What is the best MB, CPU and memory combo for $1000

[pabloottawa]

So I'm getting around 1k back on my taxes and I'd like to know what the upgrade gods have to say about getting the latest and greatest with regards to a MB, CPU and memory combo. I already have the ssd drives, case and vid cards so the only thing that really needs to be considered is that the board I will need has to have 2 WELL spaced PCI-E ports to accommodate both of my Asus GTX 560s running in SLI. My. Current board (Asus P6T) has the main card on the top port at x16 but due to the fatness of these cards, the bottom one has to use the very bottom port which only operates at x4 so I want my next board to be the latest on the market and accomodate both cards at x16 with plenty of space in between for adequate air circulation.

Anyone have any ideas?

 

[brandonwh64]

You can either test IB that is about to release or if you want full 16x16 then go socket 2011.

 

[pabloottawa]

Thanks,

I was thinking socket 2011 but what exactly do you mean by "test IB"?

 

[GSquadron]

CPU: http://www.google.com/products/cata...a=X&ei=zHKIT-XiFcSo4gT0m7nBCQ&ved=0CF8Q8wIwBA
Mobo: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...6RBoTQuxk7GG09E3A&sig2=kWVMDHe2gVvHjeEaOYi3Kw
Ram: http://www.google.com/products/cata...anOIT4OgD8j74QTE94HICQ&sqi=2&ved=0CKEBEOUNMAA

[My opinion]

 

[Drugsh]

wait for ivy bridge....sb-e will be too costly considering your budget...

 

[lilhasselhoffer]

Depends upon what you're looking for, and where you're buying.

If you want some generic information, then your best bet is a 3820 processor, excellent board, and a decent amount of RAM (300-350-200).

If you're looking for an awesome combo, which may break the bank, then go for a 3930k, midrange board, and a decent amount of RAM (600-200-200).

There are quite a few 2011 socket motherboards, which can fit your need in any sort of situation. Wit 40 PCI-e The only big recommendation I can offer is to stay away from the Gigabyte UD5 motherboard. It was painfully bad in its VRM, and a rather substantial personal disappointment...~sigh~...

 

[Outback Bronze]

You should b able to get a 3930k, decent mobo and ram 4 roughly $1000.

 

[EarthDog]

You should b able to get a 3930k, decent mobo and ram 4 roughly $1000.

Easily. IF 3930K's were actually available (I havent checked in a week or so, are they?)

 

[MasterInvader]

Easy;

CPU - Intel Core i7-3930K [LGA 2011]

MB - Asus Rampage IV Formula X79

RAM - Corsair Vengeance 16GB [4 x 4 GB] DDR3 1600 MHz

 

[EarthDog]

Im certain this person doesnt need the RIVE...unless he is extreme overclocking. That board is MASSIVE overkill for 99% of people.

 

[NHKS]

....
If you're looking for an awesome combo, which may break the bank, then go for a 3930k, midrange board, and a decent amount of RAM (600-200-200).
...

or if u can, head to a microcenter & grab one for 500$

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0376493

 

[pabloottawa]

Thanks guys.... I just called a local store and they are trying to sell me on the P9X79 Deluxe which looks like a nice board with a lot of features PLUS I'm told that the board supports triple channel memory which is great because I'd hate to give up my 24GB of hyperX memory.

Anyone have any experience with the P9 X79?

 

[cadaveca]

Thanks guys.... I just called a local store and they are trying to sell me on the P9X79 Deluxe which looks like a nice board with a lot of features PLUS I'm told that the board supports triple channel memory which is great because I'd hate to give up my 24GB of hyperX memory.

Anyone have any experience with the P9 X79?

Sure do, use it in my daily rig right now. Great board.

Review here:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/P9X79_Deluxe/

 

[pabloottawa]

Thanks for the review cadaveca. Do you think my triple channel DDR3 hyperX memory will work on the board? I have 6 sticks of 4gb for a total of 24gb

 

[Aquinus]

Thanks for the review cadaveca. Do you think my triple channel DDR3 hyperX memory will work on the board? I have 6 sticks of 4gb for a total of 24gb

I also have the P9X79 Deluxe and with a 3820 you wouldn't break your budget. That is what I did. You can run triple channel on X79, it depends on what slots you put your memory in. I really like mine. Cadaveca recommended this board to me and it has been the nicest mobo I've ever used and the 3820 is like the 2700k with extra bells and whistles. 4.75ghz was pretty easy, but the 3820 can hit 5ghz and has enough wiggle room to get to a max of something like 5.4ghz or something like that. With that kind of budget for just the CPU, Mobo, and memory, and if you already have the memory, that leaves room in your budget for a 3930k if you really wanted the extra cores and the completely unlocked multiplier, but I didn't feel that double the price was worth only 2 more cores.

 

[cadaveca]

Thanks for the review cadaveca. Do you think my triple channel DDR3 hyperX memory will work on the board? I have 6 sticks of 4gb for a total of 24gb

Yes, your memory should work, but it might take some timing tweaks to get there. I have run 6x 4GB sticks @ 2000 MHz without any problems, however, because your sticks are a bit older, they may need some secondary timing adjustments(typically older XMP v1.2 profiles don't work well on X79). You use three slots on either side of the CPU, but I will say, that if you do run that much, I suggest you get some ram fans if you don't have them already.

I will also recommend that you buy a Corsair H100 as a cooler. Why? Two reasons:


1. The Intel 3930K does not come with a cooler, so you'll need one anyway.

2. When it comes to cooling an Intel X79 Express rig, the H100 is damn near perfectly designed for that platform. Let me show you why:

This is my X79 rig, with H100. You'll notice I have fans on both ram sets, which is kinda critical for these rigs, as the VRMs can run pretty hot too, so much so that the platform is built to throttle the CPU, not only when the CPU is hot, but also when the VRM is hot!:

So, you need decent cooling, but when at idle, it'd sure be nice to have nearly no noise, and not have to listen to the ram fans, wouldn't it? Well, Corsair thought about this, and the H100 has 4 fan headers, two of which can be used for the stock fans on the rad, while the other two ports, you can plug the ram fans into, and they will spin up when the rad fans do, when the CPU is loaded. You cannot get simpler than this for cooling management(red arrows are ram fan plugs, yellow are rad fan plugs):

When overclocked, on Intel X79, you really need to consider high-end air, or better. The problem with high-end air coolers is that to provide the cooling they do, they need high airflow. I asked a thermatake rep if they were going to release an aircooler capable of cooling the 250W of my 3960X, to which they replied "Not really possible".


You'll also note that nearly every user of Intel X79 express, uses a H100, as it's just enough for decent clocks, without a lot of noise, and the cost is very similar to a lot of high-end air coolers.


And just so we are clear, Corsair DID NOT provide me with this cooler. I bought it because I already have H50 and H70, and they works quite well, but I also knew that they weren't quite enough cooling, either. The h100 is so easy to set up and use, I have a hard time not recommending it.






I need to hit up corsair for some product samples, comsidering how much I pimp their products.

 

[n-ster]

You should just get an extra 2x 4GB of your RAM to run quad channel OR sell 2 of them and run 16GB (you really need more than 16GB?)
Cadaveca, do you know if the deluxe is really better than the standard?

Hey if you are in Ottawa, PM me with your number or email for chatting or skype or something. I'm looking for something similar atm, maybe we can help each other out

 

[cadaveca]

Cadaveca, do you know if the deluxe is really better than the standard?

Both boards are similar, and have slightly different features, but should overall clock similarily. However, if there is any differences in clocking, because I do not have both boards, I cannot be 100% sure.


That said, because i have the P9X79 Deluxe, if someone who has one runs into issues, chances are I've run into them myself, as I use this rig for memory reviews as well, so I've definitely spent considerable time playing in the BIOS tweaking settings. I try to only recommend stuff I have because of this, and will never recommend something i don't have any experience with. Sometimes I wish OEMs would send me every product they got so that trouble shooting is easy-peasy, but at the same time, I'm pretty busy with reviews as is!

 

[Athlon2K15]

Listen to dave dammit he is a reviewer!!!

 

[cadaveca]

Listen to dave dammit he is a reviewer!!!

LuLz, seeing how you take your own advice here, I won't take that as a troll.

 

[pabloottawa]

You should just get an extra 2x 4GB of your RAM to run quad channel OR sell 2 of them and run 16GB (you really need more than 16GB?)
Cadaveca, do you know if the deluxe is really better than the standard?

Hey if you are in Ottawa, PM me with your number or email for chatting or skype or something. I'm looking for something similar atm, maybe we can help each other out

Hey N-ster,

If the money for this build goes through and you are interested I will need to unload some of my current setup which might I add, runs flawlessly. I love it but the new found cash gives me reason to upgrade.

This is what I might sell if there is a demand and the offers aren't a slap in the face

Asus P6T MB
INTEL I7 930
Corsair H70
Kingston HyperX memory. (6 sticks of 4GB) as an entire set. I really don't want to split it up.

 

[pabloottawa]

Sorry for the double post as I'm not trying to pad my post count.

I just wanted to thank everyone for responding and offering their expert tutilage lol. Trust me when I say it was a big help

Pablo

 

[Aquinus]

Sorry for the double post as I'm not trying to pad my post count.

I just wanted to thank everyone for responding and offering their expert tutilage lol. Trust me when I say it was a big help

Pablo

Does that mean you're going to jump on the SB-E bandwagon?

 

[pabloottawa]

forgive my ignorance but what does SB-E stand for?

Sandy Bridge - edition?

 

[cadaveca]

SandyBridge-Extreme?