aznsoysauce97 :
Hi, I'm looking for a good MOBO for a i7 860 system that I am planning on building soon. I plan on only getting 1 GPU but I will get another one and CrossFire/SLI a couple more months down the road so I would like to leave that option available. I've been looking at these MOBOS so I would like to ask for other people's suggestions on which MOBO is better or even other ones.
ASUS P7P55D-E Pro LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131621
EVGA P55 SLI 132-LF-E655-KR LGA1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188055
ASUS SABERTOOTH 55i LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131601
GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD4P LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard w/ USB 3.0 & SATA 6 Gb/s
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128409
Whats good! I just built an 1156 rig and I had the same questions as you did. It took me 3 weeks in doing research and to pull the trigger on a mobo. Heres my thoughts on your build as you listed them.
1. The asus is good but I kinda thought it was a cheap ass board with a marketing ploy. It has sata 3 and usb 3 but cheap board. I didnt pick this board cause sata 3 and usb 3 are pointless as hell at this time. You wont see this technology mainstream for another 6 months to a year IMO. Go to newegg and find as many harddrives that use this tech. If you need this that bad you can add a pci card later for prolly 20 bucks.
2. The evga is a great board and this was my second choice. Evga puts out great products but they had some problems early on. I think the socket was burning procs when people were trying to overclock crazy. They have since improved/switched to the LOTES socket and has proved them good.
3. There is no need to get a H55 or 57 board since your not going to downgrade to i3. These boards are made specifically for on die graphics and since your going balls out like I did, theres no need for this board. It will work with your i7 no doubt but theres no need for it cause the i7 doesnt have on die graphics. Use you money else where and dont pay for anything you dont need.
4. The gigabyte is good but it depends which one you get. Im not a fan of sata 3 and usb 3 at this time so I overlooked this board also. The low end model is just again a cheap board but with the marketing of sata 3 and usb 3. These boards can be expensive so if you choose this one, Id suggest the middle or higher model.
My opinion; spend 20 more bucks and get the evga p55 ftw sli. After long hours trying to pull the trigger on newegg I picked this one a couple of weeks ago. Its paired with an i7 and from boot it has been rock solid. Great solid state capacitors and overclocking. I got up to 4.2 on air but of course I backed down to stock speeds cause i7 is plenty fast. Bios is rich without being over your head and It has dummy overclock. I can turn this on and my i7 clocks up to 3.7 without me doing any hard work. This board has plenty of sata ports and usb. Its a real winner in my books.
If I can suggest something else. I picked up the intel 40 gig ssd and I couldnt be happier. I wanted to see what the ssd hype is and the 40 gig being 130 on the egg, was perfect for me cause I could dip my toes in the water without diving head first into the ssd game. I love it and will get the 80 gig when prices come down or If the figure out how to run raid with trim. Everything is snappy as hell in win7 but there is a con, Ive gotten use to the speed and the wow factor has left the building.
Hope this helps in your new build. You will be happy with the evga ftw. And besides if you have a window case, you cant beat the glowing red e! LOL.
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