I need a motherboard!

[foster74]

Hello, I would love some suggestions from anyone willing to give them! This is what I currently have:

i7 3820
Noctua NH-D14
Samsung 840 Pro 256GB
WD Caviar Black 1TB
Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracer 16GB Kit (8GBx2) DDR3-1600
PC P&C Silencer Mk II 950W PSU (I realize I will need to eventually upgrade)
Cosmos II case
3x 2560x1440 IPS 27" Monitors

I'm mostly just stuck on what motherboard to get. I plan on getting three GTX 680s. I will be air cooling them, I have a nice case and am going to fill it with as many fans as needed. I'd like to leave a fourth card option open for down the road, or possibly just to have an available PCI-E slot open for whatever is needed.

I was interested in the Gigabyte GA-X79-UD3 and the Gigabyte GA-X79-UP4. ($220 and $240)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128532&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128562&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

Sadly on both of those motherboards my NH-D14 will block the top PCI-E slot. 🙁


Next on the list would be
Fatal1ty X79 Professional $265
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157288&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

It may be too tight with the NH-D14. I find this board not very visually appealing. It's not available from Amazon, which is my merchant of choice.


That kind of leaves me with boards that are a bit higher then I was hoping to spend:

ASUS Rampage IV Formula $330
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131808&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

Rampage IV Extreme $400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131802&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=



So I am leaning towards the Rampage Formula. Does this seem like a solid choice? I plan on overclocking the best I can on air. The extreme seems like a very nice board, but seems a bit overkill for my needs. Any boards I am missing? Any advice would be great, thank you!

Also, with an x79 board does two sticks of 8gb work fine, or will I see an increase if I go with four sticks?

Thanks!

 

[slomo4sho]

If the board supports quad-channel ram(which both motherboards do) its better to have 4 sticks. Do you already own the other components?

 

[DarkSable]

I might consider watercooling as an option here, since you are slightly space restricted.

That being said, you're going with a very high end platform - you're going to have to spend more on the motherboard than you're used to. The Fatality would be my recommendation, if there aren't clearance issues.

Finally, don't buy 680s. They're only about 5% faster than 670s, but they cost 25% more, making them horrible options. Three 670s will get you the same performance and save you $300... some of which could go into a nice motherboard.

 

[slomo4sho]

I might consider watercooling as an option here, since you are slightly space restricted.

That being said, you're going with a very high end platform - you're going to have to spend more on the motherboard than you're used to. The Fatality would be my recommendation, if there aren't clearance issues.

Finally, don't buy 680s. They're only about 5% faster than 670s, but they cost 25% more, making them horrible options. Three 670s will get you the same performance and save you $300... some of which could go into a nice motherboard.

Although I agree with what you have said, the marginal increase by going with a LGA 2011 build is not worth the extra funds in this case. Especially considering that an overclocked 3770k performs better at gaming than the 3820.

 

[fixer762]

If you are spending that much on hardware I would get a $500-$600 case from Case Labs (like the SM8 Merlin) and water cool the cpu at first. Then water cool the video cards.
http://caselabs-store.com/

If you want to upgrade from that 950W power supply, chose a Seasonic X-1250 1250W gold, 100% modular power supply. My X-850 is working well for me.

 

[DarkSable]

Slomo, by that logic, he should go with an i5-3570k, as it will perform exactly the same as a 3770k for gaming.

When it comes to the LGA 2011 platform, it can be very good to alleviate bottlenecks from multi card setups, mostly due to it's prolific PCI lane-age. It's pretty much a must for tri-sli or more, and an overclocked 2011 chip can be a very formidable thing indeed.


Fixer, he's going with a Cosmos II, which is huge, and more than enough for watercooling. Case Labs doesn't really wow me - they're very expensive, charge more for the adaptability, and don't offer anything a dedicated modder couldn't do by him/herself.

Great recommendation on the power supply, though he doesn't need one that large; the 1050 will be MORE than enough. I have an x-650 myself, and am quite comfortable knowing that if it has to, it can push up to 800w without even beginning to falter.

 

[foster74]

If the board supports quad-channel ram(which both motherboards do) its better to have 4 sticks. Do you already own the other components?

Good to know! Unfortunately I do. Do you think it's worth another $150 to double up on that ram?

I might consider watercooling as an option here, since you are slightly space restricted.

That being said, you're going with a very high end platform - you're going to have to spend more on the motherboard than you're used to. The Fatality would be my recommendation, if there aren't clearance issues.

Finally, don't buy 680s. They're only about 5% faster than 670s, but they cost 25% more, making them horrible options. Three 670s will get you the same performance and save you $300... some of which could go into a nice motherboard.

I would love to water cool, unfortunately I am at about the end of my budget :/ That was the reason I was hoping to get a cheaper motherboard, lol. I figure with the great airflow of the Cosmos II with max fans, it should hold in there ok. The double side fans should help. Hmmm, 670s you say... For some reason I was thinking that was the way to go shortly after the release of the 680, not currently. I'll definitely look into that! That would definitely help out with the costs, thanks!

If you are spending that much on hardware I would get a $500-$600 case from Case Labs (like the SM8 Merlin) and water cool the cpu at first. Then water cool the video cards.
http://caselabs-store.com/

If you want to upgrade from that 950W power supply, chose a Seasonic X-1250 1250W gold, 100% modular power supply. My X-850 is working well for me.

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll definitely look into Seasonic!

Slomo, by that logic, he should go with an i5-3570k, as it will perform exactly the same as a 3770k for gaming.

When it comes to the LGA 2011 platform, it can be very good to alleviate bottlenecks from multi card setups, mostly due to it's prolific PCI lane-age. It's pretty much a must for tri-sli or more, and an overclocked 2011 chip can be a very formidable thing indeed.


Fixer, he's going with a Cosmos II, which is huge, and more than enough for watercooling. Case Labs doesn't really wow me - they're very expensive, charge more for the adaptability, and don't offer anything a dedicated modder couldn't do by him/herself.

Great recommendation on the power supply, though he doesn't need one that large; the 1050 will be MORE than enough. I have an x-650 myself, and am quite comfortable knowing that if it has to, it can push up to 800w without even beginning to falter.

I had actually bought a z77 board and a 3770k! Everything was fine until I did more research about z77 with 3 and 4 way sli. 🙁 Now I have an Extreme6 and 3770k to sell on eBay! Great advice about the smaller PSU. Wow they must be beasts to go over wattage like that, that sounds like something I should have powering my system. Thanks

 

[DarkSable]

Haha, PM me a link to that extreme 6 when you put it up - I have a friend building soon who might be interested.

Yeah, the X-series is just about the best you can get. Hardware secrets, who is known for utterly trashing anything they get their hands on, called it flawless and the best around. http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/837 (Jonny Guru just about spat out his coffee: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=169)


As for 670s, they're definitely the way to go - it saves $300 that can go elsewhere with basically no drop in performance. If you think you're going to be watercooling in the future, the EVGA 670 FTW is hands down the best option. If not, then the Asus CDII or MSI Lightning would be the ones to turn to.

 

[slomo4sho]

Slomo, by that logic, he should go with an i5-3570k, as it will perform exactly the same as a 3770k for gaming.

When it comes to the LGA 2011 platform, it can be very good to alleviate bottlenecks from multi card setups, mostly due to it's prolific PCI lane-age. It's pretty much a must for tri-sli or more, and an overclocked 2011 chip can be a very formidable thing indeed.

There are options for Z77 for 3-way SLI. Expecting to get full bandwidth on a Extreme6 is bound to lead to failure. Picking up a ASUS P8Z77 WS or other options in the $250-300 range to provide x16/x8/x8 which is near equivalent bandwidth as the Rampage IV Formula or Fatal1ty and should be more than enough for a 3-way GTX 670 setup.

Also, the 3820 is inferior to the 3770K. There could be an argument made for LGA 2011 if he were going with a 3930K but if 3-way SLI is the only reasoning behind the move to LGA 2011 then it doesn't make sense to pickup a 3820 and a x79 board if there are alternatives available with the z77 platform.

PLX Gen3 switches make all the difference.

 

[foster74]

Slomo, by that logic, he should go with an i5-3570k, as it will perform exactly the same as a 3770k for gaming.

When it comes to the LGA 2011 platform, it can be very good to alleviate bottlenecks from multi card setups, mostly due to it's prolific PCI lane-age. It's pretty much a must for tri-sli or more, and an overclocked 2011 chip can be a very formidable thing indeed.

There are options for Z77 for 3-way SLI. Expecting to get full bandwidth on a Extreme6 is bound to lead to failure. Picking up a ASUS P8Z77 WS or other options in the $250-300 range to provide x16/x8/x8 which is near equivalent bandwidth as the Rampage IV Formula or Fatal1ty and should be more than enough for a 3-way GTX 670 setup.

Also, the 3820 is inferior to the 3770K. There could be an argument made for LGA 2011 if he were going with a 3930K but if 3-way SLI is the only reasoning behind the move to LGA 2011 then it doesn't make sense to pickup a 3820 and a x79 board if there are alternatives available with the z77 platform.

PLX Gen3 switches make all the difference.

So you feel the x79 platform has nothing to offer over a z77 w/PLX? Latency issues is the main reason I stayed away from PLX. Also from what I've read, the 3770k doesn't seem that much greater then a 3820. Again, just from what I have heard from others.


I've got an idea, and I want opinions please!

What if I just go with the Extreme6 and grab a titan. And down the road if needed I grab another titan. They will be running x8 PCIE 3.0, but that shouldn't make a huge difference right? This way it'll save me around $300. I won't have to buy additional ram, and I won't have to worry about selling my 3770k and Extreme6.

What do you all think?!

 

[slomo4sho]

So you feel the x79 platform has nothing to offer over a z77 w/PLX? Latency issues is the main reason I stayed away from PLX. Also from what I've read, the 3770k doesn't seem that much greater then a 3820. Again, just from what I have heard from others.


I've got an idea, and I want opinions please!

What if I just go with the Extreme6 and grab a titan. And down the road if needed I grab another titan. They will be running x8 PCIE 3.0, but that shouldn't make a huge difference right? This way it'll save me around $300. I won't have to buy additional ram, and I won't have to worry about selling my 3770k and Extreme6.

What do you all think?!

The GTX 690 or HD 7990 are better options than the Titan if you wanted to go that route. However, picking up a new Z77 board and 3x 670s or 7970s would be a good alternative as well.

 

[foster74]

So many options. I am soooo indecisive and the current GPU market seems way too balanced. I don't ever remember such tough decisions when building a rig before. I think I'm just going to keep what I have and wait to make the leap to 7680x1440 later down the road. I have a friend who will loan me a 680 for a month, I'll just use that and mull things over. Maybe the new nvidia offerings will change things up, and maybe the Haswell will be a must have for OCing. Also I don't think the Extreme6 + 3770k will lose a ton of value after opening.

I appreciate everyone's input very much!

And yes slomo, you are entirely right about the dual gpu cards, I didn't even think about that, good call, thank you.

 

[DarkSable]

Sounds like a smart move; that way you can wait and see if Haswell / Maxwell / (can never remember AMD's code names) will change the game at all or not.