Which X79 Mobo and 64Gb RAM for a DAW?

Hey all,

Are there any reliable combinations for a X79 mobo and 64GB RAM?
4x SATA3 would be great and 1 legacy PCI slot.


Cheers,

Stevie

Hi there,

I use the Gigabyte UP 4 here in the Steinberg Support Department without any issue.
But you should say good-bye to PCI slot.
The time is over for PCI slots and even if you find a mobo with a PCI slot, the performance will be “un- useable” for
an audio-card or a fire wire card. These PCI slots are only emulated as far as I know on modern mobos and the performance is terrible.

For what do you still need a PCI slot exactly?

FWIW, I use an ASUS P9X79, the PCI is bridged, but works reliable. Pushing over 16 audio channels + midi simultaneously with my RME multiface MK1 isn’t a problem at all.

Hey Marcus!

Wow, that’s good to know. I wasn’t sure about the gigabytes, since people are reporting problems with 64GB installed. Well, I still use an RME 9632, but if PCIe is really the way to go, I might switch to the RME AIO.

@niles do you have 64GB RAM installed on the Asus?

Cheers,

Stevie

Nope.
Keep in mind the memory controller and PCIe lanes are integrated in the CPU, not the mobo.

the X79 has NATIVE PCI at least on any of the 4 boards i tested
Z77 does not.

Ah, there ya go. I’m so out of the loop :slight_smile:

@JC, any mobos you would recommend in particular?

Built a new DAW a couple of weeks ago, based on Asus P9X79Pro with 64GB Ram. Seems very reliable so far (I’ve said it now so it will break tonight…) :smiley:

Dave

Edit - Should have read OP better. No legacy PCI slot on this MB. I have firewire card in PCIe 2.0 slot. Working fine with M-Audio 2626.

Hey Dave!

That’s fine. I just ordered an RME AIO and got rid of the 9632.
I ordered the P9X79 Pro before I read your post :smiley:
I’ll report back how it goes.


Cheers,

Stevie

What RAM are you using?

Al

I went for the G.Skill RipJawsZ DIMM Kit 64GB.
Works flawlessly, even with 1600MHz.

Good to know…Thanks! :wink:

That’s bad news, I have a ASUS M5A97 Rev1 with a AMD FX-6300 hex core and 1 Delta1010 and 2 Delta66 PCI + Omnis. My main problem is dpa latencies

I want to upgrade to a i7 system with a decent chipset, but don’t want to throw away all my audio interfaces. Are there no “Real” PCI slots in any up to date MOBOs anymore?