Help picking i7 board

gr33n · Jul 3, 2009

Hey all, i am looking to build a new i7 rig, and was wondering which mobo to go with. some that i was looking at:

Right now my favorite is the Foxconn Bloodrage GTI ~230 USD, but i'm also considering:

GA UD3 ~190
I would also consider going the uATX route: msi 58M, asus gene, lanparty jr

Any help would be greatly appreciated :santa:

rdrash · Jul 3, 2009

I have a soft spot in my heart for Gigabyte boards. They aren't always the best in benchmarking but still are very reliable and sturdy platforms in my expereince, and generally are not too complex in BIOS.

Cant.Touch.This · Jul 3, 2009

Have you seen the Foxconn FlamingBlade?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186171

The board decreases its PCI-E x16 slots from four to two, back to onboard audio by Realtek, and some changes in board design. But you save only $20 from that Bloodrage.

EDIT: I just looked again and there's a Flamingblade GTI (ICH10) as well.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186170

I found this 16 page article on the Foxconn boards, http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mainboards/display/foxconn-bloodrage.html.

Egrimm · Jul 4, 2009

I've heard more good things about the Gigabyte than the Foxconn, actually considered that board before getting the Rampage II.

CharlieCS · Jul 4, 2009

If mATX is an option consider this evga ,http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=611053 , they should be available in a week or so .

Brolloks · Jul 4, 2009

Any of the following mid range X58 boards will give you very good OC results at a affordable price...very easy bios as well to work with

EVGA X58 LE

DFI JR X58

Asus Rampage Gene

Gigabyte X58 UD4P

If you want something stronger the Asus Rampage Extreme II, Foxconn Bloodrage or Gigabyte X58 Xtreme will maximize your OC

I have had all of the above so feel free to ask any questions

flagship · Jul 4, 2009

hey, i had a question with the uATX. do the components (cpu, vid card, ram, mobo, etc.) run hotter b/c everything's closer together? with respect to the evga le, that only comes with 1 x16 slot right? also does the ud4 have anything over the ud3 within normal usage? thanks : p

tech9 · Jul 4, 2009

I just got a EVGA LE board, and I have to say its a pretty damn good deal! Great board!

Cant.Touch.This · Jul 4, 2009

flagship said:
hey, i had a question with the uATX. do the components (cpu, vid card, ram, mobo, etc.) run hotter b/c everything's closer together? with respect to the evga le, that only comes with 1 x16 slot right? also does the ud4 have anything over the ud3 within normal usage? thanks : p

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=589671

For micro-ATX boards, I believe it's just shorter in length (cropped) - the components aren't necessarily bunched together. So, I'd say no, it won't run hotter.

The EVGA X58 LE has 4 PCI-E x16 slots.. or am I looking at the wrong board? (The board looks badass though)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188049&Tpk=EVGA X58 LE

Sorry to threadjack for a moment but, for boards like this EVGA, since that PCI-E x1 slot is blocked with a double slotted graphics, could you just run the GPU at the lower PCI-E slots at full x16?

gr33n · Jul 4, 2009

i don't mind others asking questions, they help me too ^^. Another thing i've found is that at least with the asus boards you can unlock a higher cpu multiplier with turbo mode. is this the case with most boards? also, is it a big deal, or can you usually get the bclck up high enough to not matter much on air cooling?

Slayn · Jul 5, 2009

The X58 LE runs at a x16/x8/x4/x8 because of the 4 pci-e ports. The X58 micro has two at x16 with a x1 in the middle of the two. Can only use it if you run a single slot card in the top. So for isntance you can run a dual slot card in the bottom x16 slot and then run two single pci-e cards in the top ( such as sound, nic, physx ).

Cant.Touch.This · Jul 5, 2009

Slayn said:
The X58 LE runs at a x16/x8/x4/x8 because of the 4 pci-e ports. The X58 micro has two at x16 with a x1 in the middle of the two. Can only use it if you run a single slot card in the top. So for isntance you can run a dual slot card in the bottom x16 slot and then run two single pci-e cards in the top ( such as sound, nic, physx ).

Answered my question in full, thank you.

MrFixit · Jul 5, 2009

gr33n said:
i don't mind others asking questions, they help me too ^^. Another thing i've found is that at least with the asus boards you can unlock a higher cpu multiplier with turbo mode. is this the case with most boards? also, is it a big deal, or can you usually get the bclck up high enough to not matter much on air cooling?

I have to put the plug in for FOXCONN, they have a great following with many forums posting BIOS settings to get you OC'd.
Turbo Enable- CPU and System Turbo
The board is seriously feature rich with dual bios, on board PWR/RST for bench posting, overclock recovery, and more. They even have a bios to set PCI-E clock up a tick or 2.

I have the BloodRage(Non-GTI), and it's worth the extra $20. Most people getting 3.6 to 4 Ghz on air with this board E.Z. I liked my ASUS P5Q-SE, but this thing kicks butt (and looks good doing it)
I have easily set bClk 160 and 180 on the i7 920 on air temps Idle 38c LOADED 70c

Other than color schemes ASUS, GB, and EVGA seem fine boards in the x58 class. Seriously, the GB board looks like a box of Lego's.
EVGA a bit high on price.

Bloodrage has 775 mounting holes so you can still use your 775 cooler and
better spacing for SLI/Crossfire as they spread the 16x slots a bit over the other boards. Most boards, double wide cards would be back to back.

BPM · Jul 6, 2009

I don't know that this information will be useful except as an FYI, but I noticed "Foxconn" branding on the onboard audio of my Gigabyte EX58 UD3R. You can see the branding in the picture here (select the top view, zoom in on the onboard audio):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowI...E GA-EX58-UD3R ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

It just makes me curious what other components may be the same.

MrFixit · Jul 6, 2009

Same with my old ASUS board. From the WIKI:
Foxconn is the largest manufacturer of electronics and computer components worldwide, and mainly manufactures on contract to other companies. Although sometimes referred to as an original equipment manufacturer, Foxconn would be more accurately described as an original design manufacturer. Among other things, Foxconn produces the Mac mini, the iPod and the iPhone for Apple Inc.; Intel-branded motherboards for Intel Corp.; various orders for American computer retailers Dell, Inc. and Hewlett Packard; the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 for Sony; the Wii for Nintendo;the Xbox 360 for Microsoft, cell phones for Motorola, and the Amazon Kindle.

Cant.Touch.This · Jul 6, 2009

MrFixit said:
Same with my old ASUS board. From the WIKI:
Foxconn is the largest manufacturer of electronics and computer components worldwide, and mainly manufactures on contract to other companies. Although sometimes referred to as an original equipment manufacturer, Foxconn would be more accurately described as an original design manufacturer. Among other things, Foxconn produces the Mac mini, the iPod and the iPhone for Apple Inc.; Intel-branded motherboards for Intel Corp.; various orders for American computer retailers Dell, Inc. and Hewlett Packard; the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 for Sony; the Wii for Nintendo;the Xbox 360 for Microsoft, cell phones for Motorola, and the Amazon Kindle.

Nice bit of info there MrFixit, wasn't aware they produced such a range of products.

antipesto93 · Jul 6, 2009

MrFixit said:
Same with my old ASUS board. From the WIKI:
Foxconn is the largest manufacturer of electronics and computer components worldwide, and mainly manufactures on contract to other companies. Although sometimes referred to as an original equipment manufacturer, Foxconn would be more accurately described as an original design manufacturer. Among other things, Foxconn produces the Mac mini, the iPod and the iPhone for Apple Inc.; Intel-branded motherboards for Intel Corp.; various orders for American computer retailers Dell, Inc. and Hewlett Packard; the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 for Sony; the Wii for Nintendo;the Xbox 360 for Microsoft, cell phones for Motorola, and the Amazon Kindle.

WOW
you learn something new every day :beer:

i too am looking for an i7 board, and am learning towards the GA UD3
but the ASROCK X58 keeps popping up and cheap prices,
but have allways hated asrock...allways been a cheapo low quality company in my mind...have no idea why

antipesto93 · Jul 6, 2009

there should be a guide of "what x58 board "
with benches and pros/con's of each

MrFixit · Jul 6, 2009

Cant.Touch.This said:
Nice bit of info there MrFixit, wasn't aware they produced such a range of products.

Thanks Touch, I was suspect of Mobo's outside the big 3, Asus, GB, and EVGA, so I researched FOXCONN, and decided they make enough stuff, they are probably good at it.

So far so good.

Help picking i7 board

gr33n

New Member

rdrash

Senior Member, Benching Team Member

Cant.Touch.This

Member

Egrimm

Registered

CharlieCS

Member

Brolloks

Benching Senior on Siesta, Premium Member #8

flagship

Member

tech9

Member

Cant.Touch.This

Member

gr33n

New Member

Slayn

Member

Cant.Touch.This

Member

MrFixit

New Member

BPM

Member

MrFixit

New Member

Cant.Touch.This

Member

antipesto93

Member

antipesto93

Member

MrFixit

New Member

Similar threads