BEST motherboard for i7 980x

[henriquefd]

Hello, I am investing in the computer of my dreams. For once, I want to purchase an awsome computer for high end gaming. I have bought a i7980x and want to know what is the best motherboard to pair it with. thx!

 

[andrewcutter]

an i7980x doesnt shine in games. it is meant for doing content creation work like rendering . The price for that even then can only be justified if every second counts.
For your case wont a 2500K Sb be sufficient?

 

[Maziar]

+1^
Unless you have lots of 3D rendering/editing going on,go with a cheaper CPU.Because in games,currently barely any CPU benefit from more than 4 cores so you can find lots of cheaper options such as i5 2500K as Andrew mentioned.

 

[andy5174]

Why did you close another thread created by OP? It's about different thing which makes sense to create a new thread. You just made what I typed all deleted...

 

[andy5174]

Hi,folks.

It's been more than 10 years since I bought myself a computer. All this time, I have been using the company's laptop for gameing and it's just not the same.

So, now that I have some serious money saved up, I want to build the computer of my dreams! =)

I wonder, though, if I would have any compatibility issues with what I have picked so far:

Processor: Intel i7 980x
MOBO: Asus Rampage III Extreme
RAM: Corsair Dominator® GT with DHX Pro Connector and Airflow II Fan — 6GB Triple Channel DDR3 Memory Kit (CMT6GX3M3A2000C8)
Video Card: Nvidia GTX 580 SLI

thx!

It's perfectly fine. However, the new enthusiast platform will be released by the end of the year and therefore it would be a good idea to wait for 1 more year if not in urgent.

If you really want to upgrade now, I would suggest that you get SandyBridge instead.

CPU: Core i7 2600K

MB: Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD7 or Asus Maximus IV Extreme
(These two motherboards also have double x16 PCIE as LGA1366/x58 platform which won't bottleneck GTX580s)

RAM:G.Skill F3-12800CL7Q-16GBXH 16GB
(Corsair is very expensive and not better than G.Skill which is very popular for its quality and cost-performance ratio these days)

GFX: EVGA GTX580 SLI
(I assume that you would keep this setup for 10 years as well, so EVGA's life-time warranty is a must-have to you.)

Have a look at the review below. It shows the comparison between 2600K and 980X.

The Sandy Bridge Review: Intel Core i7-2600K, i5-2500K and Core i3-2100 Tested

There are more comparison diagrams in the review link aove.

2600K v.s. 980X benchmark summary

 

[andy5174]

System error made me double post it...

 

[henriquefd]

It's perfectly fine. However, the new enthusiast platform will be released by the end of the year and therefore it would be a good idea to wait for 1 more year if not in urgent.

If you really want to upgrade now, I would suggest that you get SandyBridge instead.

CPU: Core i7 2600K

MB: Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD7 or Asus Maximus IV Extreme
(These two motherboards also have double x16 PCIE as LGA1366/x58 platform which won't bottleneck GTX580s)

RAM:G.Skill F3-12800CL7Q-16GBXH 16GB
(Corsair is very expensive and not better than G.Skill which is very popular for its quality and cost-performance ratio these days)

GFX: EVGA GTX580 SLI
(I assume that you would keep this setup for 10 years as well, so EVGA's life-time warranty is a must-have to you.)

I already bought the i7 980x. I live in Brazil and my mom was in Miami during black friday, last year. I am in urgent need, because I am moving to my new place in a few days and I want to set it all up. Also, there are some games being released this year that I want to play asap. I mean, there is always new hardware being released and since I already got my i7 980x, I better just go and buy the rest of the components.

I wonder about your choices of RAM and MB. Is the ASUS Maximus IV Extreme better than the Rampage III Extreme? I know IV is bigger than III, but I felt like asking anyway. =P

I'm new to this SLI/Crossfire thing. To put my two GTX 580 in SLI I only have to buy two GPUs and insert them in the motherboard? Or is that a subject for another thread?

Anyway, thanks for the answer and for bringin the subject from my other thread to this one. I agree they are different subjects, but I guess we can work them all in here as well.

 

[henriquefd]

Best answer selected by henriquefd.

 

[henriquefd]

an i7980x doesnt shine in games. it is meant for doing content creation work like rendering . The price for that even then can only be justified if every second counts.
For your case wont a 2500K Sb be sufficient?

Weird. That's not what I got from the benchmark:

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/desktop-cpu-charts-2010/Gaming-Left-4-Dead-2,2433.html

It shows i7 980x shining in Left 4 Dead 2 leaving all the other processors behind. I based my purchase on this website's information.

 

[andy5174]

I already bought the i7 980x. I live in Brazil and my mom was in Miami during black friday, last year. I am in urgent need, because I am moving to my new place in a few days and I want to set it all up. Also, there are some games being released this year that I want to play asap. I mean, there is always new hardware being released and since I already got my i7 980x, I better just go and buy the rest of the components.

I wonder about your choices of RAM and MB. Is the ASUS Maximus IV Extreme better than the Rampage III Extreme? I know IV is bigger than III, but I felt like asking anyway. =P

I'm new to this SLI/Crossfire thing. To put my two GTX 580 in SLI I only have to buy two GPUs and insert them in the motherboard? Or is that a subject for another thread?

Anyway, thanks for the answer and for bringin the subject from my other thread to this one. I agree they are different subjects, but I guess we can work them all in here as well.

1) Asus Maximus IV is a P67 platform which is incompatible with 980X. Rampage III Extreme is the best Asus MB that is compatible with 980X.

2) Make sure that you insert the 580s in the PCIE X16 slots. This will be stated in your MB manual.

3) I promise that you won't see notable difference between Corsair Dominator and G.Skill if any.

4) For any SLI question:
FAQ: http://www.slizone.com/page/slizone_faq.html
How-To: http://www.slizone.com/object/slizone_learn_howtoguide.html

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The R3E is a great board, I have thee of em.

Avoid RAM with tall heat sinks and especially ones with fans. Was a day, when heat was an issue with RAM but those days have long passed by ....as long as you have a decent case, you'll be fine. The big heat sinks have been retained mostly as a marketing gimmick and few have any actual real effect other than specialty designs like Mushkin's liquid based Ascent coolers which even those are rare now as little benefit seen for the investment..

Here's how I'd round out your system assuming a budget appropriate for a $1,000 CPU

Case - $140 - Antec DF-85 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129087
Case Fans - $18 - Antec Red 120 mm http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835209013
PSU - $120 - Antec CP850 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371024
MoBo - $365 - Asus Rampage 3 Extreme http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131642
CPU - Purchased - Intel i7-980x http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115223
Cooler - $62 - Prolimatech Megahalems http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835242001
TIM - $5 - Shin Etsu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835150080
CPU Fan - $11 - Scythe SY1225SL12LM-P http://www.frozencpu.com/products/10026/fan-639/Scythe_Slip_Stream_120mm_x_25mm_PWM_Mid_Speed_Fan_-_SY1225SL12LM-P.html?tl=g36c365s936
CPU Fan - $11 - Same
Fan Cable - $8 - Akasa PWM AK-CB002 http://www.frozencpu.com/products/10350/cab-183/Akasa_PWM_Splitter_-_Smart_Fan_Cable_AK-CB002.html
RAM - $240 - 2 x (3 x 2GB) Mushkin CAS 6 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226121
GFX - $370 - EVGA GTX 570 SC http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130549
GFX - $370 - Same
HD - $65 - Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200 rpm http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
HD - $65 - Same
SSD - $210 - OCZ Vertex 2 2.5" 120GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227551
$210 Same
DVD Writer - $80 - ASUS BR Model BC-08B1LT http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135220
OS - $139 - Win 7-64 Pro OEM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116758
Monitor - $1,400 - Dell U3011 IP2560 x 1600 http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=04&kc=6W300&l=en&oc=u3011&s=bsd
Keyboard - $130 - Logitech G19 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126053
Mouse - $80 - Logitech G9x http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104261

Cost $4,099 w/o any combo discounts up here in the states

 

[jaquith]

If you really want to upgrade now, I would suggest that you get SandyBridge instead.

CPU: Core i7 2600K

MB: Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD7 or Asus Maximus IV Extreme
(These two motherboards also have double x16 PCIE as LGA1366/x58 platform which won't bottleneck GTX580s)\

NO!!!

1. I'd like the ASUS Maximus IV Extreme but read -> http://vr-zone.com/articles/2-way-and-3-way-amd-crossfire-and-nvidia-sli-scaling-on-intel-sandy-bridge/10585-8.html
This is the 'jerry-rigged' ASUS similar to the EVGA P67 Classified.

{Intel P67 Express chipset and NVIDIA NF200 bridge onboard}
Jerry-rigged results -> "We did encounter a random full system lock-up, and nearly the impossible: a BSOD when disabling CrossFire in the Catalyst Control Center. Wow."

2. Interesting saturaturation charts. P67 28,800 vs X58 46,656 or are my eye's all blurry?!

P67 + GTX 580 SLI ; ref http://lanoc.org/review/hardware/motherboards/4642-fatal1ty-p67-profess1onal-series

X58 + GTX 580 SLI ; http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/3777/msi_geforce_gtx_580_1536_mb_video_cards_in_sli/index3.html

The more GPU data pushed the better the X58 performs, whether it's resolution or quality settings.

Building Chart:

 

[exorcist]

It's perfectly fine. However, the new enthusiast platform will be released by the end of the year and therefore it would be a good idea to wait for 1 more year if not in urgent.

If you really want to upgrade now, I would suggest that you get SandyBridge instead.

CPU: Core i7 2600K

MB: Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD7 or Asus Maximus IV Extreme
(These two motherboards also have double x16 PCIE as LGA1366/x58 platform which won't bottleneck GTX580s)

RAM:G.Skill F3-12800CL7Q-16GBXH 16GB
(Corsair is very expensive and not better than G.Skill which is very popular for its quality and cost-performance ratio these days)

GFX: EVGA GTX580 SLI
(I assume that you would keep this setup for 10 years as well, so EVGA's life-time warranty is a must-have to you.)

Have a look at the review below. It shows the comparison between 2600K and 980X.

The Sandy Bridge Review: Intel Core i7-2600K, i5-2500K and Core i3-2100 Tested

http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph4083/35023.png

http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph4083/35024.png

http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph4083/35025.png

http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph4083/35028.png

There are more comparison diagrams in the review link aove.


2600K v.s. 980X benchmark summary

The ram you mentioned is 1.65v
I guess any ram with 1.5v will work better.

 

[rgreenhagen]

I use this processor/mobo for a EXSi server build. NAS server.