What to look for in a i7 mobo?

[hunter1801]

I'm thinking of getting an i7 920 for my new build at the end of the month. I've been out of the loop for a few years on motherboards so I don't know what to look for. What is a good mobo to pair with this CPU? As far as budget goes, I'm spending $1,000 on all the internal computer parts, minus the CD drives. It is going to be for gaming and possibly video editing in the future.

 

[TheViper]

Sounds like you'll need the following:

Socket: LGA 1366
North Bridge: Intel X58
South Bridge: ICH10R
RAM: DDR3
PCI-e slots: 2


The Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R will work.

Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R - $209.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128375

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The Asus P6T deluxe v2 is the most oft recommended...... equivalents from gigabyte, EVGA and ASrock are also popular.

 

[hunter1801]

Well ya, I knew the brands to look for were mainly Asus and Gigabyte, and I knew I would need a 1366 mobo. What I was wondering more was specific mobos like you guys mentioned. Are those 2 pretty much the standard recommendations, and are there others to consider as well?

As far as the Asus P6T, thats pushing the $300 range, and I don't think I'd be able to afford the rest of my parts if Im already spending a little over $500 on the CPU and mobo alone.

 

[TheViper]

I accidentally linked you to the Canadian Newegg page for the board I suggested.

Here is the real link and price.
Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R - $188.99 ($173.99 after rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128375

That is the most recommended board from Gigabyte but they only have 2 X58 based boards out there anyway.

 

[hunter1801]

Any other suggestions? Otherwise I'll just assume those are the best.

 

[blackhawk1928]

^Don't assume anything.
You can get a regular Asus P6T and they cost 239.99 I think. They are also good.

 

[LePhuronn]

Asus P6TD Deluxe is probably the best board you'll want - it's the Xtreme Design revision of the P6T Deluxe V2. It will overclock as well as the Rampge II Extreme, will do 16x/16x/4x with 3 cards while still keeping 1 PCI-E x1 and one of the PCI slots.

 

[rachidfinge]

I'm about to build my own system based on Core i7 too and I've already decided I'll go for Gigabyte's GA-EX58-UD3R as the two Asus boards mentioned previously simply are 60 to 70 euros (or even more dollars) more expensive.

The P6TD Deluxe holds some advantages over Gigabyte's offering, such as dual LAN, max of 24 GB RAM (as opposed to 16 on the Gigabyte). Also, their allocation of PCI slots is different, with the Asus having 3x PCI-E 16x where the Gigabyte has two.

Finally, it appears the P6TD Deluxe is better and easier to overclock than the GA-EX58-UD3R.

Since I will install 6 GB of RAM, only need one LAN port, one PCI-E 16x slot and will not overclock my system, choosing the Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R saves me 60 to 70 euros without sacrificing performance.

 

[damian86]

if you're going to video edit,make sure you can have lots and lots of memory,the Rampage II Extreme supports up to 24..like the P6T,triple channel.If youre building a 1366 pc we will be talking about motherboard between 200 and 400, if you want to get the best out..but,you can have cheap choices like the ASRock X58 Deluxe, MSI X58M, ASUS P6T SE ...

 

[hunter1801]

I wanted to keep the motherboard as close to $200 as possible. With only $1,000 for the parts, I don't think I can get the Asus P6TD board (Unless you can show me that its possible while still having a good video card for gaming). Is the Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R the one to go for in this case?

Also, I won't be needing 24gigs of memory. I won't be doing any video THAT intense. I'll be good with 6 gigs. I also don't need 3 PCIe slots. 2 if I want to crossfire/sli, but that depends on if doing so is better than buying 1 card right now.

 

[rachidfinge]

Sure, then the Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R is the one for you. Apart from these auxiliary things as number of PCI-E slots, max amount of RAM and overclocking features, these boards are pretty much the same, spec wise. They all have the same chipset, after all.

As I proposed in another thread: if you'd build a computer with a P6TD, install Windows on it, then secretly switch the P6TD with a GA-EX58-UD3R, I think Windows will still boot up after that, without much problems, hardly noticing you've switched the mainboard. I think it's all that similar.

 

[hunter1801]

Awesome, thanks for the help. One more piece of equipment narrowed down. Pretty sure I got the answer I was looking for, but if anyone ever has any other ideas, just let me know.