Its here...

[_jM]

Well I have been up one side and down the other on deciding what to buy for my new upgrade untill tax season.(coz i cant wait!) I will have a MSI P45 Neo FR soon, but i will use that board for my new build come next spring(tax return!) And im sure all of you have seen a few of my threads and know that my dog got real sick , hence the reason i have to wait for a new build come march. The wife told me that i could go ahead and spend $400 on anything i wanted for my PC. Well if you read my system specs you will see that im running on a old ass agp set-up, the rig is maxxed, i cant make it any better. And that will be the wifes PC come march also. So I decided to buy a CPU, Mobo, GPU, and some ram. Just to have a good upgrade for HER, and so I can have something that can take a dual core cpu with a great OC along with the GPU power to play the newer titles untill march.

I ended up buying 2 open box products from the egg, and a retail CPU and RAM.

OB Sapphire HD 4850-100$
OB ASUS P5Q PRO-79$
Intel E5200 dual core 45nm-83$ ( just cause it was 99$ and Ive heard it OC's like a mofo)
2 gigs of DDR2 1066 Gskill CL5-36$

Total after shipping-314$

I got the GPU and the board in today, and the CPU and RAM will be here monday.(better be, it says it will and i got that day off!) Well here are 2 pictures of the mobo i got today(before my batteries went on me)





OK guys I know its a Open box product but idk rite now. Its Xmas time and money is low, and i dont need the extras with the board and GPU. But when I get it up and running im sure i will need a few tips on OCing this E5200 on the P5Q Pro. This is my first ASUS board and just from the looks of the board it looks like a solid board.

And PLEASE tell me what you think about my purchase. I really need to know what i bought wasnt a waste of money, I need all the feedback i can get. I have 15 days to return the open box items and if i made a mistake i want to know ASAP, so i can return it for the better. Thanks guys!

[JrRacinFan]

Nice! No possible way to test the board for post is there? I think you did VERY VERY GOOD! Why trade off to an MSI P45 Neo tho? The P5Q Pro is a better board IMO.

[mlee49]

The Asus boards are, imo, some of the best OC'ing boards around. Do you have a cpu to get a post out of it? Did you get lucky and get any accessories? Some OB's come with a few light accessories and some dont. Either way I'm sure you can find extra cabling for you new baby.

Good choice, the P5Q PRO is a nice board with lots of options. Get it to post asap and then dig into the bios. Enjoy your new build, sounds like a decent budget system

[_jM]

Originally Posted by JrRacinFan

Nice! No possible way to test the board for post is there? I think you did VERY VERY GOOD! Why trade off to an MSI P45 Neo tho? The P5Q Pro is a better board IMO.

Well Im going to get the MSI for free from a friend who is switching over to a i7 build in like a week or so. I was going to buy it , but he is jsut going to give it to me. If the ASUS is better then i will use that for my main ring and set the wife up with the msi. I wish i could test it now. I have a spare psu but no CPU or RAM for it to test.

Atleast not untill monday..

Also. shoul i go ahead and remove the heatsinks from the board now and pust som AS5 on them. I was thinking of going ahead and jsut getting that out of the way. It should help rite?

[JrRacinFan]

I highly advise you test it for post AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, do a bare minimum boot. Yah the MSI is a good board too.

[_jM]

Originally Posted by mlee49

The Asus boards are, imo, some of the best OC'ing boards around. Do you have a cpu to get a post out of it? Did you get lucky and get any accessories? Some OB's come with a few light accessories and some dont. Either way I'm sure you can find extra cabling for you new baby.

Good choice, the P5Q PRO is a nice board with lots of options. Get it to post asap and then dig into the bios. Enjoy your new build, sounds like a decent budget system

No I wasnt so lucky to get any extras. The only thing it comes with is the back IO shield, softwares, cables i dont need, and the little connectors for the front panel connections(wish they sent those if there was any to have with this OB) But like i said i dont really need that crap anyways, just the board. Ive already DL the latest drivers, BIOS, the manual, and all the other software from ASUS and burnt them to a disk when i do my fresh install of XP.

[_jM]

Originally Posted by JrRacinFan

I highly advise you test it for post AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, do a bare minimum boot. Yah the MSI is a good board too.

So you think i should just put power to the board and use the GPU to see if it does anything. Coz thats all i really have to use untill monday.

I could take out this P4? You think this board will take it?

[JrRacinFan]

Originally Posted by _jM

So you think i should just put power to the board and use the GPU to see if it does anything. Coz thats all i really have to use untill monday.

Won't post without a compatible cpu.

Originally Posted by _jM

I could take out this P4? You think this board will take it?

Not compatible, you will have to wait til Monday bro.

[_jM]

Originally Posted by JrRacinFan

Won't post without a compatible cpu.



Not compatible, you will have to wait til Monday bro.

yea thats what i thought..

[mlee49]

Is your P4 a 775? Go to Microcenter and pick up a cheap 775 processor and return it Monday. This is the single most important thing with an OB.

[_jM]

Here is the Sapphire 4850...

[_jM]

Originally Posted by mlee49

Is your P4 a 775? Go to Microcenter and pick up a cheap 775 processor and return it Monday. This is the single most important thing with an OB.

Yea this is a 775 P4. And I dont get paid till monday anyways, that would be usless for me coz the new CPU and RAM will be here monday.And if there is something wrong with the mobo or the GPU monday, i will still have 9 days on the open box return policy from the egg. So i should be in the clear. I just wish they had sent ALL of it to me today instead of 2 different packages. Just for that main purpose.

[_jM]

If this helps here is a pic of CPUZ on my CPU i could use?

[JrRacinFan]

Oooh ahhh , but without compatible ram most you could do is check the board for ram beeps.

[cdawall]

i got the same open box deal go back onto newegg and get the rebate you can get anotherr $15 off that

mine right now is running 24/7 440x8 on a celeron e1200

pm me if you want the fan that goes on top of the mosfets ill send you one for the cost of shipping

[_jM]

Originally Posted by cdawall

i got the same open box deal go back onto newegg and get the rebate you can get anotherr $15 off that

mine right now is running 24/7 440x8 on a celeron e1200

pm me if you want the fan that goes on top of the mosfets ill send you one for the cost of shipping

How did you get that rebate. I cant seem to find out how to get it.You are talkn about the instant rebate from the non-OB board right? I see what you mean, but how the hell do i get newegg to give me the rebate?

Thanks for the offer on the fan. Im not sure if i really need it yet, if i do i will pm you on your offer.

EDIT: This rebate? >> http://images10.newegg.com/uploadfil...3008USSL75.pdf

[cdawall]

Originally Posted by _jM

How did you get that rebate. I cant seem to find out how to get it.You are talkn about the instant rebate from the non-OB board right? I see what you mean, but how the hell do i get newegg to give me the rebate?

Thanks for the offer on the fan. Im not sure if i really need it yet, if i do i will pm you on your offer.

EDIT: This rebate? >> http://images10.newegg.com/uploadfil...3008USSL75.pdf

that would be it

as for the fan just give me a heads up i have a box of them

[JrRacinFan]

Originally Posted by cdawall

that would be it

as for the fan just give me a heads up i have a box of them

You think one would work on my Abit's NB?



Only reason I ask cause that sucker's NB gets quite toasty.

@jM

Sorry to go off topic and jack your thread.

[cdawall]

Originally Posted by JrRacinFan

You think one would work on my Abit's NB?

http://resources.vr-zone.com/John/aw9dmax/aw9dm_f.jpg

Only reason I ask cause that sucker's NB gets quite toasty.

@jM

Sorry to go off topic and jack your thread.

nope wrong design asus is tall and skinny you could try just shoving it inbetween the fins thats what i did on my NB

[philbrown23]

I would put your cpu in it and gpu just to see if it does the ram beeps then you'll have it ready for when your stuff comes in, also if you need a modded bios KET has a huge thread about it, without them my pq5 acted all crazy with ram.

[cdawall]

Originally Posted by philbrown23

I would put your cpu in it and gpu just to see if it does the ram beeps then you'll have it ready for when your stuff comes in, also if you need a modded bios KET has a huge thread about it, without them my pq5 acted all crazy with ram.

mines very happy with my corsair ram

[newtekie1]

Originally Posted by JrRacinFan

I highly advise you test it for post AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, do a bare minimum boot. Yah the MSI is a good board too.

It isn't drastically important that he make sure it works before the 15 days run out. If it turns out that it doesn't work, he can just RMA it to ASUS. I bought an open box board from newegg, and it ended up dying after 4 weeks, ASUS RMA'd it without a problem, they sent me an entirely new board in retail package(so I got all the accessories I was missing).

[JrRacinFan]

Originally Posted by newtekie1

It isn't drastically important that he make sure it works before the 15 days run out. If it turns out that it doesn't work, he can just RMA it to ASUS. I bought an open box board from newegg, and it ended up dying after 4 weeks, ASUS RMA'd it without a problem, they sent me an entirely new board in retail package(so I got all the accessories I was missing).

Understood but I have heard of a few horror stories to where an "Open Box" board was already registered and won't allow to be RMA'd through the manufacturer. Unsure though about Asus. Only reason why I said ASAP.

[newtekie1]

ASUS shouldn't have a problem, they don't care about registration, as far as I know they don't actually have a registration system.

[_jM]

Originally Posted by newtekie1

It isn't drastically important that he make sure it works before the 15 days run out. If it turns out that it doesn't work, he can just RMA it to ASUS. I bought an open box board from newegg, and it ended up dying after 4 weeks, ASUS RMA'd it without a problem, they sent me an entirely new board in retail package(so I got all the accessories I was missing).

Well I know what both of you mean. I planned on testing the board outside the case first, just so i dont go through the hassle of having to take it back out if it turns out to be a DOA or its not working properly.When i come home tonite im going to go ahead and put some Artic Silver 5 on the boards heatsinks, just for a piece of mind But thank you for telling me about the RMAing to ASUS, im sure that would be the better option instead of going through newegg, or if its after the 15day policy.