Best affordable, i7, USB 3.0, Crossfire-ready, etc. motherboard currently?

[Ylurien]

I'm building a new system and need a motherboard that fits these criteria (at the minimum):

1. Crossfire support (for 2 6870s)
2. i7-950 compatible
3. USB 3.0
4. ASUS or other reputable brand
5. $200 or (preferably) less

Could really use any advice you all might have. Thanks!

 

[Rifter]

I love my Asus P6X58D-E, been rock solid with my 930@4.2Ghz so far.

 

[Ylurien]

That's a hell of an overclock and the P6X58D-E Looks like a nice board.

Question though: With 2 6870s, which each take up 2 slots, will there still be room to put in my PCI soundcard? I guess it will have to go in that slot closest to the CPU?

Also, any RAM recommendations? Need 8GB, and am thinking G.Skill... any input?

 

[Rifter]

if you have a PCI soundcard that will force you to use the bottom 2 PCIe 16x slots for CF which will run at 8x mode, which is fine you will not lose any performance.

For ram i have always gone with corsair, its a personal preferance but i have never had any issue dealing with them when i needed to RMA anything, they were always fast and plesant to deal with. Also had very little compatability issues with them over other brands over the years. That said Gskill is also a top tier brand.

 

[darckhart]

well the fact that you want a socket 1366 cpu and crossfire (which i assume means you want 2x pcie16 slots which means you kind of really want x58 chipset) kind of puts you in the upper brackets. if you want the usb3 baked in, that kicks the price up a bit too. (or you could get the usb3 addin card and sacrifice a pcie slot).

but if you want "reputable" brand, i think almost everything is >200. that being said, i've built 4 systems on gigabyte boards recently and they've been very, very nice. good oc'ers too. here's one decent option slightly over your pricepoint:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128423

as for ram, i've been using gskill recently and havent had any probs at all.

 

[jjmIII]

Nice Asus x58, 6gb G.Skill Combo

 

[TheGrapist]

how do you feel about msi?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-226-_-Product
I bought this board last week,have yet to use it as my 920 d0 is getting here today

 

[Xellos2099]

How about this? evga recertified with 1 year purchase warrenty.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813188061

I want to jump on i7 but it is the price of mobo that keep me away, I simply can't believe that an i7 motherboard can't be done for under 150. The microcenter i7 processor pricve is so attractive ... just need to buy a mobo to combo it it.

 

[Rifter]

Nice Asus x58, 6gb G.Skill Combo

This is a sweet deal, i would jump all over this if i was buying now.

 

[Xellos2099]

This is a sweet deal, i would jump all over this if i was buying now.

Think I can find a better deal on black friday? Fry is selling the same board for 159.99 after rebate right now.

 

[artvscommerce]

I would also look at the Asus X58 Sabertooth.

 

[tyl998]

The Sabertooth is good, but it seems to be a bit lacking in expansion slots. But hey, if all you have are two graphics cards, then why not?

I can personally vouch for the Gigabyte GA-x58a-UD3R since I'm using one. It is awesome and allows me to overclock well. Both CF and SLI compatible.

 

[ViviTheMage]

buddy has the sabertooth, loved it...passive heatsinks on NB/SB was a plus IMO.

 

[imported_comdoc]

Am upgrading my old system; I love and am choosing the Asus Sabertooth X58 for around $200. Reviewers raved about it.