new build- what the difference between the to boards

[rjay410]

Hey guys im starting a new build and came down to two boards i'm looking at but i cant tell what the difference is between the two. The GA-X58A-UD3R(rev 2.0) looks like a great board and is currently on sale for $199 at newegg. Originally i was looking at the GA-X58A-UD7 (rev. 2.0) but there seems to be no difference between the two besides one cost a lot more. I will be using this system for gaming and over clocking. listed below are what i'm putting in this build.

processor - [font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition Gulftown 3.33GHz Six-Core Desktop[/font]

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[font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]memory [/font][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]- [/font][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333[/font]

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[font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][/font][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Video card- 2 GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 [/font]

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[font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"]My question is what board is better for what im doing and what is better about one board than the other? ( If there is any difference ) [/font]

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[font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"]URL to gigabyte website for the board comparison- [/font]http://www.gigabyte.com/products/list.aspx?s=42&jid=0&p=2&v=1

 

[Sihastru]

The only notable differences are the number of phases around the CPU socket and the cooling solution (number of heatpipes, the SB heatsink size, UD7 should be ready for watercooling). Some obscure BIOS settings might be hidden on the UD3R. IMHO the UD7 it is not worth the price difference.

 

[rjay410]

I was thinking the same thing about the price. Also i forgot to add that i was thinking about what ever board i get i'm fully liquid cooling the board, EK currently makes a full board block for the UD7 but also makes individual blocks to fit the UD3R. I am more leaning to the UD3R because i don't think the extra coast is worth it. but thats also why i posted this to see if there was any big difference in the boards. I still have more research to do about liquid cooling tho i'm still up in the air with it i want a quiet computer but i don't know again if the benefits of liquid to air are gonna be an extreme difference to spend that kinda of money on liquid cooling.

 

[Lsdmeasap]

UD5 and UD7 are the same, if you are looking at new Rev. 2.0 boards, except the UD7 doesn't come with the water block but it isn't ideal to use anyway.

If money is no problem, I'd suggest the UD7/UD5 Rev. 1.0 if you can find one used, or the UD7 Rev. 2.0 or UD5 Rev. 2.0.

If you need to save cash, and don't plan extreme cooling then UD3R would be fine as well, it's just not the best choice for extreme overclocking but would be fine for general overclocking.

 

[rjay410]

money is not an issue and i would remove the stock blocks off the board anyway and replace with full liquid cooling for northbridge etc...

 

[Lsdmeasap]

Ahh well in that case I'd go with the UD7 then, and grab a set of MIPS or EK blocks.

Get a used rev. 1.0 if you can, otherwise go ahead and get a UD5 Rev. 2.0 as it's the same as UD7 Rev. 2.0 since you would be putting on your own blocks.

 

[rjay410]

that sounds good to me. Whats the difference between the UD7 1.0 vs UD7 2.0 besides it don't come with a water block? i know EK makes a full board block for the UD7 but i'm not sure if there version specific

 

[Lsdmeasap]

Rev. 1.0 has 24 power phases, rev. 2.0 has only 16

They both come with water blocks, and EK makes a block for each version too (Well the rev. 2.0 is in the testing phase, should be for sale shortly).

 

[rjay410]

oh ok i see i wonder why they went down in power phases i would think a board with more would clock better then a board with less

 

[rjay410]

ok what do u think about the UD9 i just found one on sale for 30 bucks more than the UD7 its open box and dont come with an io plate but i can get one easy

 

[Lsdmeasap]

Well they made the UD7 Rev. 2.0 with less phases, so UD9 would be at the top of the newer lineup I think.

UD9 is a great choice for sure, and that open box price is nice too!

You may get lucky and it might still have everything, if you were talking about the open boxes at newegg.

 

[Tobiman]

I'd wait for sandy bridge and get one of the i7 processors and save money. The i7-980x isn't d best in terms of gaming. Look up a few reviews on the net and see for yourself.

 

[Aurus_OC]

I'd wait for sandy bridge and get one of the i7 processors and save money. The i7-980x isn't d best in terms of gaming. Look up a few reviews on the net and see for yourself.

He's looking into buying/building an Extreme rig, so the more "mainstream" 1155 lineup won't be the socket of choice. But it all depends on what he is using his rig for. Triple channel ram is for example a great feature to have if you run many memory intensive applications.

Oh and a little note toward the 980X. If you don't absolutely need the unlocked multi get the 970, it's a great chip with a lot of overclocking potential.

 

[rjay410]

i use the rig for gaming but i also do a lot of folding to

 

[benj3]

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3871/the-sandy-bridge-preview-three-wins-in-a-row/9

take a look at this review on the new i5 1155 the benchmarks are pretty sweet

 

[rjay410]

The reviews look awesome i'm just thinking about all the stuff i been hearing about them although its just rumors nothing is confirmed maybe i will wait a little while and see what happens i didn't buy a mother board yet or the cpu i do got the 2 570's already and a case and my case is big and works with all atx boards so i can wait and see what the sandy bridge offers first