X99: Asus vs. Gigabyte

kbronski · 22 May 2015

Question: Is the ASUS X99 PRO worth the price premium over a cheaper option like the Gigabyte GA-X99-UD4?

This question was spurred after reading this PCGamer article. While I was not surprised that some boards are more reliable than others, I was surprised to find that not all X99 motherboards perform the same. That is, that the CPU will perform differently (even at stock-clock) one one board than it will on another. So, since my primary concern in building a workstation is long-term stability and reliability, as well as performance efficiency, I'm curious which board will be better suited for the long run (5+ years of usage).

ignatzatsonic · 22 May 2015

kbronski said:

So, since my primary concern in building a workstation is long-term stability and reliability, as well as performance efficiency, I'm curious which board will be better suited for the long run (5+ years of usage).

I don't see how that article answers your question in any way.

The article is all about gaming, benchmarks, frames per second, etc. It doesn't even attempt to evaluate stability or reliability or long-term anything.

There's too much randomness in whatever choice you make---luck. Obviously, you can't find a study in 2015 that will tell you how certain current boards will perform from 2015 to 2020. You can't even find a valid study about how boards that were new in 2010 performed between 2010 and 2015.

You can find anecdotes, you can read reviews and articles, and you can make a decision to buy brand X. But you're still pretty much throwing darts and hoping when it comes to long-term satisfaction as opposed to immediate gratification from features and frame rates.

If you buy brand X and are completely satisfied after 5 years, you can then pat yourself on the back about how wonderful your research was, ignoring your good luck. That's the gambler's creed. I do it myself.

Lady Fitzgerald · 22 May 2015

I would read the customer reviews (actually read them, don't go by just the number of stars, eggs, or kumquats) on any MOBOs that catch your eye to get a feel for which ones may be more reliable.

ThrashZone · 22 May 2015

Sure start this now

Kind of why I went with the sabertooth version of the asus x99 hoping for bullet proof with the back plate and thermo armor
Suppose to have a lot of military quality parts.....

AddRAM · 22 May 2015

I think you made a fine choice Mike

Motherboards | SABERTOOTH X99 | ASUS USA

ThrashZone · 22 May 2015

Thank you Brian,
I was like a moth to a flame :)

But I almost went for this one if they would dropped the price a tad more because they didn't have the sabertooth

http://www.microcenter.com/product/4...el_Motherboard

Lady Fitzgerald · 22 May 2015

ThrashZone said:

Thank you Brian,
I was like a moth to a flame :)

But I almost went for this one if they would dropped the price a tad more because they didn't have the sabertooth

http://www.microcenter.com/product/4...el_Motherboard

Now THAT is a drool worthy board! I've been drooling like a famous Russian pooch over several of the X99 boards but I just don't have enough "mileage" on my X79 yet to justify upgrading yet, especially since I wouldn't be able to use my DDR3 RAM on it (and DDR4 is still higher than a kite).

AddRAM · 22 May 2015

No way, the Sabertooth looks Wayyy better then that thing

ThrashZone · 22 May 2015

Yep the 3 year warrantee was the killing factor they would of had to drop the price considerably I was pushing for 425 not 525.us
With the i7 5930k of course :/
No bites but as you see someone bought it they had 1 in stock.

Lady Fitzgerald · 22 May 2015

AddRAM said:

No way, the Sabertooth looks Wayyy better then that thing

True, it looks better but I look at ease of maintenance (all that armor could trap dust) and utility (such as the number of SATA and USB ports).