Another, "What motherboard should I buy?" question

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ualdriver

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Aug 12, 2006
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I'm planning on upgrading to Windows 7 from XP. Along with that, I'm going to upgrade the mobo, memory, boot drive, and processor as well as replace a finicky power supply. I'm keeping the case, sound card, storage drives, and graphics card. I gotta start with a good motherboard......

I searched around the forum and looked at the builds at top, but still a bit confused.

I'm pretty sure I want a socket 1366 board because i want to use a i7-950 processor.
I'm keeping my Antec case (don't know type, holds ATX board, large case, lots of fans)
I'm keeping my Radeon HD 5870 graphics card
I'm keeping my 2 Velociraptor hard drives for storage
I'm keeping my SoundBlaster XFI Extreme music card

I'll probably be getting a OCZ Vertex 2 SSD of some sort for a boot drive for Windows 7 64bit.
I might play with overclocking at some point down the road but not now.
I might play with RAID in the future but not now.
I doubt I will ever SLI or Xfire the video cards, although I do like to game once in a while when a new title comes out.

That's all the information I have for you go to on. I will likely keep this mobo for 3 years or so, so I don't mind paying extra for a good quality board that will last and some amount of "future proofing" in it. I want a board that is compatible with the stuff I'm keeping above as well.

I've been reading the internet a bit and some reviews. I was looking at the following boards:

GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128423
This is supposedly a Tom's Hardware best buy, but the newegg.com reviews didn't look too promising. About a 1/3 of the reviews gave it 3 eggs or less, and there seemed to be some reliability issues?



ASUS Rampage III Formula LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131666
This is the best rated board on newegg.com, but it is almost $300. It's also "best of the best" on Maximum PC. I don't necessarily mind paying that much for a quality board that I will likely keep for a few years, but there were many cheaper boards and I don't know if I'm getting ripped off by the $300 price tag.

There were a couple of other boards on newegg.com that had comments like, "Customer Choice Award Winner" and such, but I want to get a good quality board without getting ripped off.

Thanks for your opinions...........
 
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It sounds the Rampage is overkill for your needs. You'd be paying for 3 way SLI and DDR3-2200. If you have no plans to SLI or Crossfire, why not save some money and go for an 1156 board like with a i7-870? If you are dead set on the i7-950, I would go with the more modest Asus Sabertooth.
 
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I was thinking that a socket 1366 board would be better for "future proofing" as I will keep this motherboard for a few years. I figure I will update the processor before I update the board and the 1366 would have future faster CPU's. Is that incorrect logic? This is only my 2nd build and I am no expert.

Thanks form pointing out the $100 cheaper Sabertooth. It seems like a better board for my needs value-wise. I was reading on the newegg.com reviews that there seem to be many DOA Sabertooth boards or Sabertooth boards that are having problems recognizing all available memory. Is that something I should be concerned about with this particular board?
 
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OK, thanks for confirming my suspicions. That seemed like a lot of failures. I'm sure a certain % of every type of component fails, but I wasn't sure if it was just a bunch of angry people posting making it look like there were disproportionate failures. I'll check out those 2 boards you mention. thanks!
 
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When you mean the "qualified vendor list" do you mean make sure I get the correct compatible memory for the motherboard? Or is there a list somewhere that ranks memory that I should consult? I'm open to suggestions for memory as well if you all have any. I was going to post over in the memory forum after I figured out a motherboard but I'll take suggestions now too :)

Thanks!
 
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Google GA-X58A-UD3R +RAID +BSOD

For my office pseudo Workstation I use the ASUS P6X58D-E {SSD, RAID 1 HDD, i7 930, TR3X6G1600C8D, H50, 1/8 with CF HD 5770}. My Gaming rig is EVGA but too is expensive. I've had zero issues with the ASUS P6X58D-E running 4.1 GHz, they all run 3.5+GHz all day.
 
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Wow! Thanks for that info. I can cross that board off of my list. That's why this is a great forum.
 
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After your suggestion, it looks like I'm going to go with the P6x58D-E. I was going to go over to the memory section and ask some questions, but I see that you are over there a bit too answering questions, so I was wondering if you could advise me:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145220&Tpk=Tr3x6g1333c9

I was looking at getting that memory for the board. I have a BB gift card to burn up, and I think that was the best memory I could find over there at BB that was compatible. Considering my rig, is that good memory to use with your suggested board? It took me a while, but I figured out what a Qualified Vendor List was and it appears this linked memory above is on that list.

Also, do I have to install DDR3 memory three at a time? Should I be looking to use DDR1600 memory instead because it is faster?
 
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The RAM you want are the Corsair Dominator TR3X6G1600C8D (3x2GB) 1600, and with a $30 price drop in the past 3 days a steal.

TR3X6G1600C8D http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145224

Comparison Module #1: Mushkin Redline 996805 6-8-6-24 1600MHz
Comparison Module #2: G.Skill Pi Series 7-8-7-24 1600MHz
Comparison Module #3: Mushkin 998687 8-9-8-24 1866MHz
Comparison Module #4: Corsair Dominator TR3X6G1600C8D 8-8-8-24 1600MHz
Comparison Module #5: Kingston HyperX T1 9-9-9-27 1600MHz
Comparison Module #6: Mushkin Blackline 998677B 7-7-7-20 1333MHz
Comparison Module #7: Patriot Viper II Sector 7 9-9-9-27 1800MHz
DDR3__Bench.jpg

DDR3__Bench_RES.jpg
 
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OK, I'll add that memory to the shopping cart, thanks again!

All I need is a new power supply and I'll be ready to go. I'd love to stay around $100 or so. Suggestions considering my rig above? I have a large Antec case.
 
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Thanks!

Now will you come over and build it for me? :)

I owe you an adult beverage of some sort if we ever cross paths at the bar!
 
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