New Build|Motherboard options...

First let me introduce myself. brand new to the site, i have already learned a ton from you guys and hope to keep learning more.

now i have just recently started a new build. this is my very first build and i am extremely excited about it, i just want everything to go smoothly and have no regrets down the road. i am a couple months away from my completion because i work very hard in saving my money to purchase these high end and highly expensive components they sell now a days, but i am looking for nothing short of the best.
you can see the short list of parts i have bought so far, excluding the motherboard i have listed. i am about 98% sure i want to go with the Asus Rampage III extreme because i honestly don't see a better board on the shelf.

now my plans are, after my build, is to start trying some overclocking. maybe some games, (haven't gone down that road yet). and some music producing software. (pro-tools for example).
but most of all just because i love computers, and its my only hobby.

so down to business...

is there a better motherboard than the Rampage III?
what about the EVGA classified 4way SLI ?
any other suggestions?
now i have been doing a ton of research and i think i know the answer to this, but are there any latest boards that support usb 3.0 headers? i just bought the CM HAFX case with front panel USB 3.0 and would love to hook those up.

i appreciate your hospitality and give you thanks in advance!
bare with me and my build that's not even close to being done and to the many more questions i will be asking!

Intel2.06

Welcome to the Overclockers.com and the forums.

The "R3E" is a nice motherboard but there are plenty of other more mainstream boards out there that will do what you are most likely needing out of motherboard at a more affordable price point. Is there some reason you really even need the capability of something like the Classified 4-way? Don't get me wrong I've been going back and forth considering a R3E since before it was officially released but if you are working hard at saving up your "coin" for this build you might want to consider other options on where and how much you need to spend on it.

As an example of something more mainstream... I recently picked up a good condition Gigabyte X58A-UD3R (as a second owner) for a back up board and it runs/overclocks quite nicely. What cpu were you thinking of running? i7 930? Ultimately it is the quality (batch) of the individual chip that determines how well it overclocks. You might be able to get little more out of a particular cpu from a high end motherboard then a mainstream one but it won't turn an average cpu into an excellent overclocker.

hey thanks for the reply! i already bought an i7 940 cpu. i plan to liquid cool it with the h70. no, there's no specific reason i need all the toys the classified comes with. but with being in the same price range as the rampage i gave it consideration. i looked at a lot of gigabyte boards, nice, but not what im really looking for. i hope this helps! and thanks again.
intel2.06

I bet you worked hard for that money...and great job to save up. But I have a question...would you be good with the Nissan GTR for $80k as opposed to say a ferrari that is just as fast at $150k?

I say that b/c you dont need any of the boards you listed (R3E and Classiefied). So far your listed requirements were USB3 and dabbling in overclocking. ALL OF THESE will work just fine.

And while its nice to hook it up... do you have any USB3 devices currently? Im sure you will get some and it is a nice feature to have.

The giga boards have USB as you can see by my link above. So what are you REALLY looking for???

EDIT: What will give you all options and save you a bundle? MSI Big Bang-Xpower for $300. And even that is likely overkill.

i love your imput, sometimes i need a reality check. thats the main reason i signed up to this forum.
but honestly, if i could save up more money and wait a little longer, to me buying a ferrari would be more worth while, and id be happier in the end. who wouldnt take a ferrari over a nissan? money isnt really a problem to me. if that means prolonging my build then so be it.

with that list you gave me showed the new Sabertooth x58 by Asus, any comments about this board? will it be able to overclock my 940 to at least 4ghz? i have no problem going with a cheaper route, i just want to be happy with my end result. thats all. no regrets.
thanks!
intel2.06

Just about any board should hold up to 4ghz. You can use the cheapo EVGA microatx board and itll hold up to 4ghz without an issue.

The R3E/Classified are really only needed if you need one of its features (rare) or want to do some extreme overclocking (DICE, LN, Phase). If you are looking for a mild overclocking, the Sabertooth would be a great choice (and itll probably hold up to 4.5ghz if you get a good chip).

great input, im starting to see the big picture.
now comparing the sabertooth and the rampage, is there a huge difference in overclocking with them? or does it matter more in your chip, memory, and cooling?
is that $200 price difference really not worth it? what are the main key differences when you compare them?
im order this board this Friday along with the H70.
(or should i just go with the H50?)
if im going to get the same results from both boards, than no, i don't see any reason to spend that much.

thanks

You will likely get the same results. 4Ghz is the sweet spot for those chips.

I mean, dont get me wrong, if I had ferrari money lying around, I would get the ferrari. But if I had GTR money already in hand or was in between, I would still get the GTR (bad *** car btw) and save a few bucks. Yeah its only a Nissan, but you know what, Its the fastest 80k car out there and still turns heads.

Go with the H70.

The 940 (I'm assuming C0) is going to produce a lot of heat, so your money will be better spent on Cooling as opposed to a Highend Motherboard.

And really without the components to go into it... it'll just look pretty.

Think Ferrari with a Ford V-6. You don't want to be that guy

I agree with whats been said so far. Sure the most expensive toys are cool to have, and they can give some bragging rights, but wouldn't something cheaper that can do exactly what you want be better? Take the cash in the price difference and get some better cooling, a fancy case, more video power, good ocing ram, anything. Pull back the Ferrari idea and go with something like a X58A-UD3R or the Sabertooth.

When it comes to overclocking potential, your cooling will be your first major roadblock. Something like a R3E will have more headroom, but only if you are into extreme cooling (LN2, DICE, LHe). On air or water pretty much any board on the list will have a decent top end.

Thanks guys! ill go with the sabertooth. im really starting to like that board. and since i wont be doing any liquid nitrogen cooling anytime soon, spending that much on a board just doesn't make sense.
although, my 940 is a (D0) ill concentrate more on my other components.

Great first post!
Thanks,
intel2.06

intel2.06 said:

my 940 is a (D0)

Click to expand...

Nice Find if it is. Is it an ES, as I didn't think they publicly released 940 D0.

Sure they did... as 930's.

EarthDog said:

Sure they did... as 930's.

Click to expand...

I was waiting for that comment! lol. Or a 950
but not 940 D0

oh sorry guys. i thought it was. i checked on a differnt forum for my information checked my serial number on the box and assumed it was from that batch. i guess i was given the wrong information i would of thought it was D0 the whole time.

Until you loaded up CPUz and saw C0.

so they never made any 940 D0's? thats to bad. is there a huge significant difference in the two? i know that the C0's are supposedly more difficult to overclock. how true is this? should i have gone with a 920 or 930 D0 instead?
thanks guys!

intel2.06 said:

so they never made any 940 D0's? thats to bad. is there a huge significant difference in the two? i know that the C0's are supposedly more difficult to overclock. how true is this? should i have gone with a 920 or 930 D0 instead?
thanks guys!

Click to expand...

The 940 is not a BAD chip, but in the age of D0, it's a bit outmatched. Comparatively, the C0's tend to top out a bit earlier and require more voltage (which equals more heat), where as the D0's clock higher using less voltage (less heat). I would expect you to hit 3.8 for a daily OC, on good air cooling. If it was D0 920, you could do 4.2 pretty easy.

Don't worry about it though. The 940 is still going to eat ANYTHING you throw at it and is a monster chip! If you got a good deal on it, so be it. I wouldn't pay a premium over a 920/930 for it though.

i see what you mean. i got my 940 for only $275 brand new in the box factory sealed, so i couldn't really pass that bargain up. im not really going to push the chip to its limit and overclock the heck out of it. it would be nice to get it stable at 4.0 24/7. and i did just order the corsair H70, so im hoping that will let me achieve my goal. also you guys, i ordered the Asus Sabertooth x58 along with the H70, so i followed your advice and saved some money.
thanks again for all your support!
intel2.06