1156 i5 750 value board recommendation

[fliptrip]

Hi all
Finally pulling the trigger on an i5 750 with:

G.SKILL Ripjaw 4GB kit DDR3-1333 PC10666 CL8-8-8-21 MEMORY RETAIL F3-10666CL8D-4GBRM 2GB x 2
Intel X25-M G2 80GB (OS)
Antec Three Hundred Case

Still to grab: HSF - prob Scythe Mugen 2 or Xigmatek Achilles or Noctua NHU12P - These are because I favour quietness as it will be in my room and prefer the low idle volumes these 3 offer when trying to sleep)

Existing: Gigabyte GTX 260 OC + Corsair HX620w PSU

However I'm still undecided on which mobo to grab. Won't be doing much overclocking as it's a 24/7 for the next 2 years computer (maybe 2.8 OC would suit my situation with no risk o failure)? I will never run Xfire of SLI. Needs 4 sata connectors. Don't have any other pci components and won't do in the future. So what would you recommend? considering my tiny if any OC requirements etc?

Prices in NZD - please check http://www.pricespy.co.nz/cat_6.html#g253">This link</a> to see what boards are available here in NZ (our Newegg equivalent so to speak)

Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3 Intel P55 ATX motherboard
$180

Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3R P55 DDR3 ATX motherboard
$210

Asustek P7P55D-LE P55 4DDR3 ATX motherboard
$216

What other boards would you recommend? What features do the more expensive boards offer which the cheaper ones don't? and are any of these features relevant to me?

Thanks in advance! Really looking forward to eventually getting this beast (especially the SSD) all up and running!

 

[tvdang7]

ud4 boards have 2 8x pci-e slots and are about the same price as your ud3r

 

[RussianSensation]

Other than the Noctua, you cannot fit the other 2 coolers on those boards since they currently don't support 1156.

The best value board out right now is Gigabyte P55-UD2. Although you may want to wait until A series refresh and grad a P55A-UD3. The UD3R is more for overclocking.
http://www.techreport.com/discussions.x/17846

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

How come UD4s are so hard to find. Not UD4Ps but the regular UD4s... I can only find the microATX version but Gigabyte's site clearly lists a regular UD4...

 

[fliptrip]

Thanks for the info guys. Hadn't looked into the HSF compatabilities - I'll have to look at some reviews to get me up to date - thanks.

I'm guessing I don't need UD4 then as I won't be running extra pci cards.

Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3 Intel P55 ATX motherboard - $180
Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2 Intel P55 mATX motherboard $180

Which of these boards would should I choose? Would either still provide me with good options in regards to a stable overclock 24/7 - say 3.0ghz?

Still a bit worried about the whole Foxconn socket debacle - I know it's mainly a problem with OC's over 4ghz but still worries me a tad. However I don't think I have the patience to hold out until those A series arrive - What is everyone's estimate as to when they will start arriving?

 

[RussianSensation]

Biggest differences are that UD3 has more SATA Ports and they face away from the mobo which is worse for cable clutter. UD3 lacks firewire and eSATA port but has additional heatsinks on power circuitry cooling.

If Firewire and eSATA ports are not important for you, get the UD3 board instead.

Also as a side note, Gigabyte cannot lower voltages under overclocked settings. So once you crank 3.0ghz, you will be running 1.25V+ even in idle. If you want to have voltage power saving features enabled, you would have to get an Asus board for example.

 

[fliptrip]

Thanks for the continued support RussianSensation.

I was almost decided on the UD3 board until you said about the power saving factor. Do you mean if you overclock by changing the voltage then the GB boards have to remain at that voltage 24/7 ? What voltage would it idle at on stock settings? (confused about overclocking it yet as haven't totally looked into it).

Would I be better off grabbing the Asustek P7P55D-LE P55 4DDR3 ATX motherboard considering the power/heat/life of the cpu I'd save by this board with a small 3ghz overclock? Or is this rather silly and doesn't make much difference?

 

[ekoostik]

Also as a side note, Gigabyte cannot lower voltages under overclocked settings. So once you crank 3.0ghz, you will be running 1.25V+ even in idle. If you want to have voltage power saving features enabled, you would have to get an Asus board for example.

Gigabyte has just released a new BIOS. I'm not entirely clear on the change but it looks like they may have fixed this issue. Russian, please tell me if I'm wrong.

Changes made:
1. Enhance memory capability
2. Improve KMPlayer and GOM Player compatibility
3. Feature Dynamic Vcore
Source: http://forums.tweaktown.com/f69/gigabyte-latest-bios-28441/index219.html#post329582

New beta BIOS already in testing for selected group for GA-P55 series mobo's.
1.Added new Feature "Dynamic Vcore(DVID)"
2.Turbo mode(multi-adjustable)directly lowering CPU voltage, to the idle voltage when is OC
Core speed 4 GHz,Core voltage 1.4000V-IDLE
Source: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=4031281&postcount=55

This second source shows screen shots of a (supposedly) 4.0 GHz OCed machine running at IDLE at 200MHz x 9 with Core Voltage 1.024. The BIOS is also not exactly the same so I think we need verification from people running it. But it looks like they're getting close - again, unless I'm misreading this.


fliptrip, I'm running the i7 860 on GA-P55M-UD2. Picked it for the same reasons you mentioned in OP - wasn't concerned about OCing, didn't need much in way of PCI expansion. Some measures at stock obviously won't be same as i7 750. But if you've got any questions I'm happy to check it out and report back after work. Let me know.

 

[FireTech]

Although you may want to wait until A series refresh and grab a P55A-UD3.

Good point especially as the OP is going with SSD.

 

[mc866]

If you want to save lots of money go with the UD2, I've been running it with an 860 and it's been great so far. You lose a PCIe slot but if you're never going to run xfire/sli what's the difference.

 

[Marmion]

Hi all
Finally pulling the trigger on an i5 750 with:

G.SKILL Ripjaw 4GB kit DDR3-1333 PC10666 CL8-8-8-21 MEMORY RETAIL F3-10666CL8D-4GBRM 2GB x 2
Intel X25-M G2 80GB (OS)
Antec Three Hundred Case

Still to grab: HSF - prob Scythe Mugen 2 or Xigmatek Achilles or Noctua NHU12P - These are because I favour quietness as it will be in my room and prefer the low idle volumes these 3 offer when trying to sleep)

Existing: Gigabyte GTX 260 OC + Corsair HX620w PSU

However I'm still undecided on which mobo to grab. Won't be doing much overclocking as it's a 24/7 for the next 2 years computer (maybe 2.8 OC would suit my situation with no risk o failure)? I will never run Xfire of SLI. Needs 4 sata connectors. Don't have any other pci components and won't do in the future. So what would you recommend? considering my tiny if any OC requirements etc?

Prices in NZD - please check http://www.pricespy.co.nz/cat_6.html#g253">This link</a> to see what boards are available here in NZ (our Newegg equivalent so to speak)

Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3 Intel P55 ATX motherboard
$180

Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3R P55 DDR3 ATX motherboard
$210

Asustek P7P55D-LE P55 4DDR3 ATX motherboard
$216

What other boards would you recommend? What features do the more expensive boards offer which the cheaper ones don't? and are any of these features relevant to me?

Thanks in advance! Really looking forward to eventually getting this beast (especially the SSD) all up and running!

Hey I just got the Asus P7P55D board (not LE) from Computer Lounge.
They have the whole i5/4GB DDR3 1600 Cl9 SuperTalent Ram/Asus p7P55D combo for $719 at the moment (if you haven't already got the stuff!).

I don't know if you know but a more NZ specific forum is gpforum.

Overclocking it currently to 3.6Ghz (180*20) using the 'offset' voltage method (add some voltage so it varies with load rather than a fixed voltage and cpu-z reports 1.28v at full load) and is running stable in my Silverstone LC10-E case using Scythe Mini Ninja rev B @ 27-30 Idle and gaming (Aoe 3) loads to mid 50s. Super prime it goes to 70-80 but who actually puts that much stress on their cpu?!
At stock I could run it without the fan with similar temps.
Only difficulty with overclocking is I had to make sure one of the C state things in the BIOS was enabled (other wise Windows 7 failed to load, or my USB devices wouldn't work).

And I have the intel SSD too

VERY quick!

 

[RussianSensation]

A Quick update:

Gigabyte boards can now reduce CPU Vcore dynamically when in idle mode and ramp up VCore automatically when at load when overclocked. Ekoostik already pointed this out a week ago! (good job!).

Current F3n Bios for Gigabyte P55-UD3R resolves the power saving technology issue I noted earlier. Here is my system running a normal 3.9ghz setup downclocked to 186 x 9 at 0.960V in idle mode:
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p175/BestJinjo/Core%20i7%20860%20Build/Prolimatech%20Megahalems%20on%20P55-UD3R/i7860186x21391ghzDynamicVCoreatidle.jpg

In addition, all current Gigabyte boards should now allow access to 1 higher multiplier (i.e., i5 750 = 21x, i7 860 = 22x, i7 870 = 23x) when Turbo Mode is disabled. Please see this updated thread for more details:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=330645

Having said that, if you still want to go with UD3R, you should definately wait for the A Series. Here is a cut and paste from my Newegg Review:

Major changes for GA-P55A-UD3R include:

* 12-phase power VRM design vs. 8-phase currently, for more optimum power efficiency and thermal solution
* NEC SuperSpeed USB 3.0 with transfer rates of up to 5 Gbps (10x speed)
* LOTES processor sockets which should have less burning issues than Foxconn ones.
* 3X USB power delivery for greater compatibility and extra power for USB devices
* Marvell SE9128 high speed SATA3 storage interface with superfast 6Gbps link speed
* Realtek ALC889 codec vs. current 888.

Now that 22x multi is available for me, I may be able to clock higher since before going above 189 Base clock resulted in a need to have 1.39/1.41 QPI/VTT. Will update after doing testing.

 

[ekoostik]

Gigabyte boards can now reduce CPU Vcore dynamically when in idle mode and ramp up VCore automatically when at load when overclocked. Ekoostik already pointed this out a week ago! (good job!).

Thanks! I almost PMed you a few days ago for verification, I figured my post got missed with the forum updates (I'm still having trouble finding a couple threads I was monitoring before the change). Keep us updated on your OC progress. I've been having fun tweaking the BIOS but mostly have been messing with my RAM. Gigabyte sure opens lots of settings to play with, so far I'm a fan of these frequent BIOS releases.

 

[pertonas]

ASUS P7P55D or GIGA P55-UD3P
this two
i think should suitable for you

ASUS don't but LE

 

[fliptrip]

Hey guys, Thanks for all the help. I ended up going for the UD3. Couldn't wait any longer and the P55A boards are at least a Hundred bucks dearer. Thanks for the computerlounge tipoff Marion - But my mobo + RAM + CPU = just under 700 so cant complain.

Just waiting on the Noctua and then I'll be asking you guys from some cable management help in this antec 300 then finally some small overclocking help. Cheers for all the help - very much appreciated.

 

[lopri]

Excellent information, folks. And kudos to Gigabyte.