X79 board advice

[Crion]

OK. So I originally had a Core i7 920 system until it died eariler this year. As such, I replaced it with a Core i7 3770k build but I'm finding that my virtual machine performance is clearly suffering so I'm considering getting an X79 system to replace it.

Does anyone have any experience with the MSI X79A-GD65 8D? Any pretty common issues that people know about that still persist? I did hear about some overclocking issues early on but those seem to have been resolved. I tend to go with black/blue themes so I would be looking for a board that fits that. I know the RIVE is the best X79 board out there but I don't like red themes.

 

[PEXON]

Not a massive fan of my GD45, its good enough, but you don't really get many extra features on higher end boards plus, I think OC'ing is mainly chip dependent. My 3820 struggles much past 4GHz. I haven't gone mad deep into OC'ing as my rig isn't 100% finished, but there you go.

 

[Crion]

Not a massive fan of my GD45, its good enough, but you don't really get many extra features on higher end boards plus, I think OC'ing is mainly chip dependent. My 3820 struggles much past 4GHz. I haven't gone mad deep into OC'ing as my rig isn't 100% finished, but there you go.

Your 3820 is also locked. I'd probably go for a 3930k for the extra cores. So no coil whine or similar issues that you've seen on your board?

 

[PEXON]

None noticeable mate. I'm happy with the performance with my 3820. Most people have no issues getting them to 4.8 though. The 3930K is a nice chip but I couldn't afford it when I was getting my new system.

 

[Vicey]

I've not used that board myself but from a few videos I saw on youtube there is a coil whine issue. I don't know how far spread that is of course but that alone would make me weary, it's a pain in the ass to take a motherboard out of a system and ship it back for a replacement.

It's a great call to go with X79 though perfect for a workstation with Virtual Machines.

 

[Crion]

I've not used that board myself but from a few videos I saw on youtube there is a coil whine issue. I don't know how far spread that is of course but that alone would make me weary, it's a pain in the ass to take a motherboard out of a system and ship it back for a replacement.

It's a great call to go with X79 though perfect for a workstation with Virtual Machines.

Is the video you're referring to the one on LinusTechTips? If so, saw that one but I can't find any evidence from anywhere else that would suggest it's a widespread issue. If I do get this board, which will probably happen unless someone can suggest a different board that goes with blue/black color theme, I do plan on thoroughly testing it before it goes in the system so hopefully should catch any issues before that.

PS: I'm staying far away from Gigabyte on this one, especially after that review that Tom did on the UP5.

 

[Excalabur50]

The best 2011 boards atm seem to be from Asus if you can afford it the best is the Rampage 4 Extreme.

 

[Crion]

The best 2011 boards atm seem to be from Asus if you can afford it the best is the Rampage 4 Extreme.

I know the Rampage is the best 2011 board but I don't like the red theme. I mentioned that at the end of my first post. I'm looking specifically for a good board that works with a black/blue theme.

 

[SuB]

The p9x79 boards (standard, pro, deluxe) are all blue / black and some silver.

I have a deluxe, no coil whine from it at all as far as I can tell

 

[McKantis_Mayhem]

I'll personally be going with the Intel X79 SR. It's a blue and black theme and should be a fairly solid board. Intel isn't entirely known for making crap components, so I figure what better board to use on their own CPU?

 

[Crion]

I'll personally be going with the Intel X79 SR. It's a blue and black theme and should be a fairly solid board. Intel isn't entirely known for making crap components, so I figure what better board to use on their own CPU?

Oooo...I'm assuming you were referring to the BOXDX79SR? That board does look nice. Never bought an Intel board before though so know absolutely nothing about them. I've only owned Asus, MSI, and ASRock minus the Foxconn boards in the prebuilt systems I've had in the past.

 

[McKantis_Mayhem]

That's the one. I like the looks of it and I've personally never had an issue with an Intel product.

Other than i3's that is. Those things are crap...

 

[Crion]

Ended up going for the MSI board. I'll test once I get everything and report back the results.

 

[Crion]

Ok guys, got the board and have a problem but not with the board oddly enough. My H100i that I'm using for testing is emitting something resembling coil whine but it sounds like it's coming from the fans. Fans don't emit the noise when plugged into the PSU directly. Did a search and apparently I'm not alone as a couple other people have reported this on the Corsair forums.

As to the board, no noticeable coil whine at least as far as I can tell but wasn't able to do a full load test yet due to time constraints.

 

[DeepFriedJif]

I am also looking much into a new board for my x79 machine, im looking at either the ASRock x79 extreme 11 and the R4E, from what i can tell either is about the cream of the crop if you can pay the price

 

[clone38]

Running my 3820 from day one on my EVGA X79 FTW no problem.

 

[Elooder]

I'm also soon to be getting an x79 system and have been using ASUS mobos for the last few systems (now on an Sabertooth P68, with 2600K).
To be honest, they are good but I have some complaints (like my X58 board never remembering CMOS settings after it's been off for more than about 10 - 20 seconds and this is after the 3rd new battery I've put in it). Some of the asus boards also had USB problems (actually most of them).
Anyway, I was looking at the MSI range of boards as I have an MSI (x58m) in another computer and it's been flawless, albeit a bad overclocker (haven't really tried too hard, tbh).
I also love the blue/black theme like the OP, so my question is this: what experiences have u had with MSI x79 boards and which should I get? Money is no object.
Thanx.

 

[DeepFriedJif]

Well I did end up going with the ASRock x79 Extreme 11, and am VERY pleased, but from personal experience MSI products are very reliable, and stable, but not as much in the overclocking department, something like the GD65 board will suit you well. And don't rule out the R4E, it is a very solid board with more overclocking features than you could even use. But if it is MSI you seek just be carefull when updating your bios, a friend of mine had to rma his board after he updated it because it was ONLY compatible with Ivy bridge chips and he had a 2500k.

 

[Elooder]

Seems strange that a motherboard wouldn't be backwards-compatible with a CPU, but since I intend to get a sandy bridge based 2011 socket CPU (probably the 3960X, they are still abundant here in Russia), I don't think I should worry about it. I need the system primarily for work (3D rendering and some video work in AE) and intend to use 64 gigs of RAM (the more -the merrier, in my case), so I was thinking about one of 8 RAM slot boards, probably the big bang II. I do intend to overclock as much as I can, with a Corsair H100 (no H100i here yet :-( ). My other consideration was the ASUS Rampage Extreme, but I've myself witnessed a 3930K die in one of those under a Corsair H100 (I think the memory controller was busted since the RAM that was being used was rated for 1600Mhz@1.65 which is too high for sandy bridge chips.
All said, my main concern is stability and reliability as it is 90% for work and the rest for light gaming, so I may even forego a massive overclock for stable 24/7 operation. Anybody have any experiences with the Big Bang x79 board?