Motherboard compatibility

[joels87]

Hi Guys,

I'm hoping to build a system that comprises of these components and was wondering if anyone has a similar setup? I have not built a computer in a long, long time and am kinda worried they are not compatible. I looked up asus website for compatibility and ... couldn't find any of these components to be compatible - But, I've seen people post about them in forums and stuff. Was hoping someone with experience can help advice me?

Here's what I'm thinking:

i7 3930K SB-E
Asus Sabertooth x79
Corsair HX1050 PSU
Corsair H100 Liquid Cooling
Corsair Vengeance 16gb DDR3 1600mhz (4x4gb) x 2 = 32gb
Corsair 480gb Force Series Gt SSD
Asus Xonar Essence ST
EVGA gtx690

1) What do you guys think about the mobo? I've been deliberating long and hard between the sabertooth and the p9x79 pro or deluxe. Deluxe has bad reviews 50% DOA... but the pro has really good reviews. I also thought of getting the rampage iv extreme but I can't justify getting it. I'm not interested in OC yet. Not until a year later when I can afford to buy water blocks and chill out my machine. (and add another gtx690).

2) Another reason I went with this mobo is because it has a pci slot for the asus xonar st.
However, I do worry if its compatible with the other parts (memory, hard drive, etc)?

3) 32gb vs 16gb... This will be used for gaming, but more importantly, video editing (adobe based system). I'd like a smooth running computer and am thinking of 32gb but I keep reading about mem problems it really frightens me.. do you think the sabertooth can handle 32gb 1600mhz corsair vengeance mems?

4) HX1050 PSU is overkill now but I'm thinking of future proofing a lil. It should be fine right when I add custom liquid cooling blocks (for cpu, gpus, and rams) later with dual radiators, and another gtx690 -- say a year later, the hx1050 should still be able to supply enough power i hope?

5) Lastly, can someone please explain 4-way sli and quad sli to me?
with the gtx690, is there such a thing as 4-way sli? or can there only be quad sli? Meaning, a maximum of 2 cards since each card in essence is made out of 2 gpus?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post.
Apologies if they sound like terrible questions - i am kinda clueless atm.

Best,
J

 

[constepatdyak]

1-Your motherboard is a great motherboard
2-everything is compatible
3-Yes it can, 32gb is monstrous
4-Yes it will supply enough power a year on
5-with the 690, you can technically QUAD SLI as there are "2 GPUs" inside a graphics card unit. So you have 2 GTC 690s for example, that would be quad SLI, since you have "4" gpus working together

 

[ubercake]

I do like my pro board. I was particularly impressed with the construction and component quality compared to other boards I've used in the past. I'm sure either one of those boards will do you right. What I did like on the Pro version, because I'm running with two separate video cards in SLI, is two full PCIe slots of separation between the video cards. Since you already have two video cards in one with that 690, you might not even have to consider that.

I'm using one of those Vengeance 4x4 RAM kits on my board and it works like a charm. Before this, I had 12GB of RAM, moved over from my X58 system that weren't even on the QVL running just fine. If people are having RAM issues, they probably 1) Didn't upgrade the BIOS first using the BIOS flashback feature of the Asus motherboard (this is awesome) to ensure compatibility with the latest hardware 2) Got a bad module in their kit. More RAM equals power when you're processing video. You should be fine.

That PSU will give you a great foundation for the system and enough power for any future expansion possibilities.

 

[joels87]

Thank you so much for the quick response!

I'm still undecided for the motherboard.
I dont intend to OC now as I wont be abl to handle the heat.
But after a year or two, I fully intend to add another gtx690 and use liquid cooling for the entire system, and then OC the hell out of my cpu, ram, and gpus.
From this perspective, the Asus Rampage IV Extreme looks very favourable. However, it is $150 more expensive...

And some qualms I have:

1) Rampage IV Extreme doesnt have any PCI slots - which I was hoping to accomodate the asus Xonar essence st. Of course I can use get the Xonar essence STX instead but reviews keep saying its not as good as the ST

2) But if I go with the Sabertooth, I run the risk of not being able to OC as much. And, if I intend to go Quad SLI GTX690 in the future, I fear those massive cards will block the PCI slot too. And this mobo doesnt have blue tooth!


I am so lost
Any opinions?

 

[ubercake]

If you're not going to be gaming across three monitors, you're going to find you won't need 2 690s or whatever the next gen will be called (790s?). 1 will be more than sufficient for single monitor gaming and multi-monitor editing.