Trying to decide on what motherboard I should get for my next build this summer. The sabertooth looks pretty good with cooling of the motherboard but evga has their outstanding warrenty. Are there any advantages between the two?

I am wondering if that Asus mobo "passive cooling" doesn't become a cooking pan under certain conditions ... it looks nice though.
 
main difference I can see (unless I can't see) is that Asus Sabertooth Z77 does NOT have the PLX bridge chip and it allows max of 2-way SLI, judging by the PCIe slots layout, at speeds of PCIe3.0 8x/8x as there is only max 16 lanes allowed natively with any of 1155 cpus.
 
EVGA Z77 FTW has the PLX bridge chip (line multiplexer) which technically allows for running up to a quad-SLI (thanks to slot layout) at PCIe3.0 speeds of 8x/16x/8x/8x @ PCIe3.0, at least using the synthetic multiplexed lanes - time will tell how the lane speeds look alike in practice.

I thought the Asus motherboard had a small fan to help with the cooling?
 
And the max I will be going is 2 cards in sli + some folding cards maybe but that's about it so would the evga motherboard be better overall?

hmm, i wasn't aware of any fans for mb cooling. for 2 cards in sli it all should do easily for next few years, 8x/8x pcie3.0 is plenty and none of known cards has saturated it yet, so it should be ok.

ki11joy92


I thought the Asus motherboard had a small fan to help with the cooling?

And the max I will be going is 2 cards in sli + some folding cards maybe but that's about it so would the evga motherboard be better overall?

Yep The Z77 comes with two small fans, one you place in between the cpu socket and 1st PCI lane. The other is place near the I/O ports.
 
I have P67 sabertooth and actually the stuff "under" the armor stay decently cool

So I have done a bit of research and I have seen that the ASrock Extreme 6 is extremely well and have heard good things about it. I think I may pick up that or the Extreme 9 since it seems like the EVGA z77 is never going to be released.

asrock sounds like a nice option too, my next board could be asrock, they seem to do very well recently
 
as per evga, I'd give them a few more days, it seems like Z77 ftw is just about to get released   ... because there is so called silence before the storm as I see it

It all depends on what features you want in a motherboard and do you only care about overclocking, do you really need PLX chip.  Asus Sabertooth is $100 less and has a 5yr warranty. I won't be surprised to see EVGA offer a rebate within the first month of release to be honest. 
 
I'd love to see EVGA offer other versions that have more features for customers that could careless about going for world record overclock and failing . 
Better onboard sound chip (Realtek blows)
Intel NIC
Aluminum Vreg/mosift heatsinks instead of cheap plastic
One version with PCI slots (long live PCI slot )
 
I'm not talking about going crazy and offering a version like Asrock Z77 Professional Fatal1ty Edition that have IDE connector .
 
 
 
 
 

love evga mobo's but when is the z77 coming out...no one is carrying it.

ki11joy92


Trying to decide on what motherboard I should get for my next build this summer. The sabertooth looks pretty good with cooling of the motherboard but evga has their outstanding warrenty. Are there any advantages between the two?

If you have about half an hour...this video explains any question you might have about quality and cooling.  The Sabertooth z77 is an exceptional board...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9t8MIlNGzc
 

hey thanks bob. watching that video now!

Difference.
That's simple Saber is ugly, FTW is beautiful.
 

Saber tooth only three PCIe slots. Of which, only one 16 x or two 8x. No PLX switch

EVGA FTW. 5 PCIe slots. Of which two can be used as 16x by 16 x and the rest of the lanes stay at 8x. Has the PLX switch, so 32 lanes available.

Th FTW seems to have more future proofing for next generation cards that can take advantage of 16x performance, especially in SLI

On many exspensive boards graphic cards work x8 in SLI. 

Vlada011


On many exspensive boards graphic cards work x8 in SLI. 

 
yeah, but that applies mostly to 1155 sockets and boards not having the PLX bridge chip (x79 platform allows for up 40 lanes natively from the cpu).
to be honest the bridge chips as much as are not bad, can become a major drawback at some point in time when next PCIe generation of cpus and cards gets released, assuming the cpu socket stays same (which is probably not the case with haswell).
 
also former bridge chip (NF200) was a total waste of time in 2-sli, because it allowed for real world speeds not far away from native 8x/8x (on boards without NF200). NF200 made sense only in tri-SLI setup where it actually worked.
 
PLX chip is much better though as it multiplexes all of 16 native lanes from CPU while NF200 could only multiplex on 8 native lanes (higher compression ratio, higher lag, pooerer performance).
 
Anyways, since PCIe 3.0 has just been released I keep up high hopes in PLX switching on Z77 FTW ...

You guys are debating x 8 and x16 pci express slots, and for what reason I don't understand...


The difference in fps of x 16 and x 8 is less than 5%. You will never see the difference in any game.

^true, for now.
 
it will all change with next card series, and ones after them. we are talking about future proof boards and ones that aren't. it's nice to own a board which can last a few good years.
 
I can't say a bad thing about my former 790 Ultra, lasted a few good years, never a problem and it could do 16x/16x with 570 in SLI, yet the graphics portion of score in 3dmark11 was higher than even at higher clocks on Z68 FTW with synthetic 16x/16x (pretty much same as 8x/8x without NF200).
 
me personally keep the boards for a few years and just upgrade video cards, memory sticks and cpus (if possible). z68 ftw I bought only for time being when waiting on z77 ftw actually ...

To put things into perspective.  Just finished building a new machine.  Specs:
 
Intel i7-3770K @3.5 GHZ (not overclocking as yet)
Asus Sabertooth z77 Motherboard
EVGA GTX 580 SC
16 GB of Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1866
Samsung 830 256 GB SSD as OS Drive
Hitachi 1TB 7200 rpm HDD as D Drive
Pioneer BDR-205 / BDR-207
Corsair HX850 SSD
Thermaltake Overseer RX-1 Case
 
Here are my old E758 3D Mark11 Scores (you can verify in the GTX 500 series thread)
 
bobmitch --------------- i7 950 @ 3.2 ----------- (1) 580BO 1700/2100 -------------- 6945 -- 7860 -- 6878 --- P7061 Air
new
bobmitch---------------i7 3770K @3.5------------(1) 580sc  1700/2100-------------7023---10312---7483----P7423 Air
 
In essence, the i7 3770K brings out more of the GTX Black Ops card.  The Physx score goes 7860 to 10312...pretty impressed by that.  Overall...I like the quality of the Asus Sabertooth.  Easy to work with and I read the manual for all the settings.  I plan to up the CPU to 4.0 and leave it there in the near future.  Even running full tilt (used Prime 95 and 3D burnin tool last night)...my CPU topped off at 65C.  I believe that the Ivy Bridge heat issues happen above 4.4 GHZ.  Never going there, so not worried...
 

 

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main difference: z77 sabertooth exists.

Main Difference - EVGA Has Good Customer Support - check my Sig. if you want to see how Asus takes care of its customers.  Posted Last Week -  "I am very disappointed with (Asus) customer service....Their forum online for technical assistance is a joke...either no reply or if you reply back they won't!"
 
Z77 FTW Out Next Week BTW

I have to comment on this.  I have done successful RMA's with Asus and their customer service has been great!
 
Every company has given a customer support that a customer believes is unadequate.
 
Google "horrible evga rma support" and im sure you willfind at least one unhappy evga customer

VegetaCreeper


I have to comment on this.  I have done successful RMA's with Asus and their customer service has been great!

Every company has given a customer support that a customer believes is unadequate.

Google "horrible evga rma support" and im sure you willfind at least one unhappy evga customer

In the past 12 years or do, I have owned Four Asus (including the new Sabertooth z77) and one EVGA.  In all the cases, I have never encountered bad support from either company.  I will give Asus 4 stars...for there are some techs...da!  But many are very good.  I give EVGA 5 stars out of 5.  They have always been exceptional with me.  I have encountered mainly Jacob Freeman...who is one of the most knowledgable and helpful individuals I have ever met.  I cannot say enough about EVGA on that account.  I was always well taken care of.  Back to Asus...I have had great conversations there as well.  When the first level tech didn't have an answer to a question, they always brought in a second level tech for a three way conversation.  There is good and not so good with all.  Sometimes just a roll of the dice. 
 
I got the Sabertooth for a few reasons.  5 year warranty...each board is pre-tested before shipped and has a written guarantee to work...and it does.  The price point was over $100 lower and right now...that got me a new PSU to put in my E758 system (picked up a nice Thermaltake 750 Smart Power) and I moved my Corsair XH850 to the Sabertooth system.  It was a matter of timing, and available $$$ at the moment I chose to upgrade and build a new system.  Will I continue to purchase from Asus...YES...EVGA...ABSOLUTELY!  I like both companies and won't dump on either one...they have both worked out well for me.

Well there are more people with more knowlege on the boards here than me, so I'll leave the technical comment up to them.  So I'll state the obvious, but overlooked...
EVGA FTW is form factor EATX - so it alienates alot of customers right there.  Asus, Gigabit, MSI, etc all have their Z77 mobos on the ATX frm factor, and they already have multiple mobos in the line out. 
C'mon EVGA we're waitiiiiing...
And I love EVGA but their price point is alway much higher than competitors

EATX accommodates 5 PCIe slots.

SmilinDannyCohen

And I love EVGA but their price point is alway much higher than competitors

Quality & Service don't come cheap.

Delirious


EATX accommodates 5 PCIe slots.

5 PCI express slots is a great feature.  However many full size towers only support ATX and Micro ATX...
 
My Thermaltake Chaser MK1 computer case is absolutely amazing.  However it only supports standard ATX, so its a good thing I went for the Asus Sabertooth Z77

ASUS already has their board out...

I would never buy a board named after a paleolithic cat!

I eneded up buying Asus Sabertooth z77 just because I needed ATX board.
Sad, I would love to have a z77 atx from evga to match my evga 670 ftw.

sumik


I eneded up buying Asus Sabertooth z77 just because I needed ATX board.
Sad, I would love to have a z77 atx from evga to match my evga 670 ftw.

The Sabertooth is a GREAT board.  Whether one gets the FTW or the Sabertooth...you are in a Win Win situation.  Enjoy the board and the new processor.  Ivy Bridge really has some power to it...surprised me! 
 
What case did you get?  My E758 was in an Antec Nine Hundred...had to blow the dust out and vacuum monthly.  Then I came across this for the Sabertooth
http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Product.aspx?C=1470&ID=2068
 
Two 200mm fans spinning at 650 rpm.  Not very fast, but the blade size pushes a lot of air.  Gets really warm in TX this time of year...right now, temps dropped into 80s at night...ambient temps right now in my office is about 80 (nice breeze blowing...window open)...here are my current temps
 
 
 

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