Looking for a worthy MOBO and RAM

[Aiwen]

Hi guys,

I´m looking for a MOBO for OC with these must specs: 6 RAM slots, 2x PCIex16, one PCI, RAID 0/1, eSATA and that´s about it.
Accordingly I would appreciate if you would advice RAMs - 3x1GB for starters - I will upgrade to 6GB later on - due to budget limitations.

Now I have been looking around and found that there a lot of MOBOs delivering features not needed ( 3+ PCIe x16) and are overprized. On the other hand, after finding an ok MOBO - like the XFX X58i I have found threads about it´s overclocking issues.

So what would be the optimal board and memory for me, if you consider the Core i7 920 being the CPU.

Last question - I´m not really in a hurry: it is worth to wait for MoBos with SATA III and USB 3.0 on the X58??? What is the time perspective?

I appreaciate all your points and hints. THX in advance!

 

[geofelt]

Look at Asus, Gigabyte, EVGA. They seem to have the most mature motherboards.
How about the Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R ?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128423
Do not worry about overclocking capabilities if you only plan on safe overclocks. Amy quality motherboard will do.
The high priced enthusiast motherboards are intended for extreme overclockers.

I would suggest planning on 6gb of ram up front. Ram is sold in kits for a reason. It is to insure compatibility.
A 6gb kit is not twice the price of a 3gb kit, and you only occupy only 3 slots, leaving room for expansion.
For any ram you are considering, do your own homework.
Go to the ram vendor's web site, and access their configurator.
Corsair, Kingston, Patriot, OCZ and others have them.
Their compatibility list is more current than the motherboard vendor's QVL lists which rarely get updated.
Enter your mobo or PC, and get a list of compatible ram sticks.



Here are a few links:

http://www.crucial.com/index.aspx

http://www.corsair.com/configurator/default.aspx

http://kingston.com/

http://conf.ocztechnology.com/index.php?c=1

http://www.patriotmemory.com/configurator/index.jsp

Cpu performance is not very sensitive to ram speeds.
If you look at real application and game benchmarks(vs. synthetic tests),
you will see negligible difference in performance between the slowest DDR2 and the fastest DDR3 ram.
Perhaps 1-2%. Not worth it to me.
Don't pay extra for faster ram or better timings unless you are a maximum overclocker.

Sata3 and usb3 are of interest only if you plan on using devices with those capabilities.
Today, sata3 is of no help unless you have a high end SSD.
You can always add a usb3 card if you need that capability later.
That said, newer motherboards like the UD3R will include those features at minimal additional cost.
I expect that there will be faster SSD's by the end of the year.
I think the same time frame is true for external usb3 backup devices.

 

[Aiwen]

Thanks a lot for your comprehensive explanation! I have learned a lot - you have listed a bunch of good points.
The MoBo you suggested seems perfect!!!
You were right - I´m not an extreme OCker, but I like to experiment so this board would be fitting!
Concerning the USB 3.0 - I have just read an article today about an ext. HDD BOX - ICY BOX IB-250StU3-B

Thanks again for the fast response!