Suggestions for X58 board (~$200 - $250)

4

4x4not

Gawd
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Mar 26, 2007
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I'm building myself a new i7 machine and am having trouble deciding on motherboards. The two I'm looking at right now are these:

  • Newegg: GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R ($209.99 + $7.87 shipping + $14.99 forwading) = $232.85
  • TigerDirect: EVGA X58 SLI LE ($239.99 + $0.00 shipping - $20 MIR) = $219.99

The forwarding fee is due to my having to ship to an APO address, which Newegg will not ship directly to, whereas TigerDirect will.

So, which board does anyone recommend? Or other X58 boards in that price range as well.
 
The gigabyte has usb/sata 3 and two full x16 pci express slots. You're limited to x16/x8 with that EVGA LE board. Between the two I would go with the gigabyte.

More info may help with recommendations - Is multi GPU support important to you? what about overclocking... etc.
 
True... I suppose I should put some more info on my uses.

  • I don't play any games at the moment but that may change. Even so, I'm planning on a single 5770 for the time being. I will be running dual displays @ 1920x1080 (or maybe 1920x1200).
  • Overclocking wise, I will probaby go for a mild air-cooled overclock, try for at least 3.0 - 3.2Ghz out of the i7.
  • I will be running 6 x 2GB DDR3

I like the idea of the USB 3.0 and SATA 6GB on the Gigabyte, but don't think I'll have much use for it at the moment. I suppose upgradability is nice though. I haven't seen too many reviews on the Gigabyte board. Saw lots of good and some bad aboput the EVGA. The thing that worries me the most is the reports of the high-pitched noise, which would drive me absolutely nutty.
 
I have never had a bad board from Gigabyte. They're kind of vanilla in terms of "looks" but most of them are made with really high quality components (like solid capacitors and digital phases). Also, they're usually a good value for what you get. I hate to sound like a fanboy, but I really wouldn't buy from another manufacturer.
 
I don't think the 16x and 8x difference is noticable IIRC - I run the SLI LE and I love the board. Running 4.2 w/ 12gig rock solid on air. The APO shipping is nice, how soon are you looking to get the board?

Have you thought about RAM yet?
 
The X58 LE will run hot.

If you're going to get an X58 board from EVGA, I would only bother getting a classified and watercooling it. Really, if $150 for the board is that big of a deal, you should reconsider X58. My X58 SLI runs hot even with much better VREG and NB cooling.
 
Newegg ships to APOs, they just charge more to put it through the post office.
 
I did have a concern initially, but I reapplied thermal paste to the vreg and nb - it dropped my temps and I have a lot of airflow as well though.
 
I like EVGA don't get me wrong. I like the onboard power and reset buttons, and the LED showing CPU temp at a glance is great. They have generally good support and forums. The x58 SLI I recently built has performed beyond expectations and turned out to be one of the easiest overclocks yet. I don't like the LE because you get more for your money with the UD3R.

You get 8 + 2 PWM instead of 6 + 2, better cooling, SATA/USB 3, x16 x16 SLI or Xfire, older floppy/IDE support (not so relevant these days but worth noting)... I was even surprised to find theres a better warranty (3 year as opposed to the 1 year you get for the LE).

IMO it's irrelevant if there is a performance difference between x16 x16 or x16 x8, or if you'll use USB3 or not when the difference in price boils down to whether you get your rebate or not.

I noticed TD had what looked like an amazing price on the XFX X58 but it seems to have a number of terrible reviews and looks like it may be a headache. Clearly you've done some homework and either board will do well. Go with X58A UD3R for the features/value and X58 LE for the forums/support.
 
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I think I've decided to get the Gigabyte. I need to order the PS and video card from the Egg anyway, so I might as well add the motherboard. I do like Gigabyte and the future tech stuff is tempting.
 
maro said:
I noticed TD had what looked like an amazing price on the XFX X58 but it seems to have a number of terrible reviews and looks like it may be a headache.
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I originally had this board in my cart until I read the reviews. No thank you XFX! :D
 
SeaFoam said:
The APO shipping is nice, how soon are you looking to get the board?

Have you thought about RAM yet?
Click to expand...

Normally APO to me is only delayed a week from what it would be in the States. I'm hoping to finish this build by the middle of next month.

As for RAM, I think I'm going to 2 x 3 x 2GB DDR3. TD has a good price on OCZ Platinum PC14400 and two sets of 6GB would be nice. Anyone have anything good (or bad) to say about that stuff?
 
If you have heat issues put a small 40mm fan on the Northbridge cooler. It has DRASTIC results.

DSC00177.jpg


I had a Vanilla x58 and went and bought a LE version instead. Only using one graphics card and the extra LAN port is pointless along with the eSATA for me.

It looks 100x better than the Vanilla one and the Classified with the HUGE Northbridge cooler that gets in the way.

I wouldn't spend big bucks on a Classified motherboard as I'm sure USB 3.0 equipped boards will be flooding the market soon making it and all others obsolete.

Or you can put a Thermalright HR-05 on the motherboard in place of the stock northbridge cooler for even better results. I found it to be overkill and removed mine....

DSC00021.jpg


DSC00022.jpg
 
Running EVGA X58 758 for the past 9 months without a hitch.

Lifetime warranty as well. Only downside is USB header placement if you plan on SLI/Crossfire and limited space for larger CPU heatsinks like the Megahalems, but just use a H50....problem solved.
 
shawnoen said:
If you have heat issues put a small 40mm fan on the Northbridge cooler. It has DRASTIC results.

DSC00177.jpg


I had a Vanilla x58 and went and bought a LE version instead. Only using one graphics card and the extra LAN port is pointless along with the eSATA for me.

It looks 100x better than the Vanilla one and the Classified with the HUGE Northbridge cooler that gets in the way.

I wouldn't spend big bucks on a Classified motherboard as I'm sure USB 3.0 equipped boards will be flooding the market soon making it and all others obsolete.

Or you can put a Thermalright HR-05 on the motherboard in place of the stock northbridge cooler for even better results. I found it to be overkill and removed mine....

DSC00021.jpg


DSC00022.jpg
Click to expand...

Obsolete? LOL. I won't be buying or using ANY USB 3 stuff, until probably everything is USB 3 and I have no choice in the matter, why would anyone need USB 3?

Do you have $1k to drop on an SSD that actually takes advantage of SATA 6?

:rolleyes:
 
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i cant figure out what all the toenail biting about usb 3.0 is about. how fast are the fastest usb devices? maybe 30mb/s? how many guys here have tons of usb 3.0 devices that are starving for bandwidth? pretty much the same goes for the sata 6gb.
 
4x4not said:
I think I've decided to get the Gigabyte. I need to order the PS and video card from the Egg anyway, so I might as well add the motherboard. I do like Gigabyte and the future tech stuff is tempting.
Click to expand...

good work. i love the board i got. it's in my sig. good luck bro. Also, i've got 12 gigs of the OCZ gold. So far, no problems. I'm sure the platinum will be even better.
 
how did you attach that 40mm fan, hot glue? seems like double sided tape wouldn't be strong enough.
 
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