Motherboard Suggestions For A Newbie

[briamah]

Hello, First time poster...looking to give someone a gift this is what they have said...

I am looking for the right motherboard.
I want want something dual
and it has to support crossfire or sli.

Any suggestions if this is available would be appreciated.

 

[k3y3n1n]

price range?

Intel boards are nice lil pricey but the i7 kik butt i have that as my gaming machine.

Amd boards are nice to lil cheaper then intel. I have amd board with 8gb of RAM decent video card and phenom quad core for under 800 bucks i run all vms and testing in that machine.


I use gigabyte never had a problem with them. I had one asus board craped out on me with in 4days so i am against them but that's just me.. Everyone is different.

Really it comes down how much you want to spend and if you are going to OC

 

[tecmo34]

You have limited the options to Intel when you state "and it has to support crossfire or sli."

This leaves you with these options...

Core i7 / i5 / i3 (LGA1156) - ASUS P7P55D-E Pro LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Core i7 (LGA1366) - GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard, ASUS P6X58D-E LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard or ASUS P6X58D Premium LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

edit:

Based on coldsleep's response below, I've added an AM3 build in case the OP just wants Crossfire support... GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H AM3 AMD 890GX HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

 

[coldsleep]

Technically, it's not limited to Intel if it's "Crossfire or SLI". Crossfire and SLI would do the trick, though.

Does the recipient of the gift already have a processor, or do they already know what processor they want?

 

[briamah]

RE: Does the recipient of the gift already have a processor, or do they already know what processor they want?


Thanks for your feedback. Fast too. I will have to ask that question.

 

[briamah]

Processor he mentioned is the i7980x extreme processor. I sent him a link to the forums as well.

 

[coldsleep]

For a high-end i7 processor, any of the 1366 motherboards that tecmo linked would be excellent choices, and should be capable of pretty much anything you need.

By some estimations, the Asus Rampage III Extreme is one of the top socket 1366 motherboards, with a price tag to match - $380. If you want to spend even more money than that, the EVGA E760 Classified is completely over the top at $400, but it will not fit in most computer cases.

 

[tecmo34]

If he has the i7 980X, I would highly recommend this board... ASUS P6X58D Premium LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard, as it provides the best performance to value. The Rampage's are overpriced IMO!

 

[coldsleep]

If he has the i7 980X, I would highly recommend this board... ASUS P6X58D Premium LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard, as it provides the best performance to value. The Rampage's are overpriced IMO!

I'd agree, but based on the selection of the 980X, there might also be a "coolness" factor or brand recognition that is being looked for.

(Says the guy who just had his Crosshair Formula IV arrive today. Hey, I'm not immune to it myself. )