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Gensou

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Joined
Nov 12, 2009
I'm having the hardest time deciding which motherboard to get. I don't have a lot of cash to spend freely so I want to get a good quality motherboard that will last me a while and can OC very nicely.

The three I have in mind:

Please, do not vote for a board just because it's "prettier". I really don't care how it looks, I just care about the quality of the board and how well it handles an i7 920. I'm anti-fanboy also, so no bloodrage suggestions. ( I heard foxconn is going under sometime in June anyways..meaning no support for hardware, etc )

Thanks
 
RIIE hands down. If you are limited on funds, there are many other quality boards that are cheaper you could use. If you are planning on running a single card, id think about the mATX EVGA board. Its a VERY stout board and clocks well.

If you are looking to do some high benching, then by all means go with a RIIE or a Classified (from EVGA), otherwise if you want a nice 4-4.2ghz everyday clock, Id scale it down a bit if you want to save some bucks.

Here is the mATX EVGA: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188051
 
Well, I'm not getting the motherboard specifically for benching. I will play games, do homework, listen to music, bench here and there, overclock, do some video encoding.
I was thinking of getting the Open Box RIIE ( $280 shipped from newegg ).
 
Honestly, if you dont plan on going much over 4ghz for an overclock, save $70 - $100 and get a brand new board, like the one I linked above (if you dont mind mATX, some people are anal and wont buy them for whatever reason, they work just as well). Put that extra money towards a better HDD or Video card (if you are gaming, which card do you plan on getting anyways?, if a 5850, that money can goto a 5870).
 
I have a 5770 currently and will crossfire in the future. I want to run the i7 @ 4.0 maybe 4.2 24/7? Is that possible with my cooling ( Megahalems with 2 88cfm yate loons in push/pull)?
 
A user is offering me an open boxed RIIE with everything guaranteed included for $280 shipped. Should I take the offer? Would I be better off in the long run with the RIIE or a cheaper board?
 
Again, like I said above. If you are on a budget like you say you are, you can easily do 4ghz overclock with a board that costs $180. If you want to pay for the RIIE, by all means go ahead, its a great board. Usually when people start saying they are budgeting, I will give options that will serve their purpose and gives them a quality product.
 
Again, like I said above. If you are on a budget like you say you are, you can easily do 4ghz overclock with a board that costs $180. If you want to pay for the RIIE, by all means go ahead, its a great board. Usually when people start saying they are budgeting, I will give options that will serve their purpose and gives them a quality product.
+1
:beer:
 
I a miser, so do not like spending a lot of money on stuff :)

4.2 HTT should be doable on any board with adequate cooling. More than that is iffy. There are only a couple of boards that do not have a wall at 220-222 BCLK, so unless you are intending to push for the limits of the CPU, I would save some money and get a nice cheap board :)

I picked up a E758 off of ebay for under $200 and it ramps right up to 222x21 with no problem. Not 1 MHz more is possible though.

4.4HTT is easy peasy and a good "overclock setting" for this setup. I do not like the board layout, design or anytihng, but it is a super solid and powerful up to its limits. Make sure you have needle nose pliers if you want to hook up the 8 pin CPU and CPU fan header though LOL Its really got a bad layout.
 
Thanks guys, I'll be going with the DFI. It handles RAM VERY VERY nicely and I've seen people hit 5ghz+ on i7 920 with it. Some people said it's even better than the classi.
 
Thanks guys, I'll be going with the DFI. It handles RAM VERY VERY nicely and I've seen people hit 5ghz+ on i7 920 with it. Some people said it's even better than the classi.

unless you are "expert" i'd stay away from the DFI boards.
They can o/c like crazy but require a lot of tweaking and can be real finicky on what ram/power supplies they work with.

Check out the dfistreet forums to see what i mean.
 
Gensou, I got the Asus Rampage 2 Extreme.
It was a deal I couldn't pass up. "Pulling the trigger", as in purchase one.
Robble has a good point. DFI's can be tricky. Alot of extra bios settings and can be frustrating for the impatient.
The Asus and Gigabyte's are more user friendly.
 
I have "pulled the trigger".

I bought Asus Rampage II Extreme for $275 shipped. Good move, yes?
 
RIIE is a very good board, but I doubt you'll see much of a difference between that one and the Gigabyte EX58-UD5. I would also suggest looking at the ASUS P6T if you're on a tight budget.
 
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