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Tom's Hardware > Forum > Overclocking > Motherboards > Choosing between 4 High-End X58 Motherboards for my i7 920/930

Choosing between 4 High-End X58 Motherboards for my i7 920/930

Forum Overclocking : Motherboards Choosing between 4 High-End X58 Motherboards for my i7 920/930

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I'm looking to build a monster computer in the next few weeks. I have put together a bunch of 1156/1366 based systems over the past 6 months so I do have experience and enjoy tweaking.

I work from my computer about 16 hours a day so the $$$ isn't a huge concern. Some photoshop but mainly lots of multitasking. I use two 22" LCD's right now but I'm thinking of getting a ATI Radeon card with Eyefinity so I can expand to 3 monitors. I might try some gaming, but the graphics card is mainly for general use on 3 monitors, with some HD video, etc. I may expand to a 2nd graphics card, but definitely not a 3rd.

I'm not really worried about SATA3 because I think it will be a while before I'm using one of those hard drives.

I'm having trouble choosing between these 4 motherboards. I'm not worried about the $100 difference (they're actually all about the same since the expensive boards are available at circuitcity.com with 15% bing cashback and no sales tax in CA, unlike Newegg).

4 Motherboards currently under consideration:

1. ASUS P6T Deluxe V2
2. ASUS P6X58D Premium
3. ASUS Rampage II Extreme
4. EVGA E760 CLASSIFIED

I'm disappointed the ASUS P6X58D doesn't have e-sata but it's not a deal-breaker.

What's best for pure (stable) overclocking? I might upgrade to water cooling in the future but it's doubtful.

Parts I'm currently planning on using:

CPU - i7 930 (once it's released at MicroCenter in 2 or 3 weeks)
Motherboard - ???
RAM - Mushkin Enhanced Redline 6GB DDR3 1600 (6-7-6-18) ---- I hear it's some of the best RAM out there because of the timings
Boot Drive - Intel G2 80GB SSD
Storage HD's - Probably x2 1TB or 1.5TB WD Green or Samsung (not too concerned since these will be for storage)
Power Supply - CORSAIR CMPSU-850HX 850W, 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular
Case - LIAN LI PC-888 Blue Aluminum ATX Full Tower
CPU Cooling - Prolimatech Mega Shadow

I plan on overclocking this as much as possible (and keep it stable, pretty much 24/7). I'm hoping to sniff 4.5Ghz since I hear the i7 930 will be clocked at 2.8GHz and will still have the high overclocking ability like the 920's.

Any thoughts on these parts:
What 2 fans for the Mega Shadow? I'm not worried about a little noise. I want max air cooling.
Power Supply - Is it overkill or can I get away with the Antec TruePower 650W and still have headroom for lots of overclocking and a bigger ATI Eyefinity card?

Thanks for your help.

Reply to brianeck
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NO doubt the E760 Classy board.

 

The other boards will not supply very clean voltage for overclocking and many have lock ups at high base clocks, which undoubtedly the i7 930 will be capable of.

 

I have an i7 920 that can sit at 4.75 ghz on my classy. As for the PSU, i would definitely go for the 850w corsair, this will maximize your overclocking potential and future proof your system.


Message edited by overshocked on 02-14-2010 at 03:15:35 AM
Reply to overshocked

Thanks!

Would you say the E760 is the best overclocking board? If not, what is?

You said you have 4.75 ghz; is that on air or water?

Reply to brianeck

Hands down dude.

I hang around on xtremesystems a lot, and as you watch the i7 overclocking records come in they are all with the classy boards.

The 4.75ghz was on air.
This thread keeps track of all the overclocking records...
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] cking-club

Reply to overshocked

I just built my system and went with the 760 as well. I love it. Look at getting a couple of 40mm fans for the NB as it was sitting at 70 degress without cooling.

The NB heatsink only has holes for one fan but you can epoxy two together and just screw the one in.

Also make sure your cpu cooler is oriented to pull air across the NB as well. If you go with the 2 40mm fans, have the cpu cooler push air away from the NB so the fans work together.

Also you might want to get this:

http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=E000-00-000084&family=Accessories%20-%20Hardware

Looks cool on your case.

Good luck.

------------------------------ like what you read? hire me! will work for food or negotiable bearer bonds. <a href="http://www.msdatasystems.com">ENHANCE!</a>
* please note above link is purposefully non-functional so as to comply with TOS of Tom's Hardware Forums.
copy/paste :-]
Reply to chedderslam1976

The evga control panel really isnt necessary unless you are overclocking with DICE or LN2. Even if you are, you would want the EVGA EVbot it is 100x better than the little control panel.

He is right about the NB getting real hot. The Vreg also gets hot when you are overclocking, so make sure you have a nice exhaust fan on the back of the case.

Reply to overshocked

^ I agree, the WS supercomputer is also a great overclocking board. I would say thats second though.

Depends if you want SAS drives and ECC memory though.

Reply to overshocked

Hehe, yeah, i really like it.

What cpu you got in there?

Reply to overshocked

CircuitCity.com has it for $400 with a $30 rebate and 15% Bing Cash back ($60) bring the price down to about $310. Not bad considering no tax and no shipping charges to California. For me, factoring in the Rebate and Cash Back, it's like ordering a $285 motherboard from Newegg with free shipping once tax is included.

Reply to brianeck

Aww man, you got one of thise pre release chips? Wich one is it 3.06ghz or the 2.4 ghz?
Im assuming the 3.06ghz because its b0.

Reply to overshocked

Wait a minute dude, did you buy from that guy that took a picture of the top of the chip with the batch number and all?

That would be hilarious b/c that ebay listing is known like world wide. $600 is a steal, i assume theyre gunna cost 1200 or so when they come out. Is it the extreme edition?

Reply to overshocked
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