Before the X99 chinese motherboards released end of last year, the biggest bargain was the X79 chinese motherboards, for LGA2011 chips based on Sandy Bridge/Ivy Bridge architecture. Even now, they are still very interesting, because you can still get a lot of power from those Xeons, and everything is cheaper than X99 plateform, the motherboards and the Xeons.
Two kinds of motherboards are noticeable :
Jinghsa X79M-S in the range $50-55. Offering dual channel + NVME M2 SSD port. But at this level of price, there are some limitations : SATA ports are SATA2 and USB ports are USB2.
And you won't have a X79 chipset. You will have a Q67, a H67, or a Q65 or even a Z68, depending on the arrivals, let's say. This is one of the main trick to go with so cheap price. But it is not so important, because the main features like PCI-Express and Memory controller are relying on the CPU, not on the chipset.
If you want full options, there is the Machinist X79, with a real X79 chipset, true quad-channel memory, 2 SATA3 (+4 SATA2) & USB3 (4 ports, 2 on I/O shield, 2 internal + 12 USB2), for slightly more, around $80.
On the left, the Jingsha X79M-S, Micro-ATX, and on the right the Machinist X79Z, ATX form factor.
Video test of the cheap version of X79 Chinese motherboard, this one made by Huananzhi, similar to the Jinghsa, on the left, and on the right test of the better model of X79Z.
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LGA 2011-3 platform
