ASUS Sabertooth 990fx, is there a comparable upgrade, i7 Intel

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
TreyTrimble

TreyTrimble

Reputable
Jun 13, 2015
11
0
4,510
I've had my ASUS Sabertooth 990FX Motherboard since it came out when I was upjazzing my machine years ago. And since then, I recently doubled my memory (32GB G-Skill DDR3-1600), upgraded my GPU to a EVGA Geforce GTX 960 (REALLY REALLY debating getting a 970 SSCik, already) but alas.
Being that I'm a graphic designer, freelancing. I need something fast for work with Cinema 4D and AfterEffects, etc. And I was really one click away from ordering the Intel i7 4790k Processor that seems to be quite the step up from my AMD Phenom II X4 965. BUT then realized, sadly, that my Motherboard, that I've never ever had any issues with that I love and trust, does NOT have the right socket/port for it.

Would anyone here have any advice for a solution? Whether it be a Motherboard that really does compare to my 990fx, (ex: I really like the RAID features it has) OR an amazing processor that compares to the Intel i7? I'm open :)

Thank you guys so much. I'm sorry if that has been covered, I hunted for the last few days, but can't seem to find an answer with my particular questions. Everyone does gaming. haha. Which I do to, but my MAIN thing would be creating graphics, rendering, etc.

-Trey Trimble
 
Solution
Woody1999
There is nothing better for your tasks than the 4790K, so I would get a new motherboard. If you're looking for a budget board, I recommend the Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI. If you're looking for a high end board, I suggest the Asus Maximus VII Hero or Z97-WS.

Woody
Sort by date Sort by votes
Woody1999

Woody1999

Admirable
Jan 3, 2015
2,264
0
6,460
There is nothing better for your tasks than the 4790K, so I would get a new motherboard. If you're looking for a budget board, I recommend the Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI. If you're looking for a high end board, I suggest the Asus Maximus VII Hero or Z97-WS.

Woody
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
TreyTrimble

TreyTrimble

Reputable
Jun 13, 2015
11
0
4,510
Thank you for the reply Woody!

I looked at your Mobo suggestions and I'm thinking about going for the Z97. Thank you!

This is probably a dumb question, haha, but is there a way around completely redoing EVERYTHNG when switching Motherboards? I just got everything up and re-installed after a recent crash (still don't know what caused it.)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Woody1999

Woody1999

Admirable
Jan 3, 2015
2,264
0
6,460
There are lots of different Z97 boards out there, which one were you looking at? If you have an OEM copy of Windows (it came with the motherboard or you bought it for ~£80) then you'll need to either buy a new copy or plead with Microsoft to reactivate the key. I suggest the second option, if you tell them that your old motherboard died then they'll swap it over easily.

Woody
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
TreyTrimble

TreyTrimble

Reputable
Jun 13, 2015
11
0
4,510
I'm looking at the ASUS SABERTOOTH Z97 MARK1 ATX DDR3 2600 LGA 1150. From what I've read it'll run my DDR3 32GB G Skill 1800's right? haha.

Also, I bought a Windows Professional DVD back when...so thats bad..?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Woody1999

Woody1999

Admirable
Jan 3, 2015
2,264
0
6,460


Yeah it should work great, it supports up to 32GB of DDR3-1866. You really like those Sabertooth boards don't you :)

As for the Windows key, if you ring up Microsoft and tell a little white lie that your motherboard had died on you and had to be replaced, they should reactivate the key for you.

Woody
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
TreyTrimble

TreyTrimble

Reputable
Jun 13, 2015
11
0
4,510
Awesome, thank you! haha yes I do. They've always been so stable and great to me that I don't want to venture off now haha.

Dangit...so that means that I'll have to reinstall EVERYTHING, every program and every plug-in on my machine too, doesn't it? There's no pull old Mobo out, put in new Mobo and just go on is there?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Woody1999

Woody1999

Admirable
Jan 3, 2015
2,264
0
6,460


Unfortunately, no. If you make a full backup to an external drive (or another partition on your current drive if you're comfortable with doing that) then you can restore all your data. Some good backup software is Comodo Backup, a really easy to use and effective program.

Woody
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
TreyTrimble

TreyTrimble

Reputable
Jun 13, 2015
11
0
4,510
Thank you so much Woody, for all your help and patience with me. I'm up and running with my new Asus Sabertooth z97 Mobo, Intel i7 4790k Processor, GTX Geforce 970 SSC, and a new Samsung 500GB Solid State Drive for installing the OS on.

BUT......now the 32GB that worked in my last Mobo, a Sabertooth as well. Only the first two sticks work. When I have all 4 sticks in. I power it on, it doesn't make it to post before it turns itself off, then back on. And just does this loop for forever with no change. This memory I bought like..5 months ago. GSkill DDR3. I made sure it worked with the new MoBo i bought beforehand. I'm not a happy camper..
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
TreyTrimble

TreyTrimble

Reputable
Jun 13, 2015
11
0
4,510
Man, I hope not. I tried to be really careful. I was in the kitchen [no carpet], didn't touch the connectors, etc. Shoot.

I didn't try that. I thought it was dual channel where it wouldn't let me use just 3. Should I try that?

I'm also debating Gskill RMA..gah. I need to get work done and this may be another 2 weeks or so. Because the RMA says to mail back the whole set [which I guess makes sense, but dang] then I'm left with nothing.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom