Which Asus LGA1366 Mobo is better for me?

[thethinkerbox]

I'm planning a build for Q1 2011, and I'm finding it hard to choose between the Rampage III Extreme and the Rampage III Formula, both look like good mobos, however the Extreme is around $100 more and I don't exactly know what it offers aside from the extra PCIex16 slot.
Here's the rest of my planned build:
Nvidia GTX570 in dual SLI
Corsair TX850 PSU
Corsair 800D
i7-950 (OC'ed to a stable clock rate around 4.0GHz
Would there be anything worthwhile that the extra $100 spent would offer? Would the extra PCIex16 itself just be worth it to space the GTX570s more? (or possibly 6970s from ati in CFX)

 

[jonpaul37]

My vote is for the Formula for the following reasons:

It gets better reviews
Looks much cooler
Offers the same features as Extreme (minus 1 PCI-E 16 slot)
It more than enough for what you're needing
The Extreme seems to be overkill

 

[jaquith]

The R3E is about 3-WAY + PhysX or x8 for {**SSD Card}/4-WAY CF only plus more Phases, and the R3F 3-WAY.

R3F
3 x PCIe 2.0 x16 , support x16; x16/x16; x16/x8/x8
ROG Extreme Engine Digi+
- 8-phase CPU power
- 3-phase QPI/DRAM power
- 2-phase NB power
- 2-phase Memory power

R3E
4 x PCIe 2.0 x16 , support x16; x16/x16; x16/x8/x8 and x8/x8/x8/x8
ROG Extreme Engine Digi+
- 8-phase CPU power
- 3-phase QPI/DRAM power
- 3-phase NB power
- 3-phase Memory power
Bluetooth

** http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100008120%2050001550&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&CompareItemList=636|20-227-499^20-227-499-TS,20-227-662^20-227-662-TS,20-227-581^20-227-581-TS,20-227-521^20-227-521-TS,20-227-520^20-227-520-TS&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=3463938&SID=

 

[thethinkerbox]

The Bluetooth won't be very useful to me I don't think, for what I plan on doing (overclocking the two GPUs some, and overclocking the CPU just a bit) would the additional memory power phase and NB power phase help me? Also there's a large list of features for the R3E that I don't see under the R3F, what do those do and would they be very useful?

 

[jaquith]

It depends upon what's important to YOU not 'me.' I see a GTX 570 SLI then 'my' light-bulb is 2-3 years or less and pop-in GTX 570 + PhysX; I assume quickly you'll add a PhysX card (I would). I have no need for 1 or 2 eSATA; I have network back-up. Every phone I have has Bluetooth.

You're buying it and ~$80 doesn't phase me in the expense that you already listed. Better $80 now than SOL/replacing a MOBO later...

 

[thethinkerbox]

Thanks for the help. But I don't quite understand all of what you're saying, ive decided I will buy the R3E because it seems to be a very worthwhile purchase.

 

[jaquith]

What I was 'trying' to say I would get the R3E.

You stated 2-WAY GTX 570 SLI -> which means it's not a 'budget' build -> which then means I can foresee you adding a PhysX or later more...

I was contrasting differences 'now' and 'future' expansion: now 2-WAY SLI, soon 2-WAY SLI + PhysX, future 3-WAY + PhysX. The Phases come into place as you 'add' components and OC'ing; both of those MOBOs are meant for extreme OC'ing of CPU/RAM/GPU.

Also, when you OC the power requirements go up very quickly - 20~40%+ above stock wattage requirements. The R3E goes the extra step. If you mildly OC then it's a different matter, but either MOBO has it available when or if needed.

Further, I would look at the Corsair HX1000W or AX1200 PSU.

 

[thethinkerbox]

So with the addition of an HX1000W to that build, I plan on getting an H70 from corsair to not have to deal with real water cooling, what would you project that i could OC the i7-950 to? I'm planning to do high graphics intensive gaming with maxed settings and 1920x1080, and I would like a large amount of fps

 

[jaquith]

That answer depends on many variables including OC characteristics of your CPU {BIN} and your ability to properly OC, but in general I like to keep the CPU at 70C or less which spells out 3.9GHz~4.1GHz. I don't parrot OC settings and I play with the BCLK and minimum Voltages to find 'Stable'; I would begin with a BCLK of 167 with base CPU multiplier of 23 and work my way forward, don't use "Turbo" and if you go above 180 BCLK think about disabling HT.

Use Prime95 and something like CPID HW Monitor or similar App for temps. I build a ton of rigs off the 800D and use only Scythe fans - replacing the stock Corsair fans and a good Fan Controller {e.g. Koolance}. Otherwise I recommend a Fan Controller with 4 or more channels: Scythe, Zalman or NZXT. Also, the 800D while a very nice case - it is 'really' meant for water cooling over 'air' cooling; there's NO front/side air flow so you'll need to pull all the air up from the base.

Fans & Noise - you want fans 20 dBA or less to be 'silent' but you also need and want high CFM when needed. Therefore, High CFM Low Noise is what it's all about; the workaround is to get >75CFM fans on a controller and reduce their speed and thereby the dBA.

H70 http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1012/pg6/corsair-h70-cpu-cooler-review-thermal-acoustic-performance-43ghz.html

i7 950 OC Guide http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?id=20081220191040237&board_id=1&model=P6T+Deluxe&page=1&SLanguage=en-us

Fans - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007998&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&CompareItemList=573|35-185-060^35-185-060-S01,35-185-059^35-185-059-S01,35-185-005^35-185-005-S01,35-185-004^35-185-004-TS,35-185-006^35-185-006-TS

Koolance http://www.koolance.com/water-cooling/default.php?cPath=69

Good Luck!

 

[thethinkerbox]

Thank you very much for all the help, I'll see if I can find a decent water cooling system.

 

[thethinkerbox]

Best answer selected by TheThinkerBox.