All right so i've bought all the parts for my new computer expect for two.
I don't want to spend a huge amount on a motherboard but I want it to atleast perform good. Yes I know that higher priced products perform better but I think I've found a MB that might be a good balance between the two.

What's your opinion of this motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD4P
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128374)

Thanks.

nice choice, which i7 are you putting in there?

GIGABYTE has won my heart and im sure it will win yours

I have a i7 920 that i'm going to throw in it. Just the motherboard and the hard drive is all i have left (besides the cpu heatsink). I hope to oc it to about 3.5-3.6, would this board work?

I'm going to buy this cooler
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=25506
I haven't bought it yet though, but I'm afraid of buying a heatsink and finding out it won't fit.

the motherboard will go as high as you want and much more, this cpu cooler will be much better, what case are you going to use
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835233029

I bought a NZXT Tempest

should be easy for that board, I dont know about that cooler, so i wont comment on it, but I am an overclocker, and have had the best results with the multi heat pipe stacked aluminum fin (where the copper pipes actually make contact with the cpu surface) maybe Supermashbrada will stop in with a suggestion. he has his I7 920 OC to 4.2Ghz, he water cools, but probably knows the best air coolers for the OC I7

ok you can use the cooler the i recommended but you will have to remove the fan on the side panel

Must be one huge heatsink.
Would this one work without taking off my fan?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835185093

they are both the same height give or take a few centimeters

Your Gigabyte choice is hardy... rugged... consistently more reliable than Asus and many others. We expect you will be very happy with it.

Here is a review comparing the best air coolers for the I7 920
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.ph...&limitstart=16
and its done at the frequency you are aiming for as well

The Gigabyte board is a really good one for what you're going for. I'd only suggest others from Asus if you were doing something extreme, like 4.5ghz+.

It looks like you dont want to spend much on a cooler, best bang for your buck is going to be a ximatek cooler, make sure you get the bracket for the i7 socket.

the ximatek that i pointed out comes with the bracket for the i7 socket.

I'm really looking for something that won't make me take off that side fan. Do you guys expect motherboard prices to drop before the 30th? (That's when the rebate runs out).

Thanks for all the ideas so far.

Hi again stick,
if you really want to keep that fan on the side this is a good option, the ocz vandetta 1, its not as tall as the vendetta 2 and will leave room for the side fan.(i also have an interior 120mm fan on my side panel aligned on top of my processor). now it is only a degree warmer than the vendetta 2 (see the benchmark I linked above) . the i7 is going to throw more heat obviously than mine, but here is a snapshot of my temps with the vendetta 1 OC from 2.7 ghz to 3.4Ghz under normal load, hits 30c max while playing crysis warhead. i have exceptional airflow in my case ,and your load temps my be higher, but it does perform exceptionally well. i attached a pic for you. hope it helps Stick

Attached Images

HWmonmay10.PNG (96.2 KB, 5 views)

Sadly though it's not compatible with socket 1366, any other ideas?

hey stick, check this out.
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=22520
according to this you can get the 1366 bracket for the vendetta series!

bottom of the page

It's a possiblity, what about this one, it's on sale
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=24978

Red, that's a good fall back plan. It's a little more expensive then the one that is on sale, but if it proves to be no good then I might go with your idea.

I recommend this motherboard instead. You save about 80-90 bucks, and only lose two DIMM slots and one PCI-E slot. You still have the option to go Crossfire\SLI, but with only two cards instead of three. These features aren't worth the extra money IMO.

As for a cooler, I recommend this heatsink if it fits (it's about 1cm shorter than the Xigmatek). Otherwise, the Vendetta is your best choice.