battalionvt

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I need help selecting an X58 motherboard. I want the system for gaming and surfing. I am very interested in overclocking but have never dont it. I plan on getting an i7950 since the price has come down. Do I need USB 3.0 and SATA 6? or should I just get a card? Any help would be great. I have learned so much in just a couple of weeks but there are so many choices.
 
Solution


The only overclocking feature you really need is the ability to increase the BCLK from the default of 133 to 160 or so. Every X58 motherboard I know of has that capability(does intel?) That gives you a reliable and conservative overclock. The sabretooth looks to me like a good board with nice features at a good price.
Go for it.
SATA III and USB 3.0 won't be mainstream for a few years although it is nice to have them, the cards are more expensive. The Asus P6X58D-E is a good board. Overclocking's really quite simple with X58 boards anyway, there are tonnes of guides available online.
 
Sabertooth wont be much help if you are overclocking. I was posting on the forum for some other guy and he pointed out that many cool overclocking features are not there in the Sabertooth. Its just made with heavy duty caps and chips. So i would go for the one Lmeow mentioned or the Gigabyte GA-X58-UD3R.

I think having USB3.0 and SATA 6 would be good. Since the PC of yours would last you more than 3 years and by then they would become mainstream.
 
Any of the X58 motherboards from Gigabyte, Asus, or EVGA will be fine and overclock easily.
Look for the size(ATX, or micro-ATX) that suits you first. Don't pay much extra for enthusiast features. Basic motherboards will overclock to rational levels easily.

If you are planning on overclocking, get a oem cooler up front. Most any will do. You can find one for <$40.

I would get sata 6gb up front. The marginal cost is not that great. The gen3 SSD's will be out soon, and will be bigger, cheaper, and faster. They may be good enough to use more than 3gb sata.

Same for usb3.0. Sometime, you will want to get an external backup for your data. With usb3.0, you will have a very fast and convenient capability.

 

battalionvt

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I have an old system and have been stuck playing old games, Athlon 64 3400+, GPU Nvidia 6800GT. I write alot of papers for my classes and because

of reliability issues the computer needs replacing. Im going to try and build my own system and I am spending alot of time trying to get up to date

with current technology. I was looking at the sabertooth because it was different but as you guys have stated it does not have the overclocking

features the other boards do for close to the same price. Im new at overclocking and I plan on running Crossfire or SLI. Does this change anything or

should I go with the UD3R. I thank you in advance for your time.
 


The only overclocking feature you really need is the ability to increase the BCLK from the default of 133 to 160 or so. Every X58 motherboard I know of has that capability(does intel?) That gives you a reliable and conservative overclock. The sabretooth looks to me like a good board with nice features at a good price.
Go for it.
 
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battalionvt

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I keep reading bad reviews about the UD3R and I guess the sabertooth is still to new to have any reviews yet. If not the UD3R, what would be a good choice and does the sabertooth have a bad lay out as far as the card slots go?
 

battalionvt

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What is the difference between the P6X58D and the P6X58D-E.
Should I just get the P6X58D, do I need all the extra stuff? I plan on gaming and mild overclocking. Is this a good match for i7 950. Should I post what Im lookig at building in the new build section? Sorry I have so many Questions. thanks Ricky.
 

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