BIG deals at MicroCenter. Can you help me choose a mobo for an i5 2500k?

[tigerbait]

get the biostar. you won't be disappointed.

I just built a computer for my brother using the Biostar TZ68A+. No problems at all. Booted up first try, no errors. Mild overclock on 2500k to 4.2GHz. Using the integrated video.
People complain about the low amount of USB on the board, but I got one header going to case ports and added a usb bracket in an expansion slot in the back. ($3 on ebay).

 

[Kenmitch]

I just built a computer for my brother using the Biostar TZ68A+. No problems at all. Booted up first try, no errors. Mild overclock on 2500k to 4.2GHz. Using the integrated video.
People complain about the low amount of USB on the board, but I got one header going to case ports and added a usb bracket in an expansion slot in the back. ($3 on ebay).

This would be the cheapest options it looks like. When added into the cart with the 2500K it does discount the board by $50

A review can be found here which shows all the available bios options.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Biostar/TZ68A_PLUS/6.html

 

[asuka10456]

That Biostar also comes with a cool media controller. I have one its pretty nice.

 

[slpnshot]

Got the 2500k and Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3. Seems to be running fine, no OC yet. Waiting for my 212 to ship before playing with that.

On that note, the December catalog is out for microcenter and there is a combo deal for the 2600k with the mobo. I think the 2600k was selling at 269~ with 50 off select mobos.

 

[IslandStylin]

I will be using the Tustin one in California. Though i believe I am able to order it offline and have it shipped to my place. So technically I think most on their site will work. SO most will work for me....

side note: has anyone ever bought the XIGMATEK LOKI SD963 92mm HYPRO It's $5 on newegg now and I might grab it at this cheap price. I will be overclocking my i5 2500k processor though. not sure if this am fan will do the job well. Or if I should just follow the pack and grab a Hyper 212?

 

[monkeydelmagico]

side note: has anyone ever bought the XIGMATEK LOKI SD963 92mm HYPRO It's $5 on newegg now and I might grab it at this cheap price. I will be overclocking my i5 2500k processor though. not sure if this am fan will do the job well. Or if I should just follow the pack and grab a Hyper 212?

Yes. I have one in the box I am using right now. It's good for lower clearances but doubt it is a match for the hyper. Your assumption is also that Xigmatek will honor the rebate..... I've heard some stories about them.....not good ones.....

I took a chance on it and am very pleased with the performance but if I had the extra clearance for a 120mm cooler I would not hesitate to pick that instead.

 

[slpnshot]

I will be using the Tustin one in California. Though i believe I am able to order it offline and have it shipped to my place. So technically I think most on their site will work. SO most will work for me....

Don't remember the catalog, but I think the cpu has an in-store only requirement. So you'll have to pick it up. It was that way for the 2500k at any rate.

You can order it online and have it reserved for you, where it'll stay in the back for 3 days. If you decide to not pick it up, it'll just go back on stock with no surcharge or w/e to your card.

 

[IslandStylin]

Well I have a cooler master 430 Elite case...I am not sure how to figure out the amount of room I have for my heat sink on the mobo.

http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=6654

 

[IslandStylin]

I talked to their CHAT line...they said I can go into the store and when I return this motherboard I can order a new one online and they will honor the $50 discount even if it is shipped to me. If the store representative does...well that will be a different case. Hopefully it should be fine though.

 

[Kenmitch]

Well I have a cooler master 430 Elite case...I am not sure how to figure out the amount of room I have for my heat sink on the mobo.

http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=6654

If you look under support you'll find the manual for your case.

I'll save you some time tho....It states accomodates up to hyper 212+ <------ 158.5mm height

I also sometimes shop at the Tustin Microcenter. Bought my 2500k/P8P67 Pro combo there.

 

[asuka10456]

ASRock P67 EXTREME4 GEN3

have them price match newegg to get it down to 150

 

[IslandStylin]

The p67 extreme board over a z68 board?
I thought the new z68 boards are better, especially if you are going to be doing a lot of media and video work because of quick sync features, etc?

Also microcenter won't match prices. At least they said they wouldn't when I was there last.

 

[IslandStylin]

Aloha everybody...after a week or being mia and doing research in-between work, I have narrowed down my choices and was hoping to still get some opinions.

A few concerns and questions first. How big of a deal is it to get GEN 3 as opposed to a cheaper board without it? I know it's future proofing, but is the price worth it seeing as I will probably have to upgrade my cpu as well (2500k) which I probably won't be doing within the next 3 years.

I want to overclock to around 4-4.5ghz as well. I have heard that some of these boards get a bit tricky in the OC department (gigabyte boards) and I just wanted to see if anyone else found this to be true?

I plan on doing a lot of video editing on this machine. Most likely I am going to end up using three monitors. 2 to start with though. HD 1080i
I also work a lot in photoshop and after effects. 3d studio max a bit more seldom.
I am guessing that I am going to need to be able to use Virtu and Quicksync, correct? I know a few of these boards don't have that available.

I want to have the option to be able to SLI and Crossfire effectively.

Here are the final choices including the discount and rebates I would be receiving: (tax excluded)

041483 ASUS P8Z68-V GEN3 1155 ATX $144.99 (not so sure I want to spend this much unless its really worth it)

506204 ASUS P8Z68-V 1155 ATX $129.99
923029 ASUS P8Z68-M PRO 1155 MATX $84.99
P8Z68-V LX 1155 ATX $69.99

863613 ASRock Z68 Extreme 4 GEN3 1155 ATX $149.99 (not so sure I want to spend this much unless its really worth it)

ASRock Z68 Extreme 3 Gen3 $114.99 (newegg)

533257 Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD4 $129.99
GA-Z68XP-UD3 1155 ATX $89.99
GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 1155 ATX $99.99

I know this isn't the smallest list ever, but it's better than what I had it at before. I am losing myself in reviews and benchmarks and just needed a little help from you all again.

Thank you for all of your help and suggestions thus far. I really do appreciate it a lot.

I am returning the MSI 43 board I bought after reading into the boards more.

ANy more info you might need to help please ask away..

Mahalo

 

[Deleted member 302842]

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[IslandStylin]

Deal is still going on as far as I know. Maybe it just applies since I am returning one board and getting another? They said it would be fine though....

UPDATE: Deal is going on until Jan 1st.

 

[Diogenes2]

Is this deal still going on? What would be a good board for someone using onboard video and out?

What is " out " ?

 

[Kenmitch]

A few concerns and questions first. How big of a deal is it to get GEN 3 as opposed to a cheaper board without it? I know it's future proofing, but is the price worth it seeing as I will probably have to upgrade my cpu as well (2500K)which I probably won't be doing within the next 3 years.
Mahalo

GEN3 is more of a selling point currently. Sure in time your gonna want to have it but that could be years away. Guess for the most part it would be up to ATI/Nvidia to make you need it....Although it would greatly depend on how much your willing to spend on a GPU in the first place.

Found this article: http://vr-zone.com/articles/does-pcie-3.0-matter-for-today-s-gpus-we-test-with-the-radeon-hd-7970/14306.html

I guess in the Anandtech review there was one compute program that did benefit from it somewhat.

You can narrow your board choices down by eliminating the ones that don't do sli/crossfire. The key here is SLI it's not a giveme if a board states crossfire. It's a paid feature that will be stated in the specs if so.

ASRock Z68 Extreme 3 Gen3 $114.99 (newegg)

ASUS P8Z68-V 1155 ATX $129.99

ASUS P8Z68-V GEN3 1155 ATX $144.99 (not so sure I want to spend this much unless its really worth it)

ASRock Z68 Extreme 4 GEN3 1155 ATX $149.99 (not so sure I want to spend this much unless its really worth it)

I've had good luck with Gigabyte boards in the past but not sure about them after reading some of the reviews on Newegg....Taken with a grain of salt tho.

The price diff between the remaining boards isn't that great.

 

[Deleted member 302842]

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[Kenmitch]

oops. 1080p hdmi out

If your gonna run with the onboard video the ASUS P8Z68-M PRO 1155 MATX is a good bang for the buck board once the Microcenter bundle price is thrown in the equasion. I guess it would depend on if meets your other unstated needs for a rig tho. You'd have to look it over and make sure it'll work for you. You can add a dedicated gpu later or run 2 ATI's in crossfire at 16x4x but no option for Nvidia SLI.

 

[lehtv]

Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 is easily the best bang for buck at just $90 from microcenter. SLI/CF support, USB3 front panel, PCIe 3.0 (in rev. 1.3), 3 year warranty. Great board overall.

 

[IslandStylin]

First of all, avery merry christmas and happy chanukah to all of you, anda happy festivess fo the rest of us!

If I did d a crossfire/sli I would want it to run 16 and 8 I would think? I have never done this type of configuration, but I am definitely interested in giving it a go in the future....

I am going to use my ancint quadro 1400 card to sart with and upgrade in about a month. A 560 ti perhaps? Although with the new cards on the horizon maybe I should just wait till march? *shrugs*

Does anyone know if the gigabyte boards have problems oc'ing? I have read the asrock gen3 has some problems going past 4.5ghz if you wanted to. And the pz68pro 3rd pcie slot is useless....I hope I'm getting that right and no mixing up my facts.

Leaning towards gigabye, for the price and features, though I too have heard some mixed reviews on the new boards.....maybe its worth orking over more cash for a board that won't have bootloop. issues. Worth risking?

Any other problems or notes on th boards worth mentioning?
Thanks again guys

 

[Kenmitch]

First of all, avery merry christmas and happy chanukah to all of you, anda happy festivess fo the rest of us!

If I did d a crossfire/sli I would want it to run 16 and 8 I would think? I have never done this type of configuration, but I am definitely interested in giving it a go in the future....

I am going to use my ancint quadro 1400 card to sart with and upgrade in about a month. A 560 ti perhaps? Although with the new cards on the horizon maybe I should just wait till march? *shrugs*

Does anyone know if the gigabyte boards have problems oc'ing? I have read the asrock gen3 has some problems going past 4.5ghz if you wanted to. And the pz68pro 3rd pcie slot is useless....I hope I'm getting that right and no mixing up my facts.

Leaning towards gigabye, for the price and features, though I too have heard some mixed reviews on the new boards.....maybe its worth orking over more cash for a board that won't have bootloop. issues. Worth risking?

Any other problems or notes on th boards worth mentioning?
Thanks again guys

I don't think any of the Z68's will do 16x8x in crossfire/sli mode. The norm is 16x4x or 8x8x. Of course some higher end/priced boards may have a support chip to enable higher values....I never even look at the high end boards so not sure if they do. I know some of the S1156 boards had features like this tho.

As far as MB's go you gotta remember that all things can effect the overclockability of them. The luck of the draw on the cpu, the memory you choose, the quality of the power supply you use, as well as other variables. It's not like were buying Apple systems which are protected by the magic pixie dust they seem to use.

To me the following Gigabyte boards do look interesting to me. They look to be feature rich and good values with the discounted prices. I wouldn't mine playing around with either of them. Yes you can find many bad things stated about them on the net. Same with just about any of your current choices from microcenter. Final judgement needs to be made by the end user of such said product. Guess the thing to remember is not everybody whom has good luck with a board will state so. Another thing to remember is some people can't even chew gum and walk a straight line!

Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD4 $129.99
Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 1155 ATX $99.99

Alot of issues with MB's these days can be pilot error. Being carefull can eliminate alot of build problems. Checking the pins in the socket for damange before you carefully install your CPU can also be helpfull if you should run into some kinda problems later. Those little pins are tiny and can easily be damaged if a person isn't carefull with them.

Merry Christmas! And good luck on your overclocking adventures!