Intel i7-920 in Dell, What motherboard to get for OCing?

Catsonar

Catsonar

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Oct 3, 2003
Messages
1,886
Hey everyone,


Title says it all. i looking to see what motherboard i can get for my new i7-920 i just got so I can take advantage of its potential to OC to EEdition speeds and then some. I have been out of the computer scene for about 4 years now, with my last build being a 3000+ AMD 64. Has the art of OCing changed drastically?
 
How much are you looking to spend? The i7s are very easy to overclock so it shouldn't be a problem.


Budget boards ($180-210):
Gigabyte EX58-UD3R
ASUS P6T SE
Foxconn FlamingBlade
MSI X58 Pro

Mid-Range ($240-270):
Gigabyte EX58-UD4P
ASUS P6T
EVGA E758-TR SLI
DFI LP UT X58-T3eH8

Upper Tier ($270+):
ASUS P6T Deluxe V2
Gigabyte EX58-UD5
EVGA E758-A1 SLI
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-EXTREME
ASUS P6T6 WS Revolution
EVGA Classified

I would say go for the ASUS P6T SE or Gigabyte EX58-UD3R if you don't need any fancy features (many SATA ports, triple CF/SLI). Gigabyte EX58-UD4P / ASUS P6T / EVGA E758-A1 are the most frequently recommended mid-range boards.
 
Best bang for the Buck right now IMO: http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?src=eb&name=MB-EX58U4P
apply MEMORIAL20 promo code for instant $20 and dont forget live cashbach of 5%...browse stores and look for superbiiz. $175 after rebate and cashback FTW!

http://search.live.com/products/pages/stores.aspx?scope=cashback&FORM=CBSL03

all x58 mobos will yield about the same oc unless you are planning on xtreme cooling; I hear Classified is the way to go.

I am thinking about trying this UD4P myself. I currently have a BloodRage, and a Biostar Tpower. Got Tpower for $170 OB, so I couldnt pass it up and turned out to be a good mobo. BR works great for my needs as well, but hardforum does not like it.
 
INFRNL said:
Best bang for the Buck right now IMO: http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?src=eb&name=MB-EX58U4P
apply MEMORIAL20 promo code for instant $20 and dont forget live cashbach of 5%...browse stores and look for superbiiz. $175 after rebate and cashback FTW!

http://search.live.com/products/pages/stores.aspx?scope=cashback&FORM=CBSL03

all x58 mobos will yield about the same oc unless you are planning on xtreme cooling; I hear Classified is the way to go.

I am thinking about trying this UD4P myself. I currently have a BloodRage, and a Biostar Tpower. Got Tpower for $170 OB, so I couldnt pass it up and turned out to be a good mobo. BR works great for my needs as well, but hardforum does not like it.
Click to expand...

What all do you consider extreme cooling? Phase? LN2?
 
INFRNL said:
Best bang for the Buck right now IMO: http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?src=eb&name=MB-EX58U4P
apply MEMORIAL20 promo code for instant $20 and dont forget live cashbach of 5%...browse stores and look for superbiiz. $175 after rebate and cashback FTW!
Click to expand...

I agree. EX58-UD4P for $175 is an excellent deal! I would have easily gotten that one over my UD5 if it had been at that price when I purchased.
 
what is it? Good motherbaord or what? also. With doing such an upgrade I'm guessing that I will also need to look into a PS since i plan on bumping the memory up to 6GB and maybe getting another 4850
 
Well, remember its a dell. I'm not sure what type of PSU's they use but I'm guessing it won't do. Now, back in 02-03 we were looking at PSU max at 600watts. I see that now they have 1200watt psu, HOLY______!!! so should I do that or what? I would like to watercool as well.
 
Catsonar said:
Well, remember its a dell. I'm not sure what type of PSU's they use but I'm guessing it won't do.
Click to expand...
Like I said, we need to know the specifics to come to a verdict about that. If you aren't sure, pop open the case and post the information from the PSU label (or even better, if you have a camera, just take a picture of the label and post it up here). I suspect that any PSU that Dell would use in a high-end system containing an i7 CPU would at least be decent.
Catsonar said:
Now, back in 02-03 we were looking at PSU max at 600watts. I see that now they have 1200watt psu, HOLY______!!! so should I do that or what?
Click to expand...
1200W would be tremendous overkill for all but the most powerful systems. Unless you plan on going Tri-SLI or something, you won't need anything nearly that powerful.
Catsonar said:
I would like to watercool as well.
Click to expand...
Once you've figured out the specifics of the rest of your rig, make a thread in the Water Cooling subforum of the Overclocking and Cooling section about that and I'm sure you'll receive all the help you need.
 
you are using a dell, right? I am pretty sure that only XPS 730 and 630 are standard ATX case. Other than these 2 model, almost all dells are BTX case, which means your new mobo wont fit in.
 
zmhaha said:
you are using a dell, right? I am pretty sure that only XPS 730 and 630 are standard ATX case. Other than these 2 model, almost all dells are BTX case, which means your new mobo wont fit in.
Click to expand...
Most Dell computers nowadays use the standard ATX form factor. They have stopped using BTX for most of their systems.
 
Zero82z said:
Most Dell computers nowadays use the standard ATX form factor. They have stopped using BTX for most of their systems.
Click to expand...

what do you means by nowadays? it sounds like i was talking about decades ago.
give me a couple of example which dells use standard ATX other than xps 730 and 630? i bet there are more, but how many?
 
zmhaha said:
what do you means by nowadays?
Click to expand...
By nowadays I mean within the last two or three years. I think the only models that still use BTX are some of the Optiplex ones. The Inspiron and Vostro desktops all use ATX, and I believe the Precisions do as well.
 
Zero82z said:
By nowadays I mean within the last two or three years. I think the only models that still use BTX are some of the Optiplex ones. The Inspiron and Vostro desktops all use ATX, and I believe the Precisions do as well.
Click to expand...

Careful about some of the Precisions. The last one I purchased (about 2 or 3 years ago) was still BTX. Just check your current case before you buy anything.
 
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