NEED SOME MAJOR MOBO ADVICE

[will i am]

ok guys heres the deal i recently decided to build up a high end gaming rig from scratch because my old rig is some noname mix and match job(actually i put my foot through my old mobo after we had a minor disagreement) but ive been having some trouble on deciding what to get especially with the mobo all that lingo is just greek to me so if anyone with some exp can help me out. Basically i want to get a UBER mobo and build the rest of my rig around it(dunno if thats a weird way to do it) here are some problems i need help with
1. x79 or z68 is the x79 worth all that cash or is the z68 the smarter choice
2. core i5 or i7 i know the x79 can only take i7 but for the z68 is core i7 worth getting or should i go with i5 if so wich model 2500k or 2550k
3.THE MOBO heres where i need the most help im looking for an atx or e-atx uber mobo im budgeting the mobo around R2000-R5000 what is the best mobo i can get within that price. ive been looking at boards like the gigabyte g1killer serries, asus maximus, asrock z68 extreme 7 gen3 and so on but am still undecided if anyone can help me shed some light on this matter or have any better sugestions please help.
4. ram- how much and what brand will fit the best eq corsair vengeance/dominator and so on
ps. planning on getting dual graphics and ssd later on and need atleast 4-6 sata ports for dvd and hard drives, never overclock'd but that because my rig wasnt really able to, im looking for a rig with a high base speed with option to oc.

[StarBound]

Here is a copy of my rig with some adjustments:

Asus Rampage 4 Extreme (motherboard)
Intel i7 3930k (cpu)
Geforce 680gtx (graphics card)
8gb ddr3 1833mhz Corsair Dominator ram (4x 2gb)
GX750 750W Cooler Master PSU (power supply)
Intel 520 480gb SSD
Corsair H80 closed loop water cooler (no cooler on socket 2011 cpus)
Cooler Master HAF-X

Add in a Samsung S23A950D screen for 3D and 120hz refreshrate, Z5500 speakers for surround sound, a Razer Imperator 4G mouse for a great gaming experience, a Natural Keyboard for my key layout preferance, Asus Xonar DX because I want the best sound quality output, the little things like dvd-rw and Windows 7 64-bit.

Your total price? R50000 or in that region.





...still want the top of the range? Here is the sensible system:

The new Z77 boards are coming out supporting intels new i7/i5 range. That will set you back around R2.5k. But you will need to look at a board with features and layout.

Next an i5 2500k costs around R2000 and its a stunning CPU for its price. If however you feel the need to go for something with more processing power like an i7 the difference is not that noticeable and it will set you back R3000.

Ram, you need 8GB, nothing less will do. Going for 4gb x2 stick of ddr3 1600mhz will do nicely. Corsair Vengance. You can go for 16GB but I have not been able to saturate 8GB as of yet.

As I said the corsair H80 is a good water cooler. The closed loop means no need for coolant refill.

Case you might want to look at CoolerMaster HAF-X because it has front USB3 ports. Atop of that the HAF 932 was great for airflow.

CoolerMaster 750w 750GX is the PSU that I am using. No complaints. Has 4x 8 pins so set for almost anything.

Geforce 680gtx is the fastest card out atm. I recommend getting one if you have the money. If your not into the frame rates of over 60 or even over 120 you might want to settle for a 560ti. Or the AMD alternative the 7850 if you dont want to spend more than R3000 on a card. The 680gtx is R6000.

At the end of the day its up to your budget to decide where you are going to.

Also should you want to go SSD, go intel and nothing else.

[KALSTER]

What is your total budget?

[will i am]

dont really have a total budget but ill thumb suck some numbers quickly
cpu - R2000-R3000
MOBO R4000
RAM R2000
GRAPHICS R2000-R4000
SSD R 1500
PSU R700-R1500
COOLING & GEAR R2000
CASE R2000
SCREEN R5000

[will i am]

like i said thumb suck some numbers
what are your opinions on using a 42" hd tv as monitor via hdmi instead of normal pc specific monitors have done it a couple of times but not sure if its worth replacing pc monitor

[KALSTER]

So R25k max total?

[will i am]

yeah
25k more or less

[StarBound]

Gonna slap some stuff here with pricing but at the end of the day customing your own kit is your own.

Z77 MSI motherboard GD-43: http://titan-ice.co.za/product_info.php ... ts_id=6842 R1500

i5 2500k - http://www.rebeltech.co.za/index.php?ma ... ts_id=4155 R2100

Corsair H80 water cooler: http://www.prophecy.co.za/corsair-hydro ... 97096.html R1200
That is if you really want to overclock your cpu

Ram: Corsair vengence 1600mhz 4gb stick: http://titan-ice.co.za/product_info.php ... ts_id=4517 R270. Get 2 of those and duel channel them.

Geforce 680gtx graphics card: http://titan-ice.co.za/product_info.php ... ts_id=6931 R6000 unless you want to get something a little less costly

Radeon 7850 graphics card: http://titan-ice.co.za/product_info.php ... ts_id=6939 R3200.

CoolerMaster GX 750W PSU: http://titan-ice.co.za/product_info.php ... ts_id=2584 R1100 for your power supply.

I recommend the HAF-X as case: http://titan-ice.co.za/product_info.php ... ts_id=3491 R1800. You can always go for the HAF922 for R1300 but you loose front USB ports.

Intel and Kingston drives I can't find but those are the only SSDs I would recommend. I have had a OCZ and it gave me problems.

I believe most people are happy with the Samsung A350H as their 23" gaming screen.

[will i am]

thanx for all the help star finally got some direction dunno why i didnt just come to the forums a month ago when all this madness started

[will i am]

my only problem with the z77 boards is that there isnt much of a selection out yet

[StarBound]

Its not that big a problem. All you need to do is find the perfect one that fits you or closest fitting one. The one in the link was the cheapest one but had usb3 and sata 6gb which is what your looking for. There is a Z77 GD-85 I think that is R2500 that is the top of the range of that series but feature wise it isn't as extra packed.

You should check the manufacturers site when you found a board and see if it has the layout that your happy with, the features you want from it, ect.

I looked at the X79 boards that were avalible. I wanted to go MSI but its board didn't have the expansions I wanted. At the end of the day the ASUS Rampage 4 Extreme was the only board that saticefied my needs.

[will i am]

im digging the look of the asus sabertooth at the moment myself
and on another note
is there any real benefits in having 2 high end graphics card running sli/cross

[KALSTER]

is there any real benefits in having 2 high end graphics card running sli/cross

If you are going for the GTX680 and will not be running 3D or three monitors, then not really.

[will i am]

I HATE THE GTX 680 but thats just because i cant afford it looking at the radeon 7850 just wondering can it run 3d

[KALSTER]

It can, but it works a little different than the nVidia version. I'll see if I can get a review or tutorial.

[will i am]

ive always been a nvidia fan so wondering if i shouldnt look for the nvidia version of hd 7850

[KALSTER]

You could always go for the GTX570, which is about on par with the 7850. They will also go for around R3000k for factory OC'ed versions. They use quite a bit more power than the 7850, but your PSU will handle it no problem if you are not too worried about the electric bill. You'll hav PhysX and Cuda then as well.

[ADT]

ive always been a nvidia fan so wondering if i shouldnt look for the nvidia version of hd 7850

GTX 570

[will i am]

starting to feel like dr. frankenstein putting together my own little monster but finally things are starting to take shape

[Stuart]

starting to feel like dr. frankenstein putting together my own little monster but finally things are starting to take shape

How did that work out for him?

[will i am]

lol yeah true not too well but this new rig really is going to be a monster compared to my old
3ghz single core
2gb ddr2
512mb gt240
and basic intel mobo
might not have been the best rig but she served me well

[will i am]

is the Samsung S23A950D monitor touch screen saw a note somewhere saying it is but havent seen anything provingit so figured ill ask since you have one star

[StarBound]

No its not. Its a 120hz 3D screen. It can do 2D to 3D. It works on the tri-def driver if your want to go 3D with an nvidia card and will only do 60hz with nvidia in 3D. AMD cards has it better as it allows for 120hz 3D. So full frames, not the top-bottom or left-right stuff.

[will i am]

ok thanx star

[will i am]

Ok I’ve finally brought my search for the perfect z77 motherboard down to the final 6. I would really appreciate your thoughts and opinions on these boards. I’ve gone through every piece of data I could get my hands on for all these boards but it’s all just become one big blur.

Which board do you think is the best and why (price not too big an issue)
Here are the contenders for the title.

From asus
P8z77-v deluxe
Z77 saber tooth
Asus maximus IV gene

Gigabyte
Ga-z77x-ud5h-wb

Asrock
Asrock z77 extreme6
Asrock z77 fatal1ty pro