Question about CPU socket

thearm

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Good day... I am casually looking at top of the line motherboards (but not top of the line processors) to possibly build a new gaming PC for myself. In the past, I would focus manly on the motherboard with the highest CPU socket 'pins'. Should I not be doing that? I assumed the motherboard with the highest CPU socket number, generally speaking, would be the one to get. So, I've been looking at 2011 LGA boards. Is that thinking incorrect these days?

The ASUS Rampage IV Extreme in particular is what I was looking at.

Thank you folks!
 
Solution
^ That's just fine, but what are you doing with this build?

If it's mostly gaming, you don't need a 3930K or a LGA 2011 board. For mostly gaming, a Z77 LGA 1155 board with an i5 3570K is perfect. You don't need anything more, and won't until it's time to upgrade the whole system again.

If you're doing TONS of video editing and/or 3D modeling, then the 3930K is beneficial (I would suggest more than 16GB of RAM for those uses, though), but a LGA 1155 i7 3770K is still great for that, too.

Basically, LGA 2011 is WAY overkill, unless time means money for you.

cl-scott

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I would say that the motherboard selection should follow the CPU selection.

Start by looking at some of the CPU comparison articles on this site, and a few others like it. Narrow your selection down to maybe 2-3 different CPUs, and then check your favorite places to buy CPUs and see what the prices look like. It's entirely possible one might be too rich for your blood, or another isn't as readily available in your area as you may like. Once you have 1-2 CPU options, then you can start looking at motherboards compatible with those CPUs, and one CPU might have a clearly superior board for your purposes, which would push that combo over the edge.
 

thearm

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Eh, that make sense. I usually start with the motherboard though in case I want a top of the line CPU in the future.

I'm on Tom's about every day but I'm not a fan of the new charts. I just cant get use to them and if you're not VERY careful with the drop down at the bottom of the page, it will roll back up on you... But anyway, that's off topic. Thanks for your feedback.
 

thearm

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Ok, so I was thinking about this setup:

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) Desktop Memory Model F3-17000CL11Q-16GBXL

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231473

ASUS Rampage IV Extreme LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Extended ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131802

Intel Core i7-3930K Sandy Bridge-E 3.2GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 2011 130W Six-Core Desktop Processor BX80619i73930K

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116492

What do you guys think?
 
^ That's just fine, but what are you doing with this build?

If it's mostly gaming, you don't need a 3930K or a LGA 2011 board. For mostly gaming, a Z77 LGA 1155 board with an i5 3570K is perfect. You don't need anything more, and won't until it's time to upgrade the whole system again.

If you're doing TONS of video editing and/or 3D modeling, then the 3930K is beneficial (I would suggest more than 16GB of RAM for those uses, though), but a LGA 1155 i7 3770K is still great for that, too.

Basically, LGA 2011 is WAY overkill, unless time means money for you.
 
Solution

thearm

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lol Time is not money... This is for gaming :) In the past, I've built PC's for myself that where just under the top of the line (a7v8x, GA-680SLI-DQ6, to my current Striker II NSE) and this time I wanted to do it RIGHT! But, you are probably right. I'll look into the LGA 1155 boards and that 3570K processor.

I also wanted two PCIe ports that did 16x in SLI which I didn't think was possible until, I thought, the beginning of the year (I could be wrong).
 

Awackypenguin

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A PCIe 3.0 at 8x is the same as a PCIe 2.0 16x. Just a FYI ;)