• Welcome to Overclockers Forums! Join us to reply in threads, receive reduced ads, and to customize your site experience!

Which mobo should I get?

Overclockers is supported by our readers. When you click a link to make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn More.

eprox1

Registered
Joined
May 14, 2009
Hey guys - first time overclocker here.

So I've been glued to slickdeals.net over the past couple of months, and have slowly been collecting everything I need for my Core i7 build.

I have everything except the motherboard, and I'm sick of waiting for a deal.

Here's what I have so far -
- Intel Core i7 920 CPU w/ stock heatsink
- OCZ DDR3 1333MHz RAM 2GB (x3 - 6GB total)
- PNY nVidia GeForce 9500 GT 512MB DDR2 PCIe 2.0 [x2] ($15 each @ Microcenter!)
- Corsair CMPSU-620HX Modular 620W PSU
- Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB HDD [x2]
- Antec P183 Case

I guess my only requirements are that I would like to try out setting up SLI with the two graphics cards, maybe a RAID 0 or 1 config with the HDDs, and some very mild overclocking (as I have never overclocked anything before).

I was initially thinking the EVGA X58, only because that's what everyone seems to be raving about and it seemed like it could easily handle the things I wanted to do with my new build. Still, I'm not sure if something like that would be overkill for what I'm trying to do. I guess I thought it would be best to ask here before I went out and spent ~$300 for a board I'm not sure I even need. Who knows though - maybe I will get really into overclocking and the board will be worth it as my system grows?

Thanks a lot guys.
 
Last edited:
hmm.... go with the i7 920 of course :)

i am not digging the graphics though, sure they are cheap, but.... you cant do anything with them, even in sli.
 
Haha yeah. I know the video cards are weak as hell, but I just couldn't turn them down for $15 each. I'm not huge on PC gaming or anything, anyways - and they are most certainly a step up from what I currently have. I'll upgrade them as my wallet starts to grow again.

I do have the i7 920 - I forgot to mention that.

I was looking at some of the Gigabyte boards - does the EVGA E758-A1 have any sort of advantage over the GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R (besides knocking back an extra $100)? I hear the Gigabyte BIOS can be flashed to support SLI, but would have to look more into that...
 
1 major difference that comes to mind when comparing the UD3R to the E758 is the onboard cooling. The UD3R uses passive cooling all the way around. The E758 has active cooling on the northbridge and the VREG uses a tall cooler with two heatpipes (still requires active cooling if your going to push it hard).

Also the number of ram slots is different. The E758 has 6 slots where the UD3R has 4. This may or may not be an issue for the individual user.

I own an E758, soon to be stepped up to a Classified, and I just placed an order for a UD3R to use temporarily. If you do get the UD3R buy it from the ewiz ebay store. I got mine for $175 after ~$15 in instant cashback and there is still a $15 MIR that I can claim.
 
I've had good luck with the UD3R- I've overclocked two of them to 4Ghz with 920 cpus. I used 3 2GB DDR3 sticks and I'll be building more computers with this board. The great thing about Giga boards is that if you get the right BIOS version the S3 sleep function will work at overclocked speed.
 
So I have an open-box ASUS P6T Deluxe in my cart for ~$200 from Newegg, which is right in my price range. Think I should bite? I've heard that ASUS quality has slowly been declining over the years...

Would something like this pair well with a Thermalright Extreme TRUE-120 Black? Or possibly the Noctua NH-U12P?
 
Keep in mind that the open box item may not come with any accessories and I'm not sure how much warranty you will have left on the package.
 
Yeah it is, but that is the least of your worries if Asus doesn't stand behind the product and you only get the 15 or 30 day newegg warranty.
 
Yeah it is, but that is the least of your worries if Asus doesn't stand behind the product and you only get the 15 or 30 day newegg warranty.

According to one of my friends, he's had good success with Asus warranties even with Open Box products.
 
I think that I'm going to grab it. I will most likely upgrade to one of the EVGA X58 boards when I get some more cash. I think I'm going to grab one of those Thermalright Extreme True 120 Black heatsinks sometime soon, as well.

I can't wait until this thing is finally built.

I'm sure you'll be hearing from me soon when I can't get the thing to post :).

Thanks guys.
 
Back