Best X99 Budget Board

[vertexx]

I'm upgrading to an X99 system and am interested in everyone's thoughts on these two boards:

1. GIGABYTE X99-UD3P (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128772)
2. MSI X99A SLI PLUS (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130841)

This is for a 5820K based PC used for gaming with my newly purchased EVGA 980TI FTW (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487160) and prosumer type hobby work. Overclocking the 5820K is important to maximize gaming performance. Important expansion options will be: (1) Add a 2nd 980TI in SLI if I decide to upgrade from 1440p to 4K and (2) PCIE X4 SSD capability. Also, I like the prevalent "Black" color theme on each of these as a best match for my EVGA 980TI FTW. All of this will be in a black Silverstone FT04 with window.

Here is my current thinking on each board.

Gigabyte:
The good
- General reviews on Gigabyte X99 boards have been mixed, except this one. This one seems to have fewer quality issues than the others and it gets good reviews for quality of components.
- Power delivery system seems to be rated much higher than the MSI X99.
(http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/7185/gigabyte-x99-ud3p-intel-motherboard-review/index3.html)
- Better sound
- Default 2x SLI has space between GPUs for better air cooling.
- Color scheme is a slightly better fit (IMO) for the EVGA GPU color scheme.
-$150 right now on Newegg after rebate.
The bad
- Only 10GB/s M.2. I would have to use the 3rd PCIe slot in x4 mode with one of the M.2 to PCIE adapters. Not really an issue, but the card runs an additional $20-25 and adds another component for potential failure.
- Memory limited to 64GB, but I think that's all I need. The advantage here may be fewer issues with memory as seen with some of the boards with 8 slots. I do expect to run 4x8GB to start.

MSI
The good
- Great budget board, well reviewed on Tom's Hardware
- Optimum use of 28 PCIE lanes with the 5820k. Can go up to 3xSLI plus PCIE x4 for M.2 slot.
- Also relatively low number of bad reviews on Newegg (I use this as a general quality indicator)
- $180 right now on Newegg after rebate
The bad
- Not as high quality power delivery. A few reviews have noted overclocking as a potential weakness of this board.
- Previous generation sound. Probably not noticeable, but I have seen RightMark audio analyzer in a few reviews that rates the Gigabyte sound higher than in this MSI board.
- Not optimized for 2x SLI with adequate spacing for air cooling, although you can run 2 GPUs in PCIE1 and PCIE3 in x8/x8 mode.

Interested in thoughts & recommendations. Thanks!

 

[filippi]

I would get GIGABYTE X99-UD3P. It is great for everything you know you need:

1. Good for overclock. You want overclock.
2. Good sound. You want this for gaming.
3. Good enough for 2xEVGA 980TI FTW: Good spacing, good pwm, enough PCIE lanes.
2x980ti is enough for 99,9999% gamers: It is a great solution even for 4k gaming.

 

[vertexx]

Thanks for responding. Do you know of any other data points on the overclocking? The x99 Gigabyte boards in general have received a somewhat mixed reviews. This one seems to be the exception - probably a case where less is more.

 

[vertexx]

Just pulled the trigger on the Gigabyte board this evening.

 

[filippi]

GIGABYTE UD3P mobos are usually very good price/performance parts. You will be pleased.