RAM Slots in Asus Sabertooth x58 SKT - 1366 m/b

[DataHD]

Hello, 😀

I am currently building a new computer (getting it built by a computer guy), feel free to give me some tips of upgrades I should make or other things (information of it is below). Although, my main question of this thread is, how many slots are in the Asus Sabertooth x58 SKT - 1366 m/b; if there is 6, that's awesome! (incase i'm bored n want to upgrade to 24 gb). 😀

😱 Information of PC
CPU:
INTEL CORE i7 950 3.0GHz 8MB SKT1366 😴

Motherboard:
ASUS SABERTOOTH-X58 SKT-1366 M/B

RAM:
12 GB (GeIL 4G KIT VALUE PLUS * D3-1600 9-9-9)

SSD(TO RUN OS[DUAL BOOTING AS WELL w/h MAC OSX LION n Window 7 Home Premium]):
KINGSTON 64G SV100S2/64G 2.5 SATA SSD

HDD:
WESTERN DIGITAL 1TB * EALX BLUE * SATA3 32MB HDD 😴

Graphic/Video Card
GIGABYTE R6850 1G * OVERCLOCKED * PCI-E VIDEO

Dvd Drive:
(OEM) LG 22X SATA BLACK DUAL LAYER DVDRW

Casing:
THERMALTAKE V9 CASE VJ40001W2Z (23CM FAN)

Internet thing:
DLINK DWA-547 RANGEBOOSTER N PCI WIRELESS

PSU:
THERMALTAKE TOUGHPOWER XT 775W PSU * LIFETIME

Main OS:
MS *64bits* WINDOWS 7 PRO

Err, feel free to post recommendation, I want this PC to atleast last 5 yrs so should I upgrade to intel core i7 980 X Extreme Edition? or should I upgrade to 24 GB RAM or even a better graphic card?

~DataHD

EDIT: PRICE TAG? -> about 1650$...(was thinking of upgrading to x990 cpu but think about it...its like 700$...that's like an iphone)

 

[ubercake]

There are 6 slots. 12GB is enough for just about anything at this point in time, so I'd say put your money elsewhere.

That being said, if I were building new today, I'd go with an i7 2600k rather than a 950. You'd also need a good motherboard - since you're looking to get 5 years out of the thing - with 3 graphics card slots running at at least 8x such as the ASUS Maximus IV Extreme:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131700&cm_re=maximus_iv-_-13-131-700-_-Product

If you decide to go with the P67 platform, as I've suggested, you'll only need an 8GB kit as it uses dual-channel memory architecture.

Also, put more into your video. Go with a GTX 570 or GTX 580 and just add more cards as you go.

If you think you'll only ever run with 2 cards I'd go with a Corsair 950W:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139013&Tpk=corsair%20950

If you think you'll get to a third card at any point, since you're looking to run this thing for the next 5 years, go for a Corsair 1200W supply:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139014&Tpk=corsair%201200

This will let you add three top-tier video cards without having to think about a power upgrade.

The X58 platform is great and can be cost-effective since the i7-950 and a sabertooth motherboard runs around $400 total at the local microcenter. If you do stick with the X58, I would suggest you go for the Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128423&cm_re=ud3r_x58-_-13-128-423-_-Product

as it allows the 3rd video card to use 8x bandwidth rather than the Sabertooths 4x for the 3rd card. It also runs around the same price as the Sabertooth.

I'd recommend the P67 chipset with the 2600K. A review on Tom's shows a slight performance gain gaming with the P67 chipset:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/p67-gaming-3-way-sli-three-card-crossfire,2910.html

but you can actually save money with an X58 and get close to the same performance. If you're set on the X58 archicture, I've also provided some suggestions.

 

[DataHD]

There are 6 slots. 12GB is enough for just about anything at this point in time, so I'd say put your money elsewhere.

That being said, if I were building new today, I'd go with an i7 2600k rather than a 950. You'd also need a good motherboard - since you're looking to get 5 years out of the thing - with 3 graphics card slots running at at least 8x such as the ASUS Maximus IV Extreme:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131700&cm_re=maximus_iv-_-13-131-700-_-Product

If you decide to go with the P67 platform, as I've suggested, you'll only need an 8GB kit as it uses dual-channel memory architecture.

Also, put more into your video. Go with a GTX 570 or GTX 580 and just add more cards as you go.

If you think you'll only ever run with 2 cards I'd go with a Corsair 950W:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139013&Tpk=corsair%20950

If you think you'll get to a third card at any point, since you're looking to run this thing for the next 5 years, go for a Corsair 1200W supply:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139014&Tpk=corsair%201200

This will let you add three top-tier video cards without having to think about a power upgrade.

The X58 platform is great and can be cost-effective since the i7-950 and a sabertooth motherboard runs around $400 total at the local microcenter. If you do stick with the X58, I would suggest you go for the Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128423&cm_re=ud3r_x58-_-13-128-423-_-Product

as it allows the 3rd video card to use 8x bandwidth rather than the Sabertooths 4x for the 3rd card. It also runs around the same price as the Sabertooth.

I'd recommend the P67 chipset with the 2600K. A review on Tom's shows a slight performance gain gaming with the P67 chipset:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/p67-gaming-3-way-sli-three-card-crossfire,2910.html

but you can actually save money with an X58 and get close to the same performance. If you're set on the X58 archicture, I've also provided some suggestions.

It is going to cost me about $1600 + $50 (installation fee[getting a tech guy lol]) for what I'm purchasing atm...how much will it cost to upgrade to your recommendations do you reckon?


edit: was $1850 (but in my thingy i did have a monitor)

 

[ubercake]

Where are you doing your parts shopping? Which store? Do you have a microcenter close?