Question 1

Can this run a 4930k out of the box?

Accepted Answer

Josh,

I was looking into one of those and had the same question. As far as I can tell, the answer is no. You'll have to flash the bios before being able to run an OS.

It's actually not too difficult. You'll just need access to the internet from another computer and a USB drive. The bios has a flash utility that can do it. If you want to try it, look under the bios heading here...
(google "biostar x79 bios". it's the first link.)
and then find the latest one. From there, you'll need to find a tutorial on how to flash bios from a USB drive. (If I remember right, you can just put the file on there alone.)

Another options is to drop to the 3930K which is what I did. And unless you're planning on doing something really intensive like 3D modeling or real-time simulation, it can handle whatever you throw at it with ease.

Good luck!

//Caleb

Question 2

is this board able to use the new IB-e chips without a bios update? planning on a 4820k and like the looks of this board but really dont want to have to flash the bios.

Accepted Answer

I'm not sure what a IB-e chip is, but I've bought two of these boards, for the power and convenience. I'm running a Sandy Bridge I-7, with both on 32 gigs of RAM. The board is fast and for me, the ability to maintain power on the USB ports, while the computer is down, is a plus.  The bios is really weird, takes some time to get used to. The UEFI is more like a web page than a standard bios. You don't flash it either. There is a utility to do a bios update, but when I contacted Gigabyte, cause I made a mistake when I tried to update the BIOS, they sent me a new one, saying that this type doesn't do a standard flash. I don't know if I answered your question, but for a high speed mobo, and a great set of expansion slots, it's awesome!..  One of them is used as a media center for my TV, and the high definition audio for my surround sound is awesome as well.  GOod luck!

Question 3

Does this motherboard support TPM?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it supports Trusted Platform Module...  I recently retired mine, now running a new Haswell 3.6 ghz, 10 MB L3 on an ASUS mobo.  Its smokin fast!

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