Cheap chinese x79 mobos

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wildpig1234

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Aug 22, 2016
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if it wasn't for the fact that i am already knee deep into a dual 2686 v3 build, i might try this too...maybe later...lol.. it would actually be faster than my old trusty i7-2600k i am still using daily...

it would definitely be a real step up from my 955 x4 athlon, the other computer that i am using...lol..
 

Marsh

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May 12, 2013
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I have couple of two Intel DX79SI board running with I7-3960x. couple of MSI X79 boards as well.

I love these boards, they are really versatile especially with the price of DDR4 ram.

Shot me an offer.
 

TType85

Active Member
Dec 22, 2014
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Garden Grove, CA
I have couple of two Intel DX79SI board running with I7-3960x. couple of MSI X79 boards as well.

I love these boards, they are really versatile especially with the price of DDR4 ram.

Shot me an offer.
Did they ever update the bios for Ivy-E for the DX79SI? Again, the only downside to these boards are not being able to use cheap RDIMM's.
 

Marsh

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May 12, 2013
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I don't follow the Intel DX79 board progress much.
They are running I7-3960x as my gaming machines ( I don't game now ).

I have a large stock of DDR3 desktop memory on-hand. So I don't know about RDIMM.
 

wildpig1234

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Aug 22, 2016
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crazy thing is x5650 is not that much slower than e5-1650 v1... x5650 goes for less than $20 per cpu
 

wildpig1234

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Aug 22, 2016
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i wonder if this MB will take OEM chips like 2696 v2 that my intel s2600cp is refusing to take.
 

poutnik

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Apr 3, 2013
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I haven't tried, but they are reported to be more CPU tolerant. In the Russian world (where these Chinese boards are more prevalent), it's reported to support ES/QS chips too. And usually the answers from Russian users of the boards are more precise than those from the sellers. You might give it a try...
 

wildpig1234

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Aug 22, 2016
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not cheap chinese MB, but what does everyone think about this?

708615-001 HP Z420 SYSTEM BOARD | eBay

HP Z420 MB. this one is supposed to be the higher number part with the boot block allowing for v2 cpu. it does have the 18 pin main power connector. which there is several adaptor cables you can get....

anyone successfully got one of these boards to work in a regular atx case and psu with the adaptor cable? the only other issue is that this might not support oem cpu like 2696 v2 ? wondering if anyone tried...

sucks there seems to be no avail i/o plate since that's part of the case unless someone found a custom made one somewhere else
 
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poutnik

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Apr 3, 2013
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I have a Z420 complete system, have not tried building a new one around the board. And definitely would not do it - too much hassle, too many problems to solve:

* PSU adapter cable (easy to solve)
* fans have non-standard pins
* count on no E5-v2 support unless you are 100% certain about the BIOS boot block date (It's not user updatable, build in feature of the board)

If you don't want to trust the chinese X79 boards (and I understand that even though I'm very happy with my X79 - it's running 24/7 doing mining for the past 5months), get a SuperMicro board.
 

wildpig1234

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Aug 22, 2016
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I was able to find on ebay specific MB that have the later boot block date to work with v2. Power cable adaptor is available but there's report of people not being able to get the computer back from sleep when using the adaptor cable. didn't know about non-standard fan pins....

i am actually fairly happy. it worked with oem 2696 v2 cpu as well as ecc ram as expected. haven't tried ES cpu yet but don't really anticipated much of those around for e5 v2 anyway.

just not as happy that there's only 4 ram slots. i understand they probably will be able to use 16gb dimm to get to 64gb but obviously z420 does have more ram slots

also, lack of true s3 sleep on the chinese x79 MB does bother me a little.

i just can't believe how expensive x79 MB are..... i mean it's almost better to just go with a z9pe-d16 MB which does cost $300 but at least it's dual cpu board... i did try two SM MB before and they were not completely working correctly with the latest win 10 1709 for me so i had to get the asus z9pe-d10 and that seems to work.
 

wildpig1234

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Aug 22, 2016
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how about a lenovo s30 MB? they seem to be more like regular MB with regular power plugs
 

TType85

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Dec 22, 2014
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how about a lenovo s30 MB? they seem to be more like regular MB with regular power plugs
I have one here running a E5-2667 V1 CPU that had one of the 4 HSF mounts break off the socket (what the HSF screws in to). I found out there are (at least) 2 versions of the S30 motherboard. The 1.0 has pin connections for stuff like USB/Front Panel. The 2.0 does not, it uses a little pcb slot to connect up the front panel. Standard ATX power supply seems to work fine with them though. Pretty much no over clocking. That being said, you can pick a whole system for not much more than the cheap china boards.
 

wildpig1234

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Aug 22, 2016
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yeah, I need to be careful to choose the ver that will also support v2 cpu... they lock down a lot of the earlier ver with boot block that you can't upgrade ;(
 

wildpig1234

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Aug 22, 2016
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Build Your Own Lenovo S30 4-Core 3.00GHz E5-1607 v2 No OS Wholesale | eBay

Lenovo S30 for $207 shipped. Not bad bad for a single socket 2011 v2. Given how much X79 MB are nowaday, this is not bad since it does include the case, and 600W PSU.... this also have a lot of ram slots and expansion slots compared to the chinese offers. lenovo MB are also almost pretty much generic-like with regard to psu plugs spec, fan plugs, etc unlike the HP and dell MB

The only question is the microcode support for cpu if it will also support oem cpu. i ordered one and will test with oem 2696 v2....
 

PCBONEZ

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Nov 1, 2017
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@Owners of these Chinese x79 mobos.

Are there any UL numbers or FCC certs claimed on the board/box or in the documentation?

UL numbers can ID the actual manufacturer and possibly lead to BIOS updates and so on.

FCC certs ensure the boards are not sources of EMI.

Thanks.
.
 
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wildpig1234

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Aug 22, 2016
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@Owners of these Chinese x79 mobos.

Are there any UL numbers or FCC certs claimed on the board/box or in the documentation?

UL numbers can ID the actual manufacturer and possibly lead to BIOS updates and so on.

FCC certs ensure the boards are not sources of EMI.

Thanks.
.
it could all be fake printing on the board. for all we knows the bios might have been surreptiously sending info back to china? lol.... but i guess that could happen with asus or anyone else MB too...lol
 

PCBONEZ

New Member
Nov 1, 2017
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Although admittedly not always user friendly, both UL and the FCC maintain publicly accessible databases so consumers can look up the numbers. They also have information on how to spot fake markings and/or what legit markings should look like.

Lacking the numbers doesn't by default mean the boards have issues, it just means the company didn't submit samples to UL/FCC get their products Certified safe and legal.
In the case if the FCC no Cert' for some kinds of products makes them illegal for use in the US.
As I understand it, OB Sound and LAN puts motherboards that have them in that category.

OTOH:
Certs mean it's been tested outside the company by a third party.
A UL Cert (primarily) tells you it isn't likely to catch fire. (Seems to be UL's main focus.)
The FCC Cert tells you it's not emitting excessive EMI that might affect your other computers, cards you've installed in it, nearby audio devices or even cell phones.
There are non-US Certs that tell basically the same thing things.
Example= Korea Certification Standard Mark Requirements
Example= EMC Requirements for Australia and New Zealand

It's only something I think about when dealing with small companies I've never heard of.
Major mobo/NIC/card/etc.. companies get the Certs by default. It's usually marked on the box and/or in the manual somewhere.
For them getting the Cert is cheap protection against lawsuits later on should a bum part slip past their own engineers.

Note: Product certs go to whoever applies for them. They -usually- ID the actual manufacturer, but not always.
Antec OEM's their PSUs from other companies (Seasonic, Delta, CWT, other?) and then (often/sometimes/used to ?) applies for Certification under their own name, so, by the UL marked on the part it looks like they are the actual manufacturer.
I don't know if they still do that but they were when CWT (who had a bad rep at the time) was one of their major suppliers.
Antec isn't the only company that has ever done that and it is unusual, but it happens.
.
 
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