I can't decide! Which mobo should I buy?

[mrlie3]

Asus P5B LGA775 P965
Newegg.com - ASUS P5B LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Asus P5B-Plus LGA 775 P965
Newegg.com - ASUS P5B-Plus LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
To my eyes they look so identical... I don't know which one should I choose for this system:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4GHz retail no overclock
Either Corsair or OCZ DDR2 PC2-6400 4GB 2x2GB Dual Channel RAM
Antec P180 ATX Advanced Mid Tower Aluminum Case 4X5.25 1X3.5 6X3.5INT No PS W/ USB & Audio Ports
Antec SP-500 Smartpower 2.0 ATX12V2.0 20/24PIN 500W Power Supply
Sapphire Radeon X1950 Pro 575MHZ PCI-E 256MB 1.38GHZ GDDR3 Dual DVI-I TV-OUT Lite Retail Video Card
Samsung SH-S183A Black SATA DVD+RW 18X8X16 DVD-RW 18X6X16 DL 8X INT DVD Writer OEM W/ SW
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA2 3GB/S 7200RPM 16MB Cache Ncq Hard Drive

...and probably 64bit windows os (either vista premium or xp).

Can either of mobos support these parts perfectly?
And what kind of soundcard should I get for either of these mobos for 2.1 speakers? (I heard onboard sound is horrible in these mobos)

Please help me! :help:

[mrlie3]

Reserved

[Supergrover]

Brand ASUS
Model P5B
Supported CPU
CPU Socket Type LGA 775
CPU Type Quad-core / Core 2 Extreme / Core 2 Duo / Pentium
FSB 1066/800MHz
Supported CPU Technologies Hyper-Threading Technology
Chipsets
North Bridge Intel P965 Express
South Bridge Intel ICH8
Memory
Number of Memory Slots 4×240pin
Memory Standard DDR2 800
Maximum Memory Supported 8GB
Dual Channel Supported Yes
Expansion Slots
PCI Express x16 1
PCI Express x1 3
PCI Slots 3
Storage Devices
PATA 1 x ATA100 up to 2 Devices
SATA 3Gb/s 5 x Internal SATA 3.0 Gb/s ports
1 x External SATA 3.0 Gb/s port (SATA On-the-Go)
SATA RAID 0/1
Additional RAID Controller JMB363
Onboard Video
Onboard Video Chipset None
Onboard Audio
Audio Chipset AC97 Codec
Audio Channels 8 Channels
Onboard LAN
LAN Chipset Realtek 8111B
Max LAN Speed 10/100/1000Mbps
Rear Panel Ports
PS/2 2
LPT 1
USB 4 x USB 2.0
S/PDIF Out 1x Optical and 1x Coaxial
Audio Ports 6 Ports
Onboard USB
Onboard USB 6x USB 2.0
Physical Spec
Form Factor ATX
Dimensions 12.0" x 9.6"
Windows Vista Certified for
Features
Power Pin 24 Pin
Features Notice: Only DDR2-800 memory supporting JEDEC approved 1.8V operation with timings of 5-5-5 or 6-6-6 is supported on Intel Desktop Boards based on Intel 965 Express Chipsets.



Brand ASUS
Model P5B-Plus
Supported CPU
CPU Socket Type LGA 775
CPU Type Quad-core / Core 2 Extreme / Core 2 Duo / Pentium
FSB 1066/800MHz
Chipsets
North Bridge Intel P965 Express
South Bridge Intel ICH8R
Memory
Number of Memory Slots 4×240pin
Memory Standard DDR2 800
Maximum Memory Supported 8GB
Dual Channel Supported Yes
Expansion Slots
AGP Slots None
PCI Express x16 1
PCI Express x1 1
PCI Slots 3
Storage Devices
PATA 1 x ATA100 up to 2 Devices
PATA RAID 0/1
SATA 3Gb/s 6
SATA RAID 0/1/5/10 Matrix RAID
Additional RAID Controller JMicron JMB363
Onboard Video
Onboard Video Chipset None
Onboard Audio
Audio Chipset ADI AD1988
Audio Channels 8 Channels
Onboard LAN
Max LAN Speed 10/100/1000Mbps
Rear Panel Ports
PS/2 2
COM 1
USB 4 x USB 2.0
IEEE 1394 1 x IEEE 1394a
Audio Ports 6 Ports
Onboard USB
Onboard USB 3 x USB 2.0 connectors support 6 ports
Physical Spec
Form Factor ATX
Dimensions 12.0"x 9.0"
Features
Power Pin 24 Pin


There is a whole slew of differences, I posted the specs on both so you can have a quick look.

The P5B also has its overclocking features castrated.

[pscout]

I don't know if you intend to NOT oc your 6600 (what a waste that would be) but if you aren't going to oc it I am not sure why you need 6400 memory. And on oc'able mobo isn't needed either.
But as an oc'er, that would be a pity ... most 6600's will run at 3.0 without breaking a sweat.
And then you could join the HCF folding team and not waste all those nice c2d cycles

Or, maybe i just misinterpreted your OP.

[Jmac]

Of those 2, definitely get the P5B-Plus ... Given the numerous advantages of solid capacitors in addition to an increased feature set and higher-quality PCB, it's a no-brainer in my opinion ...

I'll never go back to a motherboard that uses electrolytic capacitors like the P5B ...