X58 - EVGA vs ASUS vs GIGABYTE

[Crow-]

Hi,

I want to buy my first LGA1336 MB for an i7 920, but I can't decide what to buy.

Wich one would you choose?

EVGA X58 SLI
Gigabyte GA-EX58-EXTREME
ASUS Rampage II Extreme (or ASUS P6T Deluxe)

From what you've seen already from these motherboards, wich one is the best choice?

Some aditional questions:
. The only difference between EX58-EXTREME and UD5 is the cooling?
. Is Rampage II Extreme really worth the extra $$$ from P6T Deluxe and other brand MB's?
. Is EVGA a good overall choice, or just for OC?

There is also BloodRage, but in my country Foxconn is hard to get, and if I would get one I could lack of support.

Please, give me your answers from what you've seen around here and from your experiences.

Thanks! :up:

[eva2000]

Also DFI X58 is coming very soon as well so maybe worth a wait and see :)

[shawn1998]

I just took out the Asus P6T Deluxe and replaced it with the Biostar TPower X58. What a difference!!! My vote is for the Biostar, even though it's not on your list.

[Crow-]

Also DFI X58 is coming very soon as well so maybe worth a wait and see :)

From what I've read the last MB's from DFI weren't to good, and I'm not a DFI fan :P



I just took out the Asus P6T Deluxe and replaced it with the Biostar TPower X58. What a difference!!! My vote is for the Biostar, even though it's not on your list.

I don't like the layout. I prefer one of the above.

Just want to know if there are any known problems with the MB's above, and wich one is getting better results lately.

[safan80]

in the OC thread people are doing good with the gigabyte boards. So I'd say go with the Gigabyte GA-EX58-EXTREME dare I say.

[Slovnaft]

I'd steer clear of R2E for the time being. I've put 2 kits of ram through the paces for reviews and I'm not going to be able to use the results as both exhibited a strange pathology of refusing to clock more than ~100mhz over stock or tighten timings at all at any volts. I've heard rumors of an upcoming revision of the board. nor it may be just one bad board for me, or bios may still be a bit immature, but i'd go with gigabyte or dfi on this one. if i hadn't been burned by blackops i would recommend foxconn bloodrage, but i'll give that a wait and see.

[Bob101]

It also comes down to what you plan to do with the board.

I guess you've already considered this but they all have a different arrangement of PCI-E slots, some of which will be obscured by installing dual slot graphics cards, if you intend to be putting raid controllers or the new breed of PCI-E flash cards in you may have more trouble with some boards than others. Though I guess this isn't a deal breaker.

Also, I've had some problems with VIA chipsets (USB) in the past (though we are talking a majorly long time ago) and I've heard plenty of good things about TI which are featured on the Gigabyte boards. I know that's totally anecdotal. Since I'm planning use a firewire soundcard which tends to be incompatible with the VIA 1394 chips (according to several forums) this was a consideration for me, again maybe this is something that's unimportant for you.

As for the Gigabyte boards being different I have no idea. I guess you'd have to contact Gigabyte about that. I'm not sure if the images they have up on their site are current but it seems the layout of some of the mosfets and capacitors (between the NB and CPU) is different on the two boards.
Gigabyte EX58-UD5 (http://www.giga-byte.com/FileList/Image/motherboard_productimage_ga-ex58-ud5_big.jpg)
Gigabyte EX58-EXTREME (http://www.giga-byte.com/FileList/Image/motherboard_productimage_ga-ex58-extreme-00_big.jpg)

[speckled10]

I just took out the Asus P6T Deluxe and replaced it with the Biostar TPower X58. What a difference!!! My vote is for the Biostar, even though it's not on your list.

Why ?

[MacClipper]

Also DFI X58 is coming very soon as well so maybe worth a wait and see :)
Already out here in SG. :D
http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/showthread.php?t=2205790

[shawn1998]

Why ?

Random lockups, even at stock speeds. It seemed to be usb-related, as far as I could tell. I haven't had one single hiccup or issue with the exact same hardware on the TPower X58. This board is a dream.

[Nasgul]

Take the P6T Deluxe.

I've been using ASUS boards since 1999 and I have never ever had a single issue with them, even those with SiS chipsets.

Gigbyte is okay but I only use and recommend 'em when they're not going to be for your own personal use but someone on a budget but also reliable board.

"IF" I were to build a 1336 system? I'd definitely take the P6T in a heartbeat. GIGA 2nd and eVGA least.

[ReverendMaynard]

I can vouch for the Gigibyte EX58-Extreme. Solid board, and a great bios for all levels of overclocker.

[speckled10]

Random lockups, even at stock speeds. It seemed to be usb-related, as far as I could tell. I haven't had one single hiccup or issue with the exact same hardware on the TPower X58. This board is a dream.

Fair enough.. I'm lovin my P6T not a single issue and a nice 4Ghz HT OC .. recovers very well when pushing it too far also ..

I guess everyone has different luck with these things .. hows the OC on the Tpower ??

[zlojack]

The EVGA isn't getting much love, probably because of concern over them being Intel chipset rookies. Shamino is involved in the bios tweaking and tuning, though, so that must bode well for overclocking. Plus the SLI/CrossfireX friendly layout in a standard 7-slot case is a plus.

Nasgul is an avowed Asus fan (I've seen your posts :D) so I'm not surprized by his response. Not flaming, just stating what I've seen.

I have the Gigabyte GA-X58-UD5 and I like it so far. I'm going to try the EVGA as well and see which I like better. EVGA is a top-notch company in terms of support and that's another consideration in terms of peace of mind.

[Slovnaft]

honestly, most x58 boards are clocking about the same. but for my R2E issue i honestly think it doesn't matter. i'm considering picking up the Supermicro board to prove this.

[shawn1998]

Fair enough.. I'm lovin my P6T not a single issue and a nice 4Ghz HT OC .. recovers very well when pushing it too far also ..

I guess everyone has different luck with these things .. hows the OC on the Tpower ??

I haven't oc'd it too much yet, wanted to make sure it was stable first. Let me tell you, this is one stable board. I plan on pushing it as far as I can over the holidays. I will probable make a new thread when I do.