Asus sabertooth X58 or EVGA SLI3 X58, which one?

You can't go wrong with either one to be honest... IMO

I personally would go for the EVGA board for 1) it gives you tri-SLI support down the road (granted currently the GTX 460 doesn't support it) and 2) as a proud owner of an EVGA X58 motherboard, I can contest to how stable and well they perform (well at least for me   ).

Besides your personal preference, is there anything that's "better" about the EVGA X58 SLI3 over the ASUS & GIGABYTE boards?

Outside of 3-Way SLI, the boards are pretty equal. Most people would recommend the ASUS board because overall, ASUS is probably the top motherboard manufacturer across the board. Gigabyte board is a board recommended by this site but I've been hearing & reading about issues with SSD & HDD setups.

So again to sum it up, you will be fine with either the ASUS or EVGA board. They will both will meet your needs, so go with the one you like.

First, don't get the GA-X58A-UD3R w/multiple SSD + HDD it will fail. The ASUS Sabertooth X58 is a new frequent visitor. Lastly, both tecmo34 and I build expensive rigs off EVGA lines. Alternatively, the ASUS P6X58D-E $219.

If you use the the Corsair H50 then purchase (2) identical fans push/pull or the H70 at $110.

A 60 GB SSD is more a pain than any good, and a 10,000 RPM HDD is not worth the minimal speed gain and runs hot so it will need a fan.

Choices:
$220 - Kingston SSDNow V Series 128 GB SSD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$75 - SAMSUNG 1TB/7200/32MB/ SATA2 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
====
$295 {135 + 139 = $274}

RAID 10 X4 HDD (faster, 2TB capacity, and redundant)
$300 - SAMSUNG 1TB/7200/32MB/ SATA2 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

PSU {ONLY purchase single (1) rail + Japanese capacitors + 80%+ efficiency}
$130 CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

CPU
$299 i7950 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
{+$15 over the i7930}

Other than that you're good to go!

Good Building!

Thanks Jaquith, but your suggesting I spend a lot more lol.

I think a 60GB SSD is all I need for OS booting and basic use. If I like it enough, I'll spend more on an SDD down the road. Their bound to get better/faster/cheaper soon enough.


I was originally going to go with the i7 950, but my local Microcenter sells their i7 930 for $200, thats a big difference in price, not so much in performance. So I am downgrading my CPU, and bumping up the multiplier on the i7 930 to achieve 3.0Ghz. Saving $85 (tax).

What's wrong with my PSU?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Slizone.com lists my PSU to pair GTX 470's.

Q - Show me the links to both your SSD & HDD; per my calcs {135 + 139 = $274} but I had do do guess work w/the exact WD HDD. So for the same price a 128 + 1TB or RAID 10 is a much better choice. 60 GB - trust me is a pain and installing app on SSD and HDD is a crazy configuration in the real world; whereas 128 GB allows the {OS + Apps} each with the HDD {Data}.

ANS - The RS800-80GAD3-US does have 1 rail/Jc, but while Coolermaster makes some great products their PSUs are not as reliable as Corsair, ENERMAX, SilverStone, Mushkin Enhanced Joule...

ANS - Yes, I have seen Microcenter ultra-cheap i7930, and hopefully it is not refurbished/is boxed/3-year warranty/non-OEM version.

I don't require more HHDs, I failed to mention earlier I have a 1TB Seagate Barracuda harddrive, and the 150Gb WD Velociraptor that are from my previous 3yr-old PC build. So I don't need more data HDDs. Again, the 60Gb SSD is cheaper, should load my OS and Games a little faster. I don't pack on a ton of games, I play only FF14 and Civ5 mostly at the moment, the rest can boot from mister 10,000 RPM.

Funny you mentioned that about Microcenter! I called and asked what was the catch (if it was refurb/OEM version), I am told its a brand new, in a box, non-OEM w/ its full warranty.

I went with the PSU mainly because it was $110 with my HAF-X combo (org. price is $160), so I figured it was a great deal. The PSU you suggested, believe it or not was on my original wishlist at newegg, but took the less expensive deal.

^ On my new build, 75.1 GB on SSD {Apps only} with no data, all data on the RAID 1. You'll very quickly discover exactly what I "trying" to warn you about; it will be a mess.

Remember me when...

Good luck on your build!

This last week Microcenter is offering the i7 950 for 219.99$  DDD just figured id let ya know