Intel 2500K with GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD4-looking for good advice and tips

[soarwitheagles]

Hi everyone!

I recently picked up Intel's Sandy Bridge i5-2500K processor.  I am considering GIGABYTE's GA-P67A-UD4 as the motherboard companion.  I just wanted to ask if people could post their experience, advice, suggestions, etc. for this combo.  If you have this combo, could you please help me and others better understand how to make this build successful?

Thank you very much!

Soar

[faizoff]

I should've seen this thread before I posted in the other thread. In any case this is what I posted.

Soar I was debating between the UD3 and UD4 as well, here's a comparison list from newegg which DM pretty much listed them all.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007627%2050001314%20600093976%20600008069&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&CompareItemList=280|13-128-463^13-128-463-TS%2C13-128-460^13-128-460-TS

I couldn't justify the extra $60 for the few features the UD4 offered. I wasn't going for a Nvidia card so I really didn't need SLI. So I opted to save the money towards an SSD.

[soarwitheagles]

I should've seen this thread before I posted in the other thread. In any case this is what I posted.

Soar I was debating between the UD3 and UD4 as well, here's a comparison list from newegg which DM pretty much listed them all.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007627%2050001314%20600093976%20600008069&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&CompareItemList=280|13-128-463^13-128-463-TS%2C13-128-460^13-128-460-TS

I couldn't justify the extra $60 for the few features the UD4 offered. I wasn't going for a Nvidia card so I really didn't need SLI. So I opted to save the money towards an SSD.

Faizoff,

Thanks again and I've decided to probably just hang with the UD3 for now.

Soar

[soarwitheagles]

I should've seen this thread before I posted in the other thread. In any case this is what I posted.

Soar I was debating between the UD3 and UD4 as well, here's a comparison list from newegg which DM pretty much listed them all.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007627%2050001314%20600093976%20600008069&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&CompareItemList=280|13-128-463^13-128-463-TS%2C13-128-460^13-128-460-TS

I couldn't justify the extra $60 for the few features the UD4 offered. I wasn't going for a Nvidia card so I really didn't need SLI. So I opted to save the money towards an SSD.

Faizoff,

Thanks again and I've decided to probably just hang with the UD3 for now.

Soar

Update: Noticing a lot of people having a lot of challenges with the GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD3.  Now I am seriously thinking of going the GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD4 route.

Anyone here build the Intel i5-2500K with the GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD4 as a combo?

I am really interested in how it turned out and how stable it is.

For $60 more, I would be more than happy to save myself hours and hours of headaches and heartaches!

Thanks,

Soar

[faizoff]

The way I look at it, with any new motherboard release you're bound to have these issues and I knew that was the risk going into purchasing something that hasn't been around that long. I've really never bought anything on their first release ever before. The i5 CPU, the UD3 mobo and the Crucial 64GB SSD were all expensive risks that I took and luckily so far it has paid off.

Had any of those parts arrived dead or malfunctioned in many ways I'd definitely been disappointed after all I was upgrading after 4 years to almost the top of the line specs. I don't know how wide spread the issues really are for each board of the P67 series. Judging solely by the number of threads in one forum is probably not the best way I'd judge how widespread the issues really are.

But ultimately the call is yours, I personally don't think it's safe to say that the UD4 is less likely to have problems. You can find people posting about problems big and small with any new board depending on where you look.

[Dark Mantis]

I  would have to agree with faizoff regarding this Soar. All newly released components have their problems and it is just more of a challenge to be one of the frontrunners...but look at all that lovely bragging power you will have!

The UD3 is just a lower end board and as such usually sells in greater numbers so there will be more complaints about it compared to higher end boards.

I really wouldn't worry about it and just buy whichever one you feel suits your needs best. I always just get whichever feels right.

[soarwitheagles]

The way I look at it, with any new motherboard release you're bound to have these issues and I knew that was the risk going into purchasing something that hasn't been around that long. I've really never bought anything on their first release ever before. The i5 CPU, the UD3 mobo and the Crucial 64GB SSD were all expensive risks that I took and luckily so far it has paid off.

Had any of those parts arrived dead or malfunctioned in many ways I'd definitely been disappointed after all I was upgrading after 4 years to almost the top of the line specs. I don't know how wide spread the issues really are for each board of the P67 series. Judging solely by the number of threads in one forum is probably not the best way I'd judge how widespread the issues really are.

But ultimately the call is yours, I personally don't think it's safe to say that the UD4 is less likely to have problems. You can find people posting about problems big and small with any new board depending on where you look.

faizoff, thank you for sharing your insights.  You sure make good sense out of all these decisions!  Well, I will still try to get the UD-4 if I can find a good deal on it still.  The wholesaler that sold me the UD3 recalled it and I still have not received it!  I've been waiting 3 weeks now...

On the brighter side of things...I found the Crucial RealSSD C300 this morning for $99 and jumped on it immediately.  I did the comparison with the OCZ Agility 2 and decided the Crucial RealSSD C300 was a better option.  I hope I made the correct decision.

Have you any pointers for me on this new Crucial RealSSD C300 ?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Soar

[Dark Mantis]

Good buy Soar! The Crucial C300 is the fastest SSD around at the moment until they release the C400 anyway. It is an excellent drive and I am sure that you will be happy with it.

[soarwitheagles]

Good buy Soar! The Crucial C300 is the fastest SSD around at the moment until they release the C400 anyway. It is an excellent drive and I am sure that you will be happy with it.

Hi DM and thanks for the good word!  I read somewhere about using different drivers when doing the install on the C300.  Have you read anything about this and if yes, where might I pick up these drivers?

Soar

[Dark Mantis]

Yes I have read this and I am not sure if it is needed or not in all systems. You will have to decide for yourself by testing. The drivers you are referring to is the Intel Rapid Storage Technology or IRST for short. Obviously they are available off the Intel site.

[faizoff]

On the brighter side of things...I found the Crucial RealSSD C300 this morning for $99 and jumped on it immediately.  I did the comparison with the OCZ Agility 2 and decided the Crucial RealSSD C300 was a better option.  I hope I made the correct decision.

Have you any pointers for me on this new Crucial RealSSD C300 ?

I saw the lowered price this morning on newegg and am jealous that you were able to snag the same drive I have for $30 less. It is indeed a great drive and as far as drivers go, you'll have to wait and see how Windows 7 performs on it. If the default driver (msahci) doesnt work smoothly then go for the Intel ones as DM pointed out.

For me I used the Intel ones and the performance improved significantly. There are a bunch of programs that benchmark the actual speeds of the drive. One you set up your system you can test it out.

[soarwitheagles]

On the brighter side of things...I found the Crucial RealSSD C300 this morning for $99 and jumped on it immediately.  I did the comparison with the OCZ Agility 2 and decided the Crucial RealSSD C300 was a better option.  I hope I made the correct decision.

Have you any pointers for me on this new Crucial RealSSD C300 ?

I saw the lowered price this morning on newegg and am jealous that you were able to snag the same drive I have for $30 less. It is indeed a great drive and as far as drivers go, you'll have to wait and see how Windows 7 performs on it. If the default driver (msahci) doesnt work smoothly then go for the Intel ones as DM pointed out.

For me I used the Intel ones and the performance improved significantly. There are a bunch of programs that benchmark the actual speeds of the drive. One you set up your system you can test it out.

Faizoff,

Thanks for the reply!  Well, I just read a post that made me wish I had waited until February for Crucial's C400 to be released!

Here is the post I just read:

"looks like newegg is trying to get rid as much of the c300 as they can. the c400 was announced at ces 2011 and set to release sometime in February. price of c400 is going to be about $1.611 a GB. so a 64gb is going to be about $100 and 128GB for $210. read speed is over 400mb/sec. i think i will hold off..."

OUCH!  I wish he would have posted that sooner, then I would have waited a couple of weeks and picked up the C400.  Well, I suppose it is ok, they say the slow write on the C300 doesn't make that much of a difference if you use the SSD for mostly the OS...and that is exactly what I will be doing.

$99 for a good SSD is a great deal for now, so no complaints!

For other readers, if you are looking for a SSD from Crucial right now, it may be best to wait a couple of more weeks and make good on the new C400's!

Hope this helps someone!

Soar