Help me choose a x58 Motherboard!

[Trigeminal]

Hey guys,

I am building a new x58 rig with a i7-930 and am looking to do some moderate overclock (4.0-4.2 on Air). I am really having trouble choosing a motherboard. So far, I have it narrowed to 3 chooses:

1) GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R - $198.99

2) GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD5 - $262.99

3) ASUS P6X58D Premium - $249.99

I have had a bad experience with ASUS in the past, but this board has solid reviews. I general I just don't love the look of it. I have had good experiences with Gigabyte, but have heard this board was some issue with high pitched whine on the power chokes for some (especially with my power supply). Please take into acount the price differences listed above, I am trying to not spend a ridicouous amount. (also listed above prices are the best net prices, not newegg prices).

Please vote and leave comments. I am ordering everything not yet ordered on monday. Also feel free to suggest anything on my build below:

Purchase/Arrived:
Silverstone FT02-B - $229.99
Core i7 930 - $199.99
SeaSonic X650 Gold 650W Power Supply - $153.99
Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme-1366 RT Rev. C CPU Heatsink -$55

Rest of the build:
OCZ 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 RAM - $140.99 after rebate ($170.99 before)
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 5850 - $329
Acer GD245HQ: 120 Hz and FullHD - $359

In advance, thanks a ton.

 

[finbarqs]

Silverstone FT02-B -- You can't mount an optical on the top Drive bay. That was the deal breaker for me, as aesthetically, didn't really matched what I wanted.

Might as well go for the EVGA boards (though it's not SATA 6gbps, and not USB 3.0)

 

[Trigeminal]

Silverstone FT02-B -- You can't mount an optical on the top Drive bay. That was the deal breaker for me, as aesthetically, didn't really matched what I wanted.

Might as well go for the EVGA boards (though it's not SATA 6gbps, and not USB 3.0)

Not really very useful. I really just want input on the ones I have listed above.

Any one else have any thoughts???

My preference is for the UD5, love the look of it. However the UD3 is definately the best value, other than the extra voltage phase regulators/capacitors, I don't need anything the others have.

Anyone think the extra capacitors will really help???

 

[Anubis]

if you want to save money the ASRock X58 Extreme http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157163 is a highly recomended and liked board for OCing

I have the UD3R its a fine board, my 920 runs at 4GHz just fine on it - the only thing about it thats a con is the PCIe 1x slot is pretty much unusable because of the size of the heatsink GB uses on the mobo.

 

[Trigeminal]

if you want to save money the ASRock X58 Extreme http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157163 is a highly recomended and liked board for OCing

I have the UD3R its a fine board, my 920 runs at 4GHz just fine on it - the only thing about it thats a con is the PCIe 1x slot is pretty much unusable because of the size of the heatsink GB uses on the mobo.

Money and value are always a factor, but not the only one. Thus, why I wa asking if the upgrade to the more premium is really worth it. Guess I am looking for other people's reasoning for choosing the higher board (or the lower).

 

[Trigeminal]

Wow no love for the ud5??? I was leaning towards that one.

 

[Sylvanas]

lol a 'moderate overclock' of 4-4.2ghz. That's not moderate, more like very lucky/High end cooling . I have only good things to say about my UD3R it's fantastic, there is absolutely no reason to get anything more expensive as I have no need for the features they bring. The Gigabyte boards all share the same BIOS from the UD3R to the UD5 and beyond so you don't miss out on anything with a UD3r. The extra 'phases' for voltage regulation and such on higher end boards are largely a marketing gimmick as a quality 2 phase system can have the same effect as a moderate 6 phase. I think it was AT that touched on this a while back and went into the electrical reasoning behind this but I didn't save the link. However proof is in the pudding as people are still getting stellar overclocks on the UD3R as they are something like a UD5/6 so it goes to show more expensive is not equal to 'better'.

 

[StrangerGuy]

Save your money and get the Asrock X58. You can get an easy 4GHz on it provided your i7 and cooling doesn't suck.

 

[Ichinisan]

Does anyone know if Microcenter B&M sells ASrock? I don't see any on their site.

 

[klocwerk]

Save your money and get the Asrock X58. You can get an easy 4GHz on it provided your i7 and cooling doesn't suck.

This.
I've got no complaints about my asrock extreme, saved me a bundle.
Only thing I'd have paid a bit more for would be SATA 6.0 and USB3, but that would've cost more than $150 above what I paid, so I'll go with add-on cards in a year or two when I need 'em.

 

[Trigeminal]

This.
I've got no complaints about my asrock extreme, saved me a bundle.
Only thing I'd have paid a bit more for would be SATA 6.0 and USB3, but that would've cost more than $150 above what I paid, so I'll go with add-on cards in a year or two when I need 'em.

These cards are all SATA 6.0 and USB3. Since the low-end one listed in $198, I doubt you paid $50 for your board.

 

[SunnyD]

These cards are all SATA 6.0 and USB3. Since the low-end one listed in $198, I doubt you paid $50 for your board.

You have anything that requires SATA3 and USB3? Or do you just want to spend money because you have it?

Another vote for the Asrock X58 Extreme here. Great layout, good features, nice BIOS, great stability. If I feel the need, I'll just get add in cards for the expansion slots that I'm not using later for USB3 and/or SATA3.

If you want a vote on your list, go with the UD3R and be done with it.

 

[lupohki]

My build is kind of like yours, except I'm using an i7 920, noctua nh-d14, and a corsair hx620 I already had. I knew I was going for one of the boards you suggested since I wanted usb 3.0 and sata 3.0. I ended up getting the UD5. Don't really have good reasons for it though .. liked Gigabyte more than Asus based on past experiences and wanted the extra o/c cushion over the UD3.

 

[Trigeminal]

My build is kind of like yours, except I'm using an i7 920, noctua nh-d14, and a corsair hx620 I already had. I knew I was going for one of the boards you suggested since I wanted usb 3.0 and sata 3.0. I ended up getting the UD5. Don't really have good reasons for it though .. liked Gigabyte more than Asus based on past experiences and wanted the extra o/c cushion over the UD3.

How do you like that decision??? How's you overclock???

 

[Spartacus288]

The UD5 has a better PCIe configuration than the UD3, otherwise there isn't much difference. If you don't plan on running multiple GPUs, it doesn't much matter. I have to agree that neither are worth the extra cash outlay over the X58 Extreme, but in the end that's up to you.

 

[modestninja]

You have anything that requires SATA3 and USB3? Or do you just want to spend money because you have it?

Another vote for the Asrock X58 Extreme here. Great layout, good features, nice BIOS, great stability. If I feel the need, I'll just get add in cards for the expansion slots that I'm not using later for USB3 and/or SATA3.

If you want a vote on your list, go with the UD3R and be done with it.

I've got the FT02B and the ASRock X58 Extreme with a i7 920 and I had an easy OC to 4.0 GHz with my Megahalems. The one gotcha that is specific to that board in the FT02B is that the cables for hooking up the front panel (sound, power switch, LEDs and reset switch) aren't long enough to reach the headers on the motherboard. I called Silverstone they are sending me either longer cables or extensions so it should be fine, but if you aren't expecting it, it can be a PITA.

Luckily, the mobo has a power switch on it so I'm up and running without a side panel.

 

[markrb38]

I am looking at the UDR3 myself. If you use Bing cash back and search "tigerdirect laptop" the cash back has been as high as 15%, but on most weekends has been 12.3%. Combine the cash back with a $15 rebate and TD price is $178 at the 12.3% cash back level. The rebate is Gigabytes and not TDs.

 

[Trigeminal]

I am looking at the UDR3 myself. If you use Bing cash back and search "tigerdirect laptop" the cash back has been as high as 15%, but on most weekends has been 12.3%. Combine the cash back with a $15 rebate and TD price is $178 at the 12.3% cash back level. The rebate is Gigabytes and not TDs.

Got mine fromthere, actually went with the UD5, never seen anything more beautiful. Rest of my parts arrive on Tuesday, so I only get to look.

How do you get different percents for bing cashback??? Mine always shows up as 10% for Tiger Direct.

 

[markrb38]

Got mine fromthere, actually went with the UD5, never seen anything more beautiful. Rest of my parts arrive on Tuesday, so I only get to look.

How do you get different percents for bing cashback??? Mine always shows up as 10% for Tiger Direct.

Us the search function and lately "tigerdirect laptop" has been working. Then look and use the sponsored links. It will state the cash back amount in the link if it is more then the normal amount. It will not do a pop up like the normal links do, but the tigerdirect items will show you the cashback amount right on them.
It is not there everyday. I have seen it only Friday through Sunday and the amount has been as high as 15%, but not in a few months.

 

[Trigeminal]

Wow. Nice to know.