X58 Roundup: Seven $200-300 Core i7 Boards

[gutierrezdairy]

Is Evga's mobo as buggy as the 700 series? I like Evga but the 700 series really ticked me off.

 

[Crashman]

Is Evga's mobo as buggy as the 700 series? I like Evga but the 700 series really ticked me off.

The X58 3X SLI is the first motherboard EVGA has ever produced. Their design team was supposedly hired away from EPoX, when EPoX left the industry. Thus, the EVGA 3X SLI cannot be judged by the "track record" of previous products that were designed by NVidia and produced by 3rd party manufacturers.

 

[harlequin6791]

Hey Toms.. Where did you receive the Asrock Supercomputer rev 1.04 from? I've been trying to get my hands on one for months. I keep getting the 1.03 from Newegg after numerous purchases and even contacted asrock and they stated they currently would only have 1.03 to send me as an exchange.

Any info would be helpful

 

[bujinkanrn]

All Hail Tom's! I'm a n00b that's recently considered building a Core i7 rig (920). After browsing Newegg, I decided I'll likely opt for the Asus P6T mobo. Thanks to your report, my decision has been reinforced, as I don't plan to overclock. My biggest dilemma now is selecting a low-cost to mid-range-cost case. I've heard that the northbridge on the Asus board tends to run hot, so I'd need a case that would allow good airflow, presumably with a fan to blow across the northbridge chipset. If I plan on using a single NVidia GTX 260 GPU, what economical cases could you recommend? Thanks for your AWESOME reports!

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]bujinkanrn[/nom]All Hail Tom's! I'm a n00b that's recently considered building a Core i7 rig (920). After browsing Newegg, I decided I'll likely opt for the Asus P6T mobo. Thanks to your report, my decision has been reinforced, as I don't plan to overclock. My biggest dilemma now is selecting a low-cost to mid-range-cost case. I've heard that the northbridge on the Asus board tends to run hot, so I'd need a case that would allow good airflow, presumably with a fan to blow across the northbridge chipset. If I plan on using a single NVidia GTX 260 GPU, what economical cases could you recommend? Thanks for your AWESOME reports![/citation]

If you're really interested in cooling the chipset, I suggest adding one of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835209017

If you attach it with a motherboard screw, be sure to use a plastic or cardboard (fiber) washer to isolate the bracket from any circuit near the screw hole. I usually attach these next to the motherboard in an unused hole of the motherboard tray and aim it across the motherboard.

 

[scorpivs]

From the perspective of a (twice-over) DFI DK X58-T3eH6 owner, and not
having overclocked or taxed the board(s) I pampered all along, I would
like to pass word to those who are interested:

Pros: For a circuit board, the DK T3eH6 looks like a piece of very
expensive fine art when placed in a landfill or hanged from the wall.

Cons: The DK T3eH6 even functions like a piece of very expensive fine
art; way-overpriced and its eyes follow people around the room. No
matter how many copies there are, they still have the problems of the
original, they soon look disturbing and the person who made it is hard
to get a hold of.

Other Thoughts: Had to RMA the first one; Daily attempts/tweaks to
install XP in second board fail and DK T3eH6 is now beyond RMA; Support
falsely blames HDD/OS/other hardware, all found working in other
systems; RMA costs/additional hardware and new OS purchases now exceed
original purchase price of DK T3eH6 motherboard and may well have ruined
a second Core i7 cpu.

Bottom Line: There are simply too many problems with this board to itemize.
No expert help can manage to amassment of detail needed to address
the high RMA of the DK T3eH6; no one new to the X58 should pay for this.

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]scorpivs[/nom]From the perspective of a (twice-over) DFI DK X58-T3eH6 owner, and nothaving overclocked or taxed the board(s) I pampered all along, I wouldlike to pass word to those who are interestedros: For a circuit board, the DK T3eH6 looks like a piece of veryexpensive fine art when placed in a landfill or hanged from the wall.Cons: The DK T3eH6 even functions like a piece of very expensive fineart; way-overpriced and its eyes follow people around the room. Nomatter how many copies there are, they still have the problems of theoriginal, they soon look disturbing and the person who made it is hardto get a hold of.Other Thoughts: Had to RMA the first one; Daily attempts/tweaks toinstall XP in second board fail and DK T3eH6 is now beyond RMA; Supportfalsely blames HDD/OS/other hardware, all found working in othersystems; RMA costs/additional hardware and new OS purchases now exceedoriginal purchase price of DK T3eH6 motherboard and may well have ruineda second Core i7 cpu.Bottom Line: There are simply too many problems with this board to itemize.No expert help can manage to amassment of detail needed to addressthe high RMA of the DK T3eH6; no one new to the X58 should pay for this.[/citation]

The typical reason for the range of problems you're describing is having memory in the first, third, and fifth slots, as was standard with previous-generation boards (Core 2 and Phemon II boards still use the first and third slots).

Unfortunately, Core i7 requires you to use the last slot of each bank for the first set of modules. That is, the Second, Fourth, and Sixth slot.

I've seen people who stubbornly argue against the practice of putting their memory in the "wrong slots" and insist that it must be a problem with the motherboard, even when a dozen different X58 motherboards behave in the same way "a dozen defective boards". But refusing to believe that this is a design issue for the on-die memory controller, rather than a defect of the motherboard, only serves to discredit the builder.

Yet most builders are simply ignorant of the facts, and once informed of the facts will make necessary changes in their configuration.

 

[scorpivs]

Thanks Crashman, but hmm mm, no. It'snot like I'm some noob, and I made sure to read the available forums (DFI is known for its lack of on-site help) before commencing with the build; I made sure to install the sticks in the "right" "wrong" slots, another case-in-point as to the inherent misinformation/no information/poor support/chatting-up peculiar to the DFI DK X58-T3eH6 [url=http://csd.dficlub.org/forum/search.php?searchid=203144]botherm'ord. It is a clear and present read that, for a late-entry/discount uber-X58 available only for the past few months, DFI's own forum is already unusually over-populated with issues and their associated "informed guesses" -- we can liturgize back and forth till December 21, 2012 and I assure you I will not take the fall for a mobo with a documented 60% failure/replace/repair/refund/recycle rate.

Granted, the DK T3eH6 is physically very attractive, for $200, but the same thing can be said of a sickly hooker.

 

[scorpivs]

[citation][nom]scorpivs[/nom]Granted, the DK T3eH6 is physically very attractive, for $200, but the same thing can be said of a sickly hooker.[/citation]

...and I refuse to make a living selling either/both.