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Need a recommendation - X58

Danielectomy

Junior Member
Hey guys -- long time lurker.....first time poster.

I'm getting ready to have a new i7-930-based computer built, and I think I have everything more or less picked (thanks in large part to the many well-informed threads here) but I'm sorta hung up picking a motherboard....

The computer will be used principly for audio and video production, with some gaming etc. I want things relatively future-proof as I'd like this thing to last me a 4 or 5 years.

So -- I'm trying to figure out if there is a mobo with usb3/sataIII as well as 2 usable PCI slots. I use an m-audio delta 1010 for recording, and will likely try to add a second one. Most of the boards I've read about have atleast 1 of the PCIs covered with a double-wide video card (in this case, it'll be a 5850.)

So - anyone have any recomendations? Anything else I should be paying attention to?

Thanks in advance for any help...
 
Hello Danielectomy and welcome aboard.

I don't think that there's anything out there that can be considered future proof. However there are many boards that sport at least 2 PCI slots. That said, if you are not interested in CF/SLI you can always use the 2nd PCI-E x16 slot for graphics if using the 1st one covers any of the PCIs. This won't always work as many boards will require to use the 1st PCI-E x16 slot when using 1 graphics board for maximum performance.

As for the USB3/SATA III support you can always add a dedicated controller like the ASUS U3S6 (PCI-E x4 card with 2 x USB3 + 2 x SATA III ports with NCQ and hot plug function).

The ASUS P6T, P6T SE, the Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4 along with any ASRock mobo are just some of the boards that may do the trick for you.

My pick would be the ASRock X58 Extreme3. It sports 2 PCIs both far away from the 1st PCI-E x16 slot, 1 eSATA III/USB2 port, 2 SATA III & 2 USB3 ports.

HTH
 
Thank you so much.... My research was leading me toward that board, and I only needed one more nudge...

I'll be putting the order in soon.


Thanks again!
 
Unless they were way out of my price-range, none of the evga boards I looked at had both usb3/sata3 and 2 usable pci's. (But I'm an idiot and could easily have missed some.)

They are handsome though....
 
yeah... i'm willing to sacrifice USB 3.0 since I don't like plugging in the back anyways 🙂

Very little cases support 3.0. Sata 6gbps is a good reason... and I guess I have a X-Fi Ti, which is pci-e. I just thought maybe there's something wrong with the evga boards (as in quality wise)
 
Asus P6X58E has USB 3.0 and SATA III. Capable of Crossfire or SLI.

You must be referring to the P6X58D-E. Yes that board features both USB 3.0 and SATA III but if you use a 2-slot VGA you lose one of the PCIs and the OP asks for a board with 2 usable PCI slots.
 
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