=VG= SavageCDN (Inactive Duty) Posted January 12, 2012 at 07:22 PM Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 at 07:22 PM OK so it's probably been over 10 years since I've built a real gaming system...give me a rack server to build and I'm your guy but I'm useless when it comes to the best option for a gaming-specific board. Recently I've acquired all the right parts now I just need to make the jump with a new motherboard and RAM (and possibly CPU).So I'm asking for input on what mobo I should look at (let's pretend $$$ is not a limitation). Here's what I have now to work with:Intel i7 920 Bloomfield CPU (never been overclocked)GTX 570 video card (same ^)1 x WD 300GB SATA 2 drive (junk drive, swap drive)1 x WD VelociRaptor 300GB 10k rpm SATA 3.0 drive (O/S, apps, etc)1 x OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SATA 3.0 SSD (Games, HD midget porn)Antec TruePower Quattro TPQ-1000 1000WAntec Nine Hundred Two v3 caseSome low-end Asus workstation board I can't even remember the modelWhat I'd like on a new board:SATA 3.0 with more than 2 god-damn channels on the board!!Minimum 4 RAM slots preferably 6Ability to have a 2nd video card in SLIe-SATA optionAt LEAST 4 USB on the backOnboard soundI've always been a fan of Asus boards (only one bad board in probably 500+ workstations) but not sure if they are the best when it comes to gaming.I'll also need new RAM so any help there would be great.Any thoughts or suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
=VG= Outlanders Posted January 12, 2012 at 07:48 PM Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 at 07:48 PM I want to have your current computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
=VG= SavageCDN (Inactive Duty) Posted January 12, 2012 at 08:20 PM Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 at 08:20 PM I've been acquiring these parts over the last year or so.. the only things I paid for out of my own pocket were the Antec case and power supply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
=VG= Outlanders Posted January 12, 2012 at 08:53 PM Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 at 08:53 PM That's nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted January 12, 2012 at 11:50 PM Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 at 11:50 PM You mentioned perhaps a new CPU or do you want to stay with the i7 920? I'm not sure if you want to overclock but that chip will easily go much higher. But, if you want to stay with the current line up, I would suggest the ASUS X58 Sabertooth board (I am currently running it with an I7 950 and running it stable at 4 GHZ). One thing to remember is the X58 chipset runs tri-channel RAM so you will populate three DIMM slots with the RAM (or all six if you want....just depends on the config you decide upon). I am currently running 12 GB of G.skill DDR3 1600 Mhz with 6-8-6-20 timings. There are other RAM options but it runs solid for me and I realize it is a little more expensive. If you are interested in upgrading the CPU, then I would recommend the i52500k. It runs default at 3.3 Ghz with a turbo boost mode at 3.7 Ghz (automatic overclock if you will). The i52500k does not support hyper-threading but really doesn't matter since it is generally the first thing that gets turned off by most gamers (unless of course you run apps that take advantage of HT). If you decide to go the i52500K (socket 1155) route, I would recommend the Asus P8P67 Rev. 3.1 board. With this option, the RAM is cheaper and you can get 8 GB of RAM with CAS latency of 9 for $50. I am running two computers with the i52500k chips and they are great and make good gaming rigs. Here are some links for your review:X58 Sabertooth: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131665G.skill tri-channel RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231352Asus P8P67 3.1 board: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131770G.skill 8 GB Sniper series DDR3 1600 RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231461Let me know what you think.Griff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
=VG= Murderface0151 Posted January 13, 2012 at 12:25 AM Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 at 12:25 AM Griff... i just had morning sickness thats how in love with your RAM set up i am. i got impregnated by its seed... sorry dude Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted January 13, 2012 at 01:22 AM Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 at 01:22 AM Okay, well......I guess I'll take that as a compliment. But, I don't need any more RAM babies right now :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
=VG= Murderface0151 Posted January 13, 2012 at 04:24 AM Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 at 04:24 AM hahah aww damn.Savage listen to this man! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kilgore Posted January 13, 2012 at 09:34 AM Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 at 09:34 AM If u can, go for a z68 board and hold out a little longer for an ivy bridge cpu . Asus Maximus IV extreme -z has all on board you will need . I see your current cpu is 1156 socket but if i were you and you want something more future proof go for the i7 1155 range of cpu,s . And as mentioned before ,ram can be got very cheap for these boards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
=VG= SavageCDN (Inactive Duty) Posted January 13, 2012 at 03:27 PM Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 at 03:27 PM Griff and Kilgore - thank you for the great replies that is exactly the info I was looking for.Not sure if I'm going to keep the i7 920 or not.. although as Kilgore said waiting for the ivy bridge to come out is probably my best bet (April 2012?). It seems the socket 1155 route is the way to go long-term. I think perhaps I'm best to maybe overclock my current CPU for the time being and wait for a few months before upgrading.Griff - so you've got an I7 950 PC and two i52500k PCs? I am jealous !yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted January 13, 2012 at 05:00 PM Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 at 05:00 PM Yes, that is always an option and I was just reading my Maximum PC magazine and there was a small blurb about Ivy Bridge and some leaked information. It sounds good at this point but I will wait for the reviews when it is actually released. With respect to my current set ups, well, I didn't plan on having three gaming rigs. But, one is my son's (his AMD rig died a few months back) and I built a spare LAN rig to use for travel and for a guest when I host LAN meets at my place. Fast computers are a must at my house.....and as our family motto goes, "A family that games together stays together." Good luck with your decision and it will be interesting to see how the Ivy Bridge chips perform and how much they cost!GriffIvy Bridge (unofficial of course):http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/ivy_bridge_benchmarks_specifications_and_q2_2012_release_date_leak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
=VG= SavageCDN (Inactive Duty) Posted January 13, 2012 at 07:10 PM Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 at 07:10 PM haha that's great... I miss the days of the LAN party, although back when I was doing it a lot it took half the day to get the network up and running (which in retrospect was also half the fun!!). Does your wife game as well? I've tried to get mine into different games but without any luck.On the Ivy bridge front I've just been going on what I've read and what others have told me. You're right though.. I shouldn't bet the farm until it's actually released in the wild.Thanks again!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
=VG= SemlerPDX Posted January 13, 2012 at 08:06 PM Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 at 08:06 PM Perhaps your wife would enjoy the Flash Games at the VG Arcade?I know I've lost several hours, for some reason I can't explain, playing those quirky little flash games. That one with the arrow shooting is fun!Good luck on your new system, looks like you have a great direction! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted January 13, 2012 at 08:43 PM Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 at 08:43 PM Well, BC or "before children," my wife would play Battlefield 1942 with me. Her only request was to be able to carry the bazooka! Now what does that say about her personality? Actually, she has a nice gaming rig too and it can be quickly confiscated for a LAN meet if need be. We have plenty of laptops for her to use while my buddies are over so no worries for her. When she has time, she normally plays Empire Earth, Age of Empires, Age of Mythology, etc. But, I made the mistake of introducing her to Angry Birds a few weeks back :-) I'm looking forward to the "Hello Kitty" build in a few years when my daughter is old enough to use a computer. I can't seem to find any specific cases so it looks like a pink case with lots of stickers! Take care.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
=VG= Murderface0151 Posted January 14, 2012 at 01:45 AM Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 at 01:45 AM only bad thing about LAN parties is when the room gets way too hot, start feeling like you're in a sweatshop lol. especially when windows and doors cant be opened because moths and shit flood into the room. and yeah people of NZ don't really know what air conditioning is... or fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jager Posted January 14, 2012 at 03:09 PM Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 at 03:09 PM Well I myself use a Asus P8Z68-V PRO mobo and it should suit your requirements.But using two GPU's might make things cramped if you use many of the slots.http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8Z68V_PRO/#specificationsGA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 is also a good option, it has gotten good reviews as well and has a similar package.http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3853#ov Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
=VG= SavageCDN (Inactive Duty) Posted January 14, 2012 at 05:45 PM Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 at 05:45 PM @ Griff.. hmmm perhaps I should try with the Diablo/Baldur's gate style games since she loves that type of movie.They used to sell Barbie and Hot Wheels PCs years ago don't know if you can still find them.. Barbie one was hot pink with flower stickers (even the CRT case was pink..lol) and came with a bunch of Barbie software.http://www.google.ca/search?q=hello+kitty+computer&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=mRT&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=r78RT6WkMOXl0QGws5ixAw&ved=0CGIQsAQ&biw=1788&bih=971@ Semler good idea I will try that@ Jager thanks I will check those out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted January 14, 2012 at 08:37 PM Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 at 08:37 PM Cool, thanks....lots of options!@ Murderface....not a problem where I live. It is cold so we don't have to worry about that and we normally don't have LAN parties in the summer. But, we do have fans :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
=VG= Murderface0151 Posted January 15, 2012 at 12:36 AM Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 at 12:36 AM fans are the future for this country. all we got is opening two seperate windows and creating a draft. then all types of insects get in and f**k yo s**t up lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
=VG= SavageCDN (Inactive Duty) Posted March 8, 2012 at 02:48 PM Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 at 02:48 PM Just wanted to thank posters again for their help.. I ended up going with the Asus Sabretooth X58... very sexy mobo!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suomikeizari Posted March 9, 2012 at 04:28 PM Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 at 04:28 PM Griff LAN_WROTE ...Well, BC or "before children," my wife would play Battlefield 1942 with me. Her only request was to be able to carry the bazooka! Now what does that say about her personality? Actually, she has a nice gaming rig too and it can be quickly confiscated for a LAN meet if need be. We have plenty of laptops for her to use while my buddies are over so no worries for her. When she has time, she normally plays Empire Earth, Age of Empires, Age of Mythology, etc.dang... just dang.......where can you buy those? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted March 11, 2012 at 08:09 AM Report Share Posted March 11, 2012 at 08:09 AM SavageCDN =VG= LAN_WROTE ...Just wanted to thank posters again for their help.. I ended up going with the Asus Sabretooth X58... very sexy mobo!!Good choice. I have been happy with mine. Oh and by the way, I don't know if it matters or not but I prefer the "old" avatar. Much easier on the eyes and I never knew I loved the Canadian flag so much !lolol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted March 11, 2012 at 08:15 AM Report Share Posted March 11, 2012 at 08:15 AM Castor =VG= LAN_WROTE ...Griff LAN_WROTE ...Well, BC or "before children," my wife would play Battlefield 1942 with me. Her only request was to be able to carry the bazooka! Now what does that say about her personality? Actually, she has a nice gaming rig too and it can be quickly confiscated for a LAN meet if need be. We have plenty of laptops for her to use while my buddies are over so no worries for her. When she has time, she normally plays Empire Earth, Age of Empires, Age of Mythology, etc.dang... just dang.......where can you buy those?Hmmmm.....how do I answer that one? Does the price of the rings count?Then again, I think I just got lucky. Just had a great LAN meet at my place two weeks ago and nothing like three solid days of flying DCS A-10C with friends. The wife enjoys hosting LAN meets at our place but then again, it normally means she gets to buy new stuff for the house and it puts my butt in gear to finish the inside of our house !yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
=VG= SavageCDN (Inactive Duty) Posted March 11, 2012 at 07:06 PM Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2012 at 07:06 PM Griff LAN_WROTE ...Good choice. I have been happy with mine. Oh and by the way, I don't know if it matters or not but I prefer the "old" avatar. Much easier on the eyes and I never knew I loved the Canadian flag so much !lololWell now you're the 4th person to tell me this.. I may have to reconsider my avatar change. I do miss that flag... !rose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted March 11, 2012 at 08:21 PM Report Share Posted March 11, 2012 at 08:21 PM Do we need a poll? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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