Cant make up my mind on a MOBO

[Gilbon]

I keep deciding and then changing my mind again. I WAS dead set on an ASUS Sabertooth p67 but I have been reading some horror stories about double POSTING and boards coming DOA. The heat shield is a nice add on which originally caught my attention even if it is more of aesthetics.

Now Ive been looking at the ASUS Maximus IV. PCI 3.0 seems a bit more future proof if there is such a thing. I dont really like the fact that its a MICRO ATX board. I would very much prefer a full size which is why I bounce back to the sabertooth.

My main questions are:
Is it worth getting PCI 3.0?
Do any of you own the aforementioned boards? If so, what are you experiences with them? Specifically the sabertooth?
What board would you suggest in terms of quality, longevity, performance, and price (dont REALLY want to spend more than $200-$250).

If you have suggestions, I would love to hear them.

Main focus is gaming/future proof gaming.
I WILL be Xfiring cards
I WILL be overclocking

Current set up Im getting includes:
i7 2600k
ASUS ATI Radeon 6870 xfire
Corsair enthusiast 750w psu
12gb Corsair vengeance 1866mhz RAM

EDIT:

Forgot to post links.

Sabertooth: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131702

Maximus IV: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131806&Tpk=maximus

Other boards that catch my eye:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131791
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131792
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790

 

[a4mula]

Asus p8p67 Pro

I have the 1156 p55 version of the Sabertooth and I love it. That being said I've also read that the 1155 version was somewhat of a step backwards with the awkward cooling solutions (if you can call it that) and bios issues as well.

If I were in your shoes the Pro is the way I'd go personally.

edit: Oh, pci-e 3.0. Under normal resolutions (non-eyefinity) pci-e 2.0 is still way more than is currently needed. 6990s and 590s can run on x8 lanes with virtually no bottleneck. Even if you get a pci-e 3.0 ready board, it won't support it unless you make the move to Ivy Bridge. This is a tricky subject as there's nothing stopping a normal pci-e 2.0 lane from being a pci-e 3.0 lane once you make the move to IB. They are physically the same. The problem comes in when you start involving crossfire, like yourself and the lanes switch to x8/x8 mode. Some manufacturers such as Gigabyte have used substandard switches that not only won't support the pci-e 3.0 standard, but will degrade all the way back to pci-e 1.0.

If it's something that you find yourself losing sleep over check out the MSI boards as they've tested to be pci-e 3.0 compliant, while also blowing the whistle on Gigabyte.

edit edit: Heh, sorry. For pci-e 3.0 you need 3 things: A motherboard that can support it. A cpu that supports it (Ivy Bridge), and finally a gpu that supports it. The 6xxx series does not, the new 7xxx that will be shipping Jan 9th do.

 

[Gilbon]

With that said, I think I'll get the sabertooth. Its a very nice board from what I read and I cant find another board that can offer something better in the same price range.