Recommend me a motherboard

[Aenra]

As per title really.. looking for some advice, don't have your expertise and i've already messed up once (much to my shame), so here i am!

To those having come across recent threads of mine, spoiler below:

Spoiler

Have decided to send the board to Asus, see what they make of it. If it has an issue and they fix it, can always sell it, it's literally just been opened and whatever the price loss, i can stomach it. I find getting me a new one preferable to waiting Asus out, as i've lost a whole month already and i need to work. Can't work from the laptop; won't also buy a new laptop. Can't make up the time lost, am however seriously considering not wasting any more of it. This includes re-sitting the mobo and going through all tests yet again with you guys. While i appreciated the offer, i've lost a month already and it has killed me..

Now on topic, i want a mobo that:
1) can OC my i7 6900k as well as a previous mobo did, had it stable at 4.5 and i want it back there.

2) can 'handle' this set of RAMs: http://www.gskill.com/en/product/f4-3400c16q-32gtzsw
Not to say i expect them to run at that frequency, just literally 'handle', ie the frequency being down to whatever my IMC is capable of, rather than any board's inherent limitation.

3) (should go without saying but you've never met me, lol) is capable of running my 960Pro nvme at 3.0 x4.

4) has three PCIe 3.0 x16 slots, one of which being for the gpu, two remaining available (one for the nvme [don't want it hugging the PCB if i can help it], one for ideally a thunderbolt card).

5) has just one extra PCIE-whatever slot for my sound card. It runs at 1.0 x 1

6) has enough headers inside for me to have two USB 3.0 slots up front (on the case), or one USB 3.0 and one USB 1.0/2.0. Just as good.
This means at least three inside, as my pump needs one too. Will have a look and see if i need a fourth, but doubting it. Alternatively, 'space' enough for me to be able to fit a splitter.


Things i do -not- care about:
i) embedded sound, quality thereof. Already have a dedicated card, with replaced n improved capacitors, resistances, etc plus a modified case for less interference. Waste of extra money whatever the mobo has.

ii) gimmicks; be they killer(z) network, triple LAN(z), quadraple WiFi(z), coffee maker(z), RGB lights(z), or whatever makes kids go wild these days. Again waste of money. And effort, as i have a lovely time looking for .inf files just because i'm sane enough not to want the extras.

iii) more than 3 PCIe 3.0 x16 slots, more than one PCIE-whatever slot. They'd remain unslotted.

iv) Connectivity. Just the one ethernet controller for my LAN connection to my router is all i need.

[obviously, if a board that has my 'musts' also comes along with any of the aforementioned, so be it. Just being precise here]

Things i would appreciate but not die for:
- Thunderbolt support. And support only, already have a card.

- Bluetooth support. For that Kobo 7.8'' reader i will someday buy.

Regardless of your replying or not, my sincere thanks for reading. You've already done a lot for me as it is

edit: If your suggestion is Asus' RVE10, do be kind enough to provide an alternative if you can think of one. Am not discounting anything, honestly Earthdog! (/friendly), but i would like to at least know if there are equivalents!
post edit: Just in case no one mentions it, do we consider this one? http://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-X99-Designare-EX-rev-10#ov

 

[EarthDog]

1. Should be easy.. most can do that without flinching (the Asus board you have did NOT take .3V more).

2. 4x8gb @ 3400 won't be possible.. you overbought on the ram. Because of that, you will need to set speeds manually and as you know, slower than they are rated for. If you bought 2800/3000 you would be able to set XMP and walk away.

3. Noted.

4. Thunderbolt....not sure that has any traction even after being out for years. I'd personally forget about it and sell that card you own.

5. They all have that...

6. Easy.

Board you selected looks to fit the bill. You can also do this on your own at newegg and select most (all?) of these filters... we are going to have to do the same thing, lol. When im not mobile, I'll look.

Also, it really seems like all this 'extra' pcie stuff (TB card... sound card - though it isn't extra per say, most use onboard unless you are an audiophile or have great cans/speakers) is what could be holding you back from using your m.2 and having it run full speed.

So, to be clear, you returned the board to asus because of the voltage (non) issue?

 

[jboydgolfer]

I personally prefer Asrock motherboards, but admittedly I haven't gotten any experience with the new CPU lineup from Intel. But I can say is if you're looking for a motherboard that will support overclocking of both Cpu and memory basically if the box shows support it will do both. You should be able to get a decent board around the $120 range unless you need some large amount of customizable settings and bells and whistles and circus lights in which case it will cost more,what I personally do I find a few boards that fit my needs and I check reviews or go with a company with a good track record don't overthink it

*edit* Oh shit, i misread/or had a brain fart when it came to your CPU type...i thought it was a standard 1151 i7, not a 2011-V3 disregard my above suggestion....honest mistake.
i actually didnt even realize it, until i was searching something 30 minutes later, and i had copy/pasted something and your CPU model was still pasted in my clipboard....(i dunno why i copied the model number), but i pasted , and was like "oh shit, $120 for a good board, yeah right"

 

[EarthDog]

IYou should be able to get a decent board around the $120 range unless you need some large amount of customizable settings and bells and whistles and circus lights in which case it will cost more...

You won't find a new X99 based board for $120. Not close... Z170, sure. Not X99. $180 is the cheapest x99 board and it's mATX. You are easily in the $220+ range.

 

[Aenra]

Thanks for the replies guys

I wasn't trying to get people do all the work for me, though the way i phrased it, i can see how it might appear so. Perhaps it would have been better to simply list a couple of motherboards and ask about people's opinions; reason i didn't go that way was to avoid all the necessary follow ups and replies to logical questions such as 'do you want this' and 'this one can only..', thought perhaps the opposite would have been more helpful.

@jboydgolfer Have heard good thing about ASRock recently but i've never owned one, so am rather unsure if this is the time for a leap of faith, especially considering what has transpired thus far, lol. But will have a look now, move on to check some reviews on whatever a model i deem suitable.
As to the Gigabyte listed, yes, it fits the bill and then some but wanted to mention it here, see if perhaps someone has had any personal experience.

@EarthDog: You give me too little credit! Wasn't the sound or TB card holding me back, tried with everything stripped out before i even made a thread here, had the same issue. Have since found other people having said same issue on said same mobo, including some ROG Guru (is that a forum badge? Don't care at this point) member mailing me on his own to tell me i'm basically screwed. I know it's easier (and logical) to accept it's user error, but unless you can think of a way to prove it to us (look at the thread, what we've tried), i beg to differ

edit: in regard to the voltages, pretty much a simple reply. There's only so many options relevant and i'm aware of them all. If this re-branding of a re-re-brand of a mobo has some special way to do what others can do with a lot less input or fuss? No, i cannot say with certainty, i am willing to leave that open. What i can say is that EVEN if it is so, it has a user-unfriendly level beyond which i am willing to cope, having seen how other, cheaper mobos, do a --better-- job than it ever did; despite it costing a hell of a lot more than they do. Just me..:$
(this isn't a hobby for me. I want to work. Will play with buttons for a couple of days in my free time just so i can say 'yay, 4.5 for the next 5 years!', ok, i think that's worth it, but this isn't my idea of fun. I pay for things to happen. I do not pay to get issues, lol)