An extremely hard choice, need help deciding on a..

[happita]

I've been doing a lot of looking around on parts to put a new build together with. But I'm stuck on what motherboard I want.
It's either going to be a DFI LanParty LT X38-T2R or an Asus Maximus Formula. Any suggestions? I put some conditions on here even though these are both x38 boards.

Conditions:
Price is NOT a concern (x38/x48)
Looking for EXTREME oc'ing
Looking for reliability/stability
Future-proof (45nm, ie. Wolfdales)
DDR2-Only
MB that keeps relatively cool temps (ie. NB)
MB that will support a LARGE cpu cooler (ie. Thermalright ultra 120)

 

[ChillyMyst]

not x38 but my buddys got 2 of these and they overclock insainly well duno if a p35 is enought for u tho, im not an intel overclocker personaly

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138080

dont mind the bad review, as most of us already know manytimes the first people to review any product are those who cant get it to work because they dont know what they are doing.

as to biostar support, i havent had any issue with their high end tseirse board support, if your polite when you email them they get back to you pretty fast.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138080R
open box for alot cheaper!!!!!

 

[PaulieG]

I've been doing a lot of looking around on parts to put a new build together with. But I'm stuck on what motherboard I want.
It's either going to be a DFI LanParty LT X38-T2R or an Asus Maximus Formula. Any suggestions? I put some conditions on here even though these are both x38 boards.

Conditions:
Price is NOT a concern
Looking for EXTREME oc'ing
Looking for reliability/stability
Future-proof
MB that keeps relatively cool temps (ie. NB)
MB that will support a LARGE cpu cooler (ie. Thermalright ultra 120)

When it comes to higher end boards, I love DFI. They have the most "tweakable" bios you could ever ask for. That Lanparty board is awesome.

 

[OrbitzXT]

If price is not an issue, you should do your best to hold out a month or two. Get a Q9450 when they come out, and wait and see how the 9800 GX2 performs and is priced before going out and getting a 3870 X2. I notice you don't even mention a video card in your tough decision, are you set with one already? I don't consider myself a fanboy, but at the moment I'm leaning with nVidia as my preference for a number of reasons. nVidia cards tend to be much quieter (The 3870 X2 is an old school ATI leaf blower), nVidia cards usually outperform their ATI counterpart, and most importantly to me...nVidia drivers have working Image Scaling so when I play old 4:3 games, they're not distorted and stretched throughout 1920x1080.

I own a 3850 right now, and it performs alright, its one of the quieter ATI cards which is nice. My only issue is Image Scaling, I love to play Starcraft still, but there is no widescreen support at all, and playing on a 42" 1080p HDTV, the Protoss' Carriers look so stretched out, like little shoes...

 

[Woah Mama!]

Well from the two you list, and my personal experience with both I can only praise DFI and frown on Asus.

Without checking every single technical specification, I suggest DFI. Maybe its the change from single core and X800 to dual core and 8800 GTS but my DFI so far has just not failed to leave me in awe. I have had trouble with the drivers for the NF4 chipset, but that seems a generic problem with NF4 only, so X38 can't be that bad

 

[happita]

When it comes to higher end boards, I love DFI. They have the most "tweakable" bios you could ever ask for. That Lanparty board is awesome.

I've heard that its hard to navigate through their BIOS. And from what I've read people who own/owned a Formula, the OC'ing features are fairly catered towards noobs & advanced ocers alike. I've never OC'ed before. But, would it be worth my while if I sat back and learned the BIOS of DFI? I honestly might be scared in case an OC fails and what the end results might bring me.

 

[Namslas90]

They are both realy nice boards with lots of Overclocking features. My only objection with the DFI LanParty LT X38-T2R is that it's actually the "lite" version of the mobo with the full version not yet released. My objections with the Asus Maximus Formula is that they are notoriously hard to fine tune compared to DFI.

I think it's realy to early for X38/X48 boards, but with the technology moving the way it has been latley what are you gonna do. The average lifespan of mobos is realy getting shorter it seems.

 

[erocker]

If price isn't a concern get the Asus Maximus Extreme. If fits all of your requirements and is "future proof" (which doesn't exist with computers) with DDR3.

 

[happita]

They are both realy nice boards with lots of Overclocking features. My only objection with the DFI LanParty LT X38-T2R is that it's actually the "lite" version of the mobo with the full version not yet released. My objections with the Asus Maximus Formula is that they are notoriously hard to fine tune compared to DFI.

I think it's realy to early for X38/X48 boards, but with the technology moving the way it has been latley what are you gonna do. The average lifespan of mobos is realy getting shorter it seems.

The LT is the lite version of what other board? the UT? I'm confused

 

[happita]

If price isn't a concern get the Asus Maximus Extreme. If fits all of your requirements and is "future proof" (which doesn't exist with computers) with DDR3.

I knew I should've put more conditions up there lol. Conditions updated.

 

[happita]

Once the x48 chipsets come out, hopefully it will drive the price down of all current x38 boards. Even though I said price is NOT a concern, I like to keep it under $300