Most RELIABLE i7 Mobo ?

E

este

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 10, 2006
Messages
233
Hey,

I've been out of the loop for awhile but I'm building a new computer for an engineer at work. Its upgrade time and while I would like to wait awhile before jumping aboard i7 the computer he is using now (BadAxe2, Duo 6600, 4gb DDR2) will NOT post anymore so its time.

After my recent experience with the Intel board I am reluctant to go that way again. I'll forever also avoid Asus (F THEM and my P5B-D) So... I need to know which is the most reliable, not necessarily the best overclocking mobo for i7 ? I highly doubt I'll overclock this computer more then 3.0ghz.

I was looking at the Gigabyte EX58-UD3R, the MSI X58 Platinum, or the ????

Recommendations ?
 
In terms of reliability, I don't think you'll find much useful information yet- the i7 boards have only been out for so long and the user pool isn't large enough to have collected data.

However, there are things you can control such as the warranty provided, etc..
 
Evga's board seems to be gaining popularity.They certainly come in first for customer service,and their lifetime warranty can't be beat.
 
I should have been more clear... I need it to post and boot.

100% of the time - no exceptions.

The EVGA seems to be set up (and priced) for overclocking. But, if its the best out there and there will be continued support and not just an incremented part number I'm all for it.

Is the MSI considered a better buy the the Giga (the one with the 4 dimms or the 6) ?
 
if you're looking for that type of reliabilty and certainty, then might I suggest you don't adopt new technology and invest in a LGA775 setup?

Nothing is certain with hardware no matter what you buy (there's always a chnace of a bad capacitor, bios chip, etc), but asking for it from a line of mothboards that haven't been to the gereral public for much more than 2 months is a bit naive.

Plus, a Q6600 and 4 gig of DDR2 is still pretty top shelf, and if turns out it's his mobo, maybe just buying a new one might be a cheaper and more reliable setup.
 
kencheeto said:
In terms of reliability, I don't think you'll find much useful information yet- the i7 boards have only been out for so long and the user pool isn't large enough to have collected data.
Click to expand...

+1 :cool:
 
Sorry, but what does it mean to post when you say "post and boot"?

Also, the Asus P6T Deluxe seems to be popular as well, I'd give it a chance regardless of your bad experience with them. If not, the EVGA is the same price, and EVGA is known for their outstanding customer care, rather than just service. Regardless, these boards are too new to be able to pick out a king.
 
One thing that has to be pointed out is that the X58 is really an enthusiast level board,so they all are designed to some degree with overclocking in mind.The platform itself is still very new,so all the various makes will probably have some issues to be ironed out.If you have to make a decision now,sticking with a LGA775 system is a reasonable suggestion,the platform itself is a proven winner that will be around for some time to come.
 
There's also a Gigabyte UD5 X58 motherboard that you can take a look at. It's about $90 more than the UD3R so it might not be worth it in your case.
 
este said:
I should have been more clear... I need it to post and boot.

100% of the time - no exceptions.

The EVGA seems to be set up (and priced) for overclocking. But, if its the best out there and there will be continued support and not just an incremented part number I'm all for it.

Is the MSI considered a better buy the the Giga (the one with the 4 dimms or the 6) ?
Click to expand...
The EVGA is priced in line with all of the X58 motherboards with a similar feature set.

I looked at the ASUS P6T, the EVGA X58 SLI, and the DFI X58 board and I felt the EVGA was perfect for what I wanted, and the board layout appealed to me the most. So I picked the EVGA.

If you're purchasing an i7 X58 setup right now, all of the setups are going to be geared towards enthusiasts, since it's a brand new platform and the i7s released right now are not really aimed at the basic consumer.
 
I have the EX58-EXtreme from gigabyte and like it alot, probably would have went UD5 as the only difference is the extreme comes with the silent pipe II and waterblock for the NB which doesnt even get that warm with neither of them on there :)
 
You want something that boots 100% of the time, and nobody has mentioned the Intel branded boxed board.

As much as we all know they're not for enthusiasts, they are far and away probably the most stable boards becuase they are the most cutting edge cram the board with feature-"less" boards there are.

Consider anything else and I'd say you'd honestly be crazy.

Intel now = Supermicro server boards way back in the day.

There really was no alternative for long term, high uptime usage.
 
Just built a box using the Intel X58 board. Completely flawless installation, configuration, and operation. Small sample size, I know, but just tossing in my experience.
 
P6T Deluxe, amazing and it took a beating when i was installing the damn Akasa Nero. Easy to use and 200+ BCLK easy.
 
Nobody knows what the most reliable board is right now but the board with the best support is probably the evga board.
 
Even though your saying that you'll forever avoid ASUS, the [H] review on the ASUS P6T6 WS Revolution seems to be a bullet proof contender for stability. I myself am looking at the Gigabyte UD3R but may end up going with the UD4P depending on how the Phenom 2 chips look when they come out in a couple days. Though I'm pretty sure my expectations are not going to be changing and will probably end up ordering some i7 parts at the end of the month. My main concern is getting a descent SLI board for my next upgrade so I can keep my two 8800GT 512's for now, and I'm just not seeing that happening with the AMD 750a/780a boards.
 
stiltner said:
You want something that boots 100% of the time, and nobody has mentioned the Intel branded boxed board.

As much as we all know they're not for enthusiasts, they are far and away probably the most stable boards becuase they are the most cutting edge cram the board with feature-"less" boards there are.

Consider anything else and I'd say you'd honestly be crazy.

Intel now = Supermicro server boards way back in the day.

There really was no alternative for long term, high uptime usage.
Click to expand...


Correct

Intel DX58OS board. No OC options but stable as it is going to get.
 
As far as working out of the box, I don't think of the major brands any one is better than the next. Most often than not, shipping is the issue. ASUS, Gigabyte, and EVGA do a great job of protecting its products from shipping damage though.
 
AciDeX said:
Even though your saying that you'll forever avoid ASUS, the [H] review on the ASUS P6T6 WS Revolution seems to be a bullet proof contender for stability. I myself am looking at the Gigabyte UD3R but may end up going with the UD4P depending on how the Phenom 2 chips look when they come out in a couple days. Though I'm pretty sure my expectations are not going to be changing and will probably end up ordering some i7 parts at the end of the month. My main concern is getting a descent SLI board for my next upgrade so I can keep my two 8800GT 512's for now, and I'm just not seeing that happening with the AMD 750a/780a boards.
Click to expand...

Yep, I think the P6T6 will be my next board as I watch things shape up.

If you are considering ci7, Phenom II will not be on your radar.
 
Except, according to the review the P6T6 won't work in 3-way SLI mode. They had to wait for ASUS to come up with a beta BIOS update to fix it. Still waiting for the public release. A major new feature that doesn't work is kind of pathetic. Once again, customers doing the QC.

Prolly best to wait for the BIOS update to fix the fu before handing over the bread. Or just use in 2-way till the fix comes in.
 
AciDeX said:
Sure I'm getting 1gb less of RAM with the i7, but I think I can live with that until the 2gb DDR3 sticks come down in price.
Click to expand...

Huh? Egg is selling a Corsair 3x2GB 1.65v. triple channel kit for $209. Not very much for 6GB of bleeding edge DDR3 memory. Can't get out of Costco for less than that! ;)
 
dkjack said:
Huh? Egg is selling a Corsair 3x2GB 1.65v. triple channel kit for $209. Not very much for 6GB of bleeding edge DDR3 memory. Can't get out of Costco for less than that! ;)
Click to expand...
$180 if you go with OCZs Gold GB kit, CAS8 too.
 
True, though that turns my $700+ upgrade into an $800+ upgrade considering I need a new harddrive, fans and probably a new heatsink too. I think I can live with 3Gb of RAM for a couple months, if not then I'll throw down for more down the line. No biggie, but I don't want to hijack the OP's thread talking about what I should spend my $$ on, I'm sure he'll have more questions soon enough. :D

*Edit, Just to clairify. Upgrading RAM is allways an easy option. The motherboard on the otherhand is usually an investment you have to live with. Just like the OP I want a stable mainboard that will grow with my system. I can allways get more memory, and probably at a descent discount compared with the initial cost plunge. Theres alot of variables I'm taking into account and if I wanted to go cheap I would have already dropped some cash on a C2Q but have stayed away from DDR2 for this long why jump in now? Hell as far as gaming goes my nForce4 and 4400+ has done nothing but impress me. It's when I get into Video editing and decoding where my CPU takes a beating. This is where the i7 and the q9550 has got my attention. Until the end of the month rolls around I have plenty of time to debate cost effectivness, and watch the prices fall(if they do, on RAM at least).
 
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