ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: Hi quality solid board, great value.

Was afraid that a 8800GTS would block some of the SATA connectors, but it doesn't. One of the supplied SATA cables has a right-angle connector, but it wasn't needed. (Would it have broken the bank for Asus to make both supplied cables be right-angle ones?)

Cons: IDE connector is inconvenient for my DVD drive, which is in the very top of my case.

Heat pipe plumbing is dorky overkill IMHO, but it apparently impresses the kiddies. At least it doesn't get in the way of anything.

Overall Review: Upgraded existing PC - retained only the case, PS and hard drives from the old one.

Had to find and download Intel's Matrix Storage Manager 7.0 User's Manual to understand RAID setup limitations for the P35. To do RAID, ALL SATA drives must be configured as RAID; Apparently even non-RAID drives are managed by the RAID controller.

I wanted to use an existing Windows boot install on a non-RAID drive, along with a pair of WD Raptors in RAID 0 for performance. Configured my 2 Raptors for RAID 0, but then couldn't boot WinXP from the single drive. Found I had to reinstall WinXP on that drive.

Also, needed to do the F6 thing during WinXP install to load RAID driver from floppy. (Win Install said it couldn't find ANY hard drives - which is obvious once you think for a minute - or even read the manual! You need to install the RAID drivers before Windows installer will see them - doh). Just be sure to make the floppy before trashing your existing Windows installation.

Pros: Fast delivery by Newegg. Board worked upon arrival.

Cons: This is about my 6th ASUS motherboard, first with problems. Layout is restrictive. Using high end video cards, which are long, cover some of the onboard SATA ports, making them useless. The board advertized compatible with DDR2 1066 mhz. BIOS is not set up for auto detection of 1066 and recommends manual setting. With the Bios version installed, the computer locked up and the battery had to be removed and jumper reset to get the system to work. ASUS tech support blamed the problem on Kingston (listed as compatable) with no help. I did upgrade the BIOS and that has seemed to solve the problem, with manual setup. Soundmax software has limited flexability. Realtech is better.

Overall Review: Based on the tech support help or lack there of, layout, next time I will consider another manufacturer.