Are any 2011-v3 Mobo's issue free?!!!

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Phil Indeblanc

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I'm looking to get a decent mobo for my 6core 5820K, which will be my main Photoshop and Lightroom workhorse. I multi task, and Photoshop CS6 takes advantage of multi core, so I got this CPU....(I don't game at all on this rig).

I'm looking at
Asus X99A 3.1:
&
MSI X99S SLI Plus

OR?

So far Tom's gives the MSI X99S SLI Plus a Editors choice award, while a number of people have issues with boot up and taking long to boot. Or worse, months later the USB ports fail, or it stops booting.
Faulty mem channels.

And Asus X99-Av3.1 has sound noise coming in when using ports, and a number of issues you end up chasing down.

I read reviews on NewEgg and Amazon, and they both have a number of issues.

It sounds like 3+ months later you find out if your board is A-OK or NOT.

I was looking to spend no more than $275, which is the Asus price, while the MSI is about $50 less. I Don't care about any difference in savings anymore, I just need it to WORK!
Can I not get a mobo for under $300?

For someone that is not looking for the deluxe features, and could care less about SLI for this build, is there a solid board out there?

For the past 15+ years I've built systems with ASUS, and I tried EVGA once with a dual BIOS boot that caught me by surprise and wasn't open to the benefit of it, and switched back. Maybe now I am more accepting of Gigabyte and EVGA with that stuttering bios :p ?

I was on 7x64bit until I "upgraded" to Win10(As this will be a forced move eventually)
So I have the following hardware....

Intel 5820K CPU

Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000mhz/ 4x8gb
So far, This mem maybe enough, but surely need a mobo for more in future, maybe 64-128gb, 3.1, (photo file sizes just keep growing).

Samsung 850 Evo SSD 500Gb
nVidia 970 4GB FWS

Patriot 64gb SSD for Windows PageFile
Patriot 64gb SSD for Photoshop CS6 scratchdisk
700w OCZ PSU
LianLi Midtower Alum. PSU
is in front, works well (love these, and use 3 of same on other rigs).
eSATA Intel Home NAS servers connected

etc
 
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The WS is marketed as a WorkStation mobo, but like others it's targeted to OCers and OCing - the Rampage Extreme is now aimed at WS type rigs at all it's aimed at gamers, OCing, fast DRA<M and high end multiple GPUs.

As an example the Asus Z97-WS (4 way SLI, 5 way optimization, DRAM up to 32GB) it also got very poor reviews, the Egg had it at 33% for 5 egg ratings compare that to there Z97-A at 49% 5 Egg ratings, The Hero's 53 % 5 egg ratings, Z97 Pro Gamer 60% 5 egg. And these 4 mid/mid high range mobos leaned more to heavy use while OCed and using higher end GPUs.

If looking for a reasonableAsus WS type mobo - look to the Sabertooth, while popular also with gamers, this is made for duability and stability and with this mobo it even...

ProficientInMath

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Depending on your budget and case size I would go with an Asus X99-E WS board. The WS stands for work station and these boards are known for their stability and reliability which are both crucial for a workhorse system. Plus it has a lot of great features and more PCIE expansion slots than any other mobo that I've seen.

Cheers,
Mike
 
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Phil Indeblanc

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I noticed the Rock's Extreme 3 and 4. For some reason the 3 had better numbers on sw bench when looking over Tom's "Best Mobo" review...But I think I may have skimmed through it to fumble the data...So many variables on a screen to read through.

Never considered the x99-E. that might be a good option!.....IIIFFFFFF it wasn't $600-1300!!!! Holly Smokes batman!!

The most I am used to spending on a board is in the 180-225 range for your average chip. Being a 6core, I knew it would be more, BUT...I thought $300 would more than cover it!

ASRock is a bit less expereince on my part. I have used MSI for systems build that were for customers, but I used Asus for myself.

Are the issues the Asus X99A 3.1, which was my first choice...repairable with updates, or are these HW issues?


this is for $340:
Asus X99-PRO/USB 3.1
 

Phil Indeblanc

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Case size is in my OPost, at mid tower ATX, and my budget for a Mobo is surely not $600-1300.
Thanks for opening up the options a little :)

Maybe this?
Asus X99-PRO/USB 3.1

Its older , but not sure if its limited on any spec vs the newer models?
 

ProficientInMath

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In my experience any Asus board is a good choice for reliability and stability. If you want a board that is basically indestructible the x99 Sabertooth is a good option with a 5 year warranty though it's in the $300 range.

I currently have a 5820k installed into an EVGA x99 micro 2. It's a mATX board and may not have the expansion slots that you may need but it's around $250 and I haven't had the usb stability issues that I had on my old ASRock x99m k1ller which the EVGA board replaced. Time will tell how reliable it is but so far so good. Are you open to a micro ATX form factor. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe you can use the same mounting points for mATX that you use for ATX there are just fewer standoffs for the mATX. EVGA do offer other full ATX x99 boards that I have heard good things about though.


 
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Phil Indeblanc

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I'm not sure if my case does microATX. Reading the X99 smoking issue for both MSI(x99s sli plus) and Asus(x99 deluxe) is not helpful. Although they were running a 5860K. But who knows?! what if wanted to upgrade to a faster cpu in the future? The whole point of going 2011, etc is future some proofing reason anyway!
 

Phil Indeblanc

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Yes, its my experience too. But there are documented issues with these x99 boards,and "the tree is still shaking"/?(no , and I'm wondering what else will fall out!

Also, EVGA is unknown to me in mobo. IF its something truely superior, I wouldn't mind jumping to it.
 

ProficientInMath

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I would also be wary of some negative reviews. There are a lot of people out there that are very uninformed in the PC world and what may be a difficult issue for the inexperienced might be an easy fix or non-issue to the experienced. With that said the longer a mobo has been offered the better it gets from a stability perspective. This is because manufacturers tune their process each run so the first boards released of a certain model may have more issues than boards of the same model that were manufactured during a later manufacturing run performed sometime after the first "opening" run.

If you aren't worried about the premium features I'd go with the x99-pro 3.1 or the x99-A since they are in your price range.
 
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Tradesman1

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The A is a good choice, like with any new platform and X99 is a little different, not only new CPU/mobos but also throwing in it's the first using DDR4, you expect problems that will be ironed out with BIOS/driver updates. Look at the new 1151/Skylake same/same with mobo/CPU/DDR4 and then throwiing in most folks tossing a new OS in also (Win10), there have been troubles galore ;)
 
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Phil Indeblanc

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Well, I just reorder the darn thing, the X99A/USB3.1, I still don't know the difference from the other Asus X99A...Well it is a 2015 build vs 2014. I think the former does 3.1 as well.

So I had this chain of events with this board...
I purchased from Fry's and it was a open box. Turned out to have a missing IO shield. So I went to exchange, and they just gave me a IO shield.
Took it home to setup, and I forgot to get a CPU Fan for the new socket. Would have been appropriate if the sale rep would suggest or ask if I need one, seeing its a new build. Nope. SO another trip, and he says "here, this is new". Hands me the fan, and I'm off to build.
I get the things in place, and putting the CPU fan together, there are no clips for the fan to mount on the heat sink!!!

I took the mem, the cpu, the mobo, the cpu fan and returned it all.

Amazon.com to rescue~

Ordered the same stuff and almost all got to me within a couple days, all new, but the mobo (box damage), AND total order was for about $150 less.

But the mobo was not processed in the 2 day time stated, so I had to cancel it, as the time to get to me was way too long, and I should not have opted for a used mobo after reading all these issues. SO I just ordered a new one, and with 1DAY ship it will be here tomorrow.

Intel 5820K, $360
AsusX99A/USB3.1, $279 1day ship
Corsair DDR4 Vengeance LPX 4x8GB, $180

SOOo...now looking at Asus vendor list, I see neither the memory I listed in my post that I have, nor the SSDrive I have is supported!

Man... was it much easier building a system just 4-5 years ago!!!
 

ProficientInMath

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I would not worry about RAM compatibility if you are using Vengeance DIMMs. and if it is a SATA III 6gb/s ssd you will be fine. I guess I should say too that x99 is not a platform for the meek of wallet. a $279 dollar mobo is on par with the low end of the range for ATX systems. If you want a "hassle free" mobo you are going to have to fork over the dough for a board like the x99-E WS or a Rampage Extreme.
 
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Tradesman1

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?????????????????? Just because a mobo is more expensive doesn't make it easier to set up or use, it's generally higherend which can equate to complicated for set up and running. Also the bulk of X99 mobos are ATX mobos.. Have you ever even worked with an X99, no offense but it doesn't sound like it ;)


 
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ProficientInMath

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LOL, Look at my avatar, that system is my evga x99 micro 2 with a 5820k. The point of my last post was to say that higher end mobos have better reliability and stability making them more hassle free because they have lower failure rates and fewer failure modes. I was trying to help and give a friendly reminder that you aren't going to get that reliability if you aren't willing to spend for it.
 

Tradesman1

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Can't really tell what's in your avatar, sorry bout that, regardless if you keep an eye on mobos, you'll find the higher end are often far more likely to be RMAed due to problems than the more staid mid to mid-high range boards, not only on X99 but same with the 1150 mobos and back to 1155
 

ProficientInMath

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That may be true but for WS grade boards built exactly for reliability and stability for workhorse systems that also come with a "high end" price tag and aren't being overclocked and submitted to much higher temperature gradients between load and idle which is what causes a great many board failures since the PCB was invented they have fewer failures per working hour than lower grade boards submitted to similar stresses.

We are talking a professional machine for content creation right?
I would not buy consumer grade products for a system like that if my livelihood depended on it.

The "issue free" mobo that he wants may not be in his price range is all I'm saying, but he already bought one and hopefully it's like the majority of motherboards that do not fail like the ones bought by the unfortunate people who wrote the reviews that the original poster was concered about.
 

Tradesman1

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The WS is marketed as a WorkStation mobo, but like others it's targeted to OCers and OCing - the Rampage Extreme is now aimed at WS type rigs at all it's aimed at gamers, OCing, fast DRA<M and high end multiple GPUs.

As an example the Asus Z97-WS (4 way SLI, 5 way optimization, DRAM up to 32GB) it also got very poor reviews, the Egg had it at 33% for 5 egg ratings compare that to there Z97-A at 49% 5 Egg ratings, The Hero's 53 % 5 egg ratings, Z97 Pro Gamer 60% 5 egg. And these 4 mid/mid high range mobos leaned more to heavy use while OCed and using higher end GPUs.

If looking for a reasonableAsus WS type mobo - look to the Sabertooth, while popular also with gamers, this is made for duability and stability and with this mobo it even shows in the marketing, they typically rate the for DRAM only a step over entry level - i.e. 1155, 1150 even the AMD ST is only 'rated' to 1866 DRAM, the Z170 for entry 2133 to 2400
 
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Phil Indeblanc

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I appreciate both(and all) inputs, and I would tend to think the WS and like are aimed to be for the buyer with stability in mind, but I too with my decades of experience know that they might be more stable due to not cluttering the boards, and in most cases what happens is the more popular boards get the faster fix updates as the demand for it is larger.

So the WS boards maybe less risk taker options, but often they too can be problematic. YMMV.

Yes, I got the board arriving tomorrow, and we will see what happens.
I will take the precautions and steps to read the manual, and see if there are any specific approach to having this launch with minimal hicups.

So far I know to:
Disable XMP
Don't OC the mem
and I'll use Asus providied sw minimal or conservative boost on the CPU. (if any at all)

Besides, I'm running on air(likely a Noctua or Coolermaster 212, or something ...I wish they did reviews of socket specific coolers...and included heatsink weight and material in the specs.

Anyway, not sure what I can get away with safely on air....
And yes, this is my board I will use at work...But so have many boards been, and they have all been issue free(apart from the P7P55D-Pro smoking and giving up the ghost after these years), standard "gamer" boards.

One thing I do wonder...Do the WS/Workstation boards manage IO and other pipelines less overlapped in sharing channels and such that makes them superior for a workstation, or do the "gamer" boards share such resources and hence make them more affordable?


 

ProficientInMath

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If your board is an 8 layer PCB which I believe it is it should be able to handle even the beefiest air coolers as long as you don't try to transport your PC with the cooler still installed. I have used both the noctua NH-D14 and NH-U12s on my 5820k and both perform very well even at a 4.2 GHz overclock. I think as long as there are no initial problems with your board, you are computer savvy, and you aren't trying to break OC records for air cooled systems then you should have very few problems with "issues" popping up that are mobo related.

Also don't read into bad reviews too much unless there are an overwhelming number of bad ones mentioning the same or similar issues. There are many things that can go wrong during a build that can harm your mobo like static shock, for example, that can "brick" your system and in my experience bad reviews on actually good or great products are likely 1. Bad luck/bad part (the more unlikely case for a good product), or 2. the person messed something up during their build (like forgetting or not knowing to ground themselves before touching their hardware) and RMA-ed their board because they could not figure out what happened and blamed the manufacturer (the more likely case for a good product). With regard to the 3 months then dead boards that you mentioned these were probably OC-ed boards running in cases with bad cooling. Similar thing happened to me and it was because my chip-set got fried during gaming when my case temps went up dramatically due to my GPU dumping its heat into my case. Of course bad luck is also an issue but in my experience it is usually user error that causes issues with most motherboards, not manufacturer defects.

I hope this helps ease some of your concerns.
 
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Phil Indeblanc

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I had a Thermatake on it, with the black and red dual fan sandwiching the heatsink, and it was a loud and poor design. replaced with a NoctuaNH-U14S and the thing is pretty silent as I also replaced the PSU with a Corsair RM850i. I know its overkill for a single gfx card, but I firgure it might give me longer stable life.

So since I put in this ASUS x99A/3.1 mobo in, it does not play well with USB slots and SATA connections. So I had to disable USB boots, and as mentioned it does have some xHCL and such hand over issues fromBIOS to OS. Just not smooth, just not polished in how the cross over of technology is played out.

Since there are issues, it should have taken a IF THIS THAN THAT approach to setup. But it just dumps a bunch of options and says good luck to you with the very limited user manual.
 

Phil Indeblanc

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WOW, this thread was a few years back, and I am STILL on the same X99/3.1 mobo..It is doing great, sometimes the boot drive is not recognized, but more likely due to my wire rpiority than the Mobo.

Looking around this board and CPU are STILL pretty darn great. I did upgrade to the i7-6850K running 3.6Ghz

I plan to get a new set of 64gb or more DDR4 ram and see how Lightroom and CS6 like it.

If you think for under $1100 I can setup a rig that will get LRoom and CS6 to be significantly smoother faster, then let me know. 🆒
 
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