# Building a rig - motherboards?



## Zhao Shen (Nov 2, 2018)

Finally building my own rig, and am pretty perplexed by motherboards. While most components like RAM, CPU, GPU, drives, etc. are pretty interpretable in terms of function, specs, tradeoffs, and benchmarks, I have absolutely no clue what the tradeoffs between different motherboards are.

I plan on doing composing and gaming on my rig and am looking at the ASRock Taichi z390. Lots of gamers seem to be a fan of the Asus boards and rarely mention ASRock (or it may just be my inexperience and small sample size), but I must admit I really like the idea of having 3 PCIe slots. Are the numbers of specific ports the only factor in choosing a motherboard? Would picking a different board have any noticeable effect on performance, or are all boards around that price point more or less the same?

As an aside, how do you gauge what PSU your build needs, is there a way to objectively decide the wattage required?


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## iMovieShout (Nov 2, 2018)

Possibly look at Supermicro X10dai which is dual Xeon, DDR4 RAM, and supports Thunderbolt.


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## Pictus (Nov 2, 2018)

To gauge the PSU https://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator
If you want it to run quieter, check the reviews...
For example the Corsair CP-9020179 is a 750 PSU that produces only 10 dB(A) up to 550W load.
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/corsair-rm750x-v2-psu,5585-5.html




For GPU(if needed) I prefer AMD, see why
https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=7060297

For SSD Samsung without any doubt, check the chart at
https://3dnews.ru/938764/page-3.html

For motherboards, buy the one that have the feature you need + a
VMR capable to comfortably drive the CPU.
For the Z390 line seems like the Asus got the better BIOS and
Gigabyte the better VRM implementation...
For reference check this chart from https://www.overclock.net/forum/6-i...0-vrm-discussion-thread-216.html#post27657582

Also interesting...
https://wccftech.com/review/asus-ro...og-strix-z390-e-gaming-motherboard-review/12/




BTW, for me the most interesting motherboard is the Gigabyte Z390 Designare
https://www.tweaktown.com/news/6369...ome-new-z390-designare-motherboard/index.html
Not too expensive(+-$270) with built-in Thunderbolt ports and good VRM/heatsinks.


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## dzilizzi (Nov 2, 2018)

First pick your CPU. Then the motherboard, as it has to be compatible. I used https://pcpartpicker.com/ to build my computer. You don't have to buy using their links, but if you check the show only compatible parts, it makes it a lot easier to figure out what is available to you.


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## dzilizzi (Nov 2, 2018)

PCPartPicker also will give you a wattage based on your selected parts. I would go up from what it states. I think mine ended up around 380 watts so I got a 500 watt PSU to allow for growth.


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## Damarus (Nov 2, 2018)

dzilizzi said:


> First pick your CPU. Then the motherboard, as it has to be compatible. I used https://pcpartpicker.com/ to build my computer. You don't have to buy using their links, but if you check the show only compatible parts, it makes it a lot easier to figure out what is available to you.



This is a great start. Allows you to play with different configurations and get an idea of power consumption before you get into the details. PCIe slots don't really matter unless you need a bunch of expansion cards.. for whatever reason? And if you do, keep note of the amount of PCIe lanes your processor has.

The first thing you need to do is set a budget. We can talk PC parts all day, but it doesn't matter if it is out of your budget.


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## steveo42 (Nov 2, 2018)

I like Asrock and Asus. I've been rolling my own since the original IBM PC where I built my first on on a sheet of plywood because cases were not available yet. In addition to the other fine advice, I would take a look at the DUC group and consider cloning one of the systems known to work with ProTools..If it works with PT it's going to be fine with other DAW software since PT is still a bit on the fussy side although much better than in the past.
http://duc.avid.com/index.php


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## dzilizzi (Nov 2, 2018)

I try not to send people to other forum sites, but I would also recommend asking your questions over at the Gearslutz build your pc thread. They have at least 3 professional DAW computer builders that answer questions there. They were great help when I built mine about 2 years ago. https://www.gearslutz.com/board/mus...today-we-build-our-studio-pc-quot-thread.html


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## steveo42 (Nov 2, 2018)

dzilizzi said:


> I try not to send people to other forum sites, but I would also recommend asking your questions over at the Gearslutz build your pc thread. They have at least 3 professional DAW computer builders that answer questions there. They were great help when I built mine about 2 years ago. https://www.gearslutz.com/board/mus...today-we-build-our-studio-pc-quot-thread.html



That's another good site... I appreciate when other sites have good information so for me, the more the merrier.


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## Zhao Shen (Nov 2, 2018)

Thanks for all the suggestions guys! Though I'm still not quite sure how to pick a mobo. Do I just decide what parts I need and then get a mobo based on the ports I need?

In case it helps, the components I'm going for currently are i9-9900k, 64GB RAM, RTX2080Ti, 2x Samsung 970 Evo, then maybe 1-2 SATA SSDs.


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## Pictus (Nov 4, 2018)

Then buy the one you mentioned in the first place...
The ASRock Taichi z390.
https://www.anandtech.com/print/13468/the-asrock-z390-taichi-review


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