a decent spot not at bottom back of motherboard like one i found)
atleast 4 sata onboard
atleast one esata port in back, with another onboard if possible
must have one firewire in back and one onboard

I would like something reliable. I found lots of boards that i kinda like, but there is always something wrong with them wether its the ide slot on the bottom rear of the board, problems with ide or sata drives working on all ports, or running overly hot because I'd like to overclock to atleast 3ghz and leave the computer on 24/7 and not have to worry about burning up my board, cpu or house

here is a link to my proposed build minus the board to help get a better idea of what i'll be using on it.
http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=6225786

so far im leaning towards the p5b deluxe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131045
but kinda like the p5k for its price,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131180
but like the p5k deluxe better, but kinda expensive
these p5k boards seem fairly new and have lots of problems with sata ports not working, among other things and I dont want to have to laod 20 different versions of the bios along the road to get it running decent and work with all my devices.

any advice on what I should get?
Im kinda hoping that they hurry and fix all the quirks with the p5k and sell it from newegg with a version of bios thats relaible and compatible with GO stepping but I dont want to wait any longer unless I really have to.
when critical updates in bios come out, what happens to the boards that newegg has in stock with the old bios? would i have to wait for them to be sold before i can get one that is preloaded with the newer version or do they ever update the bios on the boards they sell themselves or send them back to get updated?
I've build computers in the past, last one about 5 yrs ago, and dont have any experience with updating bios and it seems like its just a pain to try and load myself or am I over-reacting?

thanks,
Ryan

 

[Manny Calavera]

The P5K series have sata issues when using them in conjunction with raid.The 0404 Bios is a silid release,that I and many others have had zero issues with .You'll likely be waiting forever to get one with a newer bios installed.I just bought my p5kdlx and it had the 123 bios in it,and was straight off the latest truck at NCIX.I flashed it to 0404,as that seemed to be the thing to df the other builds I have done for clients with this board,I have left it at 123 or gone to 0202.I dont know about the EGG,but NCIX and where I work (pccyber) will flash if asked,for a few extra bucks. GL !!

 

[BUFF]

things i need on the board-
atleast 1 IDE slot (located in a decent spot not at bottom back of motherboard like one i found)
atleast 4 sata onboard
atleast one esata port in back, with another onboard if possible
must have one firewire in back and one onboard

abit IP35 Pro ticks all of those - only thing is that your 1394 port on the rear will be on a PCI slot cover plate (supplied with the mobo) rather than integrated into the IO plane.

 

[Sparkynutz]

abit IP35 Pro ticks all of those - only thing is that your 1394 port on the rear will be on a PCI slot cover plate (supplied with the mobo) rather than integrated into the IO plane.

hmm that looks very promising. newegg has good reviews of it as well. I see that the firewire has two ports, both on a pci cover plate as you said, is the motherboard plug for it universal and is there two of them? If possible I'd like to hook up just one of them and plug my firewire port on the front of the case into the other one.
other questions i have-
how long has this board been out?
is the bios pretty stable on it already?
how about memory or drive compatability?
does it have lots of v-droop like the p5k?
Is overclocking easy and user friendly?
will my ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler fit ok?
and my corsair 520w psu is compatible right?

I dont have much time today, gtg to work. I'll have to do some major searching on reviews of this board.
thanks,
Ryan

 

[BUFF]

I see that the firewire has two ports, both on a pci cover plate as you said, is the motherboard plug for it universal and is there two of them? If possible I'd like to hook up just one of them and plug my firewire port on the front of the case into the other one.

The PCI plate has 2 different styles of 1394 port & uses 1 header leaving the 2nd free for your front port.

how long has this board been out?

just under 2 months

is the bios pretty stable on it already?

yes, you'll see comments from people like the most stable release BIOS ever.

how about memory or drive compatability?

it's fine, it's predecessor the AB9 QuadGT was very tolerant & these IP35 mobos look to be the same.

does it have lots of v-droop like the p5k?

Vdrop (difference between BIOS setting & actual measured value) is ~0.03V & knowing that easily compensated for.
Vdroop (difference between idle & load value) is again ~0.03V/0.04V although it's also variable dependent on oc level & PSU.

Is overclocking easy and user friendly?

yes

will my ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler fit ok?

yes

and my corsair 520w psu is compatible right?

yes

I'll give you a starter review
http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews.php?/cpu_mainboard/abit_ip35_pro_intel_socket_775_motherboard/1

 

[ThinJ]

I ordered an IP35 pro from newegg and it was the easiest setup I've ever had. I pretty much just plugged everything in, picked my CPU/Ram settings and went.

 

[Sparkynutz]

BUFF thanks for the thrurogh (<not sure how to spell that) repsonse. I think im all set.
BuFF & ThinJ what did your builds consist of?
thanks,
Ryan

 

[Pepsiennis]

Hello audioman! Here are a few to compliment what Buff gave you. I'd also like to say I have been running the IP35 Pro since it was first released and it is fantastic if you can live without all the bling-bling of some others.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2007/07/12/abit_ip35_pro/1

http://www.cpu3d.com/motherboards/abit_ip35_pro_motherboard.html

http://techreport.com/reviews/2007q2/p35-mobos/index.x?pg=1

And lastly, from a brother [H] who just today posted his results using a Q6600/IP35 Pro combo. Check Post 20.

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1212235