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

[IslandStylin]

So I am heading to Microcenter tomorrow to pick up a i5 2500k and if I buy a mobo with it I get $50 off the total price. The i5 is running for $179 (think that is a great buy in itself). Could any of you recommend any of the following mobo's? Or the ones you say definitely to stay away from? I am not trying to pay an arm and a leg here either. I would like it to be SLI and CROSSFIRE capable. I might be putting two different GPU's in my machine....

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. If none of these look that great I have heard many good things about ASROCK z68 chip for $114.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...&SID=u00000687

Any info is greatly appreciated. =)

******PRICES BELOW TAKE ADDITIONAL $50 OFF PRICE*******
745265 ASUS Maximus IV Extreme Z 1155 ATX $344.99
041541 ASUS P8Z68 DELUXE GEN3 1155 ATX $279.99
548719 ASUS P8Z68 DELUXE 1155 ATX $259.99
041566 ASUS P8Z68-V PRO GEN3 1155 ATX $219.99
292375 ASUS P8P67 DELUXE R3 1155 ATX $199.99
484873 ASUS P8Z68-V PRO 1155 ATX $209.99
292268 ASUS Sabertooth P67 1155 ATX $199.99
041483 ASUS P8Z68-V GEN3 1155 ATX $194.99
506204 ASUS P8Z68-V 1155 ATX $179.99
506170 ASUS P8P67 PRO R3 1155 ATX $159.99
923029 ASUS P8Z68-M PRO 1155 MATX $134.99
484865 ASUS P8P67-R3 1155 ATX $129.99
292508 ASUS P8P67 LE-R3 1155 ATX $124.99
292391 ASUS P8P67-M-PRO-R3 1155 MATX $129.99
P8Z68-V LX 1155 ATX $119.99
082511 ASRock Z68 FATAL1TY GEN3 1155 ATX $264.99
863613 ASRock Z68 Extreme 4 GEN3 1155 ATX $199.99
863597 ASRock P67 Extreme 4 GEN3 1155 ATX $164.99
603373 ASRock P67 Extreme 4 1155 ATX $159.99
603605 ASRock Z68 PRO3-M 1155 MATX $109.99
533257 Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD4-B3 1155 MATX $179.99
484998 Gigabyte GA-Z68MX-UD2H-B3 1155 MATX $124.99
GA-Z68AP-D3-B3 1155 ATX $99.99
GA-Z68XP-UD3 1155 ATX $139.99
GA-Z68MAD2H-B3 1155 ATX $99.99
GA-Z68XUD3H 1155 ATX $149.99
887471 MSI Z68A-GD65 G3 1155 ATX $189.99
292094 MSI P67A GD65 B3 1155 ATX $149.99
292169 MSI P67A GD55 B3 1155 ATX $119.99
898858 MSI Z68A-G45 G3 1155 ATX $129.99
442236 MSI P67A-G43-B3 1155 ATX $99.99
898924 MSI Z68A-G43 G3 1155 ATX $114.99


*******PRICES BELOW AS IS********
292045 MSI H67MA E45 B3 1155 MATX $99.99
292086 MSI H67MA-E35-B3 1155 MATX $87.99
381186 MSI H61M-P23-B3 1155 MATX $59.99
815639 Gigabyte GA-H61M-S2H 1155 MATX $64.99
015545 Gigabyte GA-H61M-DS2 1155 MATX $52.99
868687 INTEL BOXDZ68DB 1155 ATX 134.99
792150 Biostar TZ68A+ RCH 1155 ATX $99.99
963082 Biostar H61MLB 1155 MATX $54.99
292342 ASUS P8H67-M PRO/CSM 1155 MATX $114.99
434845 ASUS P8H61-M R3 1155 MATX $79.99
510727 ASUS P8H61-M LE-CSM-R3 1155 MATX $69.99

 

[IslandStylin]

I made two mistakes. This card is $50 ** GA-Z68AP-D3-B3 1155 ATX $99.99

GA-Z68XUD3H 1155 ATX $149.99 and this one is really $99.

 

[Rvenger]

Wow, Microcenter would be like a candy store to me.

Heres what I would get:
863613 ASRock Z68 Extreme 4 GEN3 1155 ATX $199.99

 

[Kenmitch]

If you plan to overclock the 2500k now or in the future drop these ones as they won't let you overclock at all.

292045 MSI H67MA E45 B3 1155 MATX $99.99
292086 MSI H67MA-E35-B3 1155 MATX $87.99
381186 MSI H61M-P23-B3 1155 MATX $59.99
815639 Gigabyte GA-H61M-S2H 1155 MATX $64.99
015545 Gigabyte GA-H61M-DS2 1155 MATX $52.99
868687 INTEL BOXDZ68DB 1155 ATX 134.99
792150 Biostar TZ68A+ RCH 1155 ATX $99.99
963082 Biostar H61MLB 1155 MATX $54.99
292342 ASUS P8H67-M PRO/CSM 1155 MATX $114.99
434845 ASUS P8H61-M R3 1155 MATX $79.99
510727 ASUS P8H61-M LE-CSM-R3 1155 MATX $69.99

There are alot on nice boards in your list. Maybe some questions would help eliminate the ones that wouldn't work so great for you.

Price range you are comfortable with?

If you did sli or crossfire what class of cards such as mid-range, high end or even model if you have some in mind. Will make somewhat of a difference due to slot spacing on motherboards.

Expansion slot? For add in cards if needed

Features you'd want such as firewire, bluetooth, etc.

How many sata ports would you need?

Most important thing is what's your zipcode? Stock varies by store so doesn't do you any good if suggested boards are out of stock at your store.

 

[paperwastage]

^ the combos only include Z68 (and maybe P67) chipsets, so dont worry about the H61 and H67 ones

 

[severus]

False information about the Biostar tz68a+ I now have it and there are oodles of overclocking options and i've been successful so far. You just need good cooling as in any build. Oddly they gave me the discount on the biostar and I got it for $49.99

 

[Kenmitch]

False information about the Biostar tz68a+ I now have it and there are oodles of overclocking options and i've been successful so far. You just need good cooling as in any build. Oddly they gave me the discount on the biostar and I got it for $49.99

Your correct. Thought I deleted that one from that list but missed it.

 

[IslandStylin]

Price range you are comfortable with?
I am comfortable to up to $150. So even that $199 one would be fine, since I get $50 off in the end.

If you did sli or crossfire what class of cards such as mid-range, high end or even model if you have some in mind. Will make somewhat of a difference due to slot spacing on motherboards.
I am not positive on my cards as of right now. Sadly AVID MC5 only suggest NVIDIA Quadro cards (which are really expensive. the least expensive being $200) So most likely will go for NVIDIA for now. I was thinking about getting a geforce card on top of the nvidia quadro that i have right now. I have th quadro 1400 (old gpu, but will be able to work in avid...i hope) and use another card for gaming. not sure if that works or not. I definitely want room to be able to upgrade in the future though

Expansion slot? For add in cards if needed
I really have no clue?

Features you'd want such as firewire, bluetooth, etc.
Don't care about bluetooth. Want 6gb/s, and 3gb/s firewire, usb 3.0. usb 2.0.

How many sata ports would you need?
I will most likely have 1 hdd 1 ssd and an optical drive. as far as down the line...not so sure.

also would like to add a card reader to the front. and my case has 2 usb ports and 2 audio ports

 

[nitrousninja]

898858 MSI Z68A-G45 G3 1155 ATX $129.99



This is the one i got with mine. Easy install and zero problems plus its got all the basic bells and whistles for the future. I havent overclocked yet though.

 

[Rvenger]

False information about the Biostar tz68a+ I now have it and there are oodles of overclocking options and i've been successful so far. You just need good cooling as in any build. Oddly they gave me the discount on the biostar and I got it for $49.99

Wait so you got the board and cpu for $200? If so that is a STEAL! TZ68a+ is a great board for even $100

 

[IslandStylin]

Checked for the Biostar, but they had sold out of them before I got there. I ended up buying the 898858 MSI Z68A-G45 G3 1155 ATX $129.99 The same board as Nitrousninja. Interested to see how it handles. I have heard mixed reviews on MSI boards. Can anyone comment here? I suppose I should create a new post and ask about it as well...thanks to everyone for their help. i can't wait to start my build!

 

[IslandStylin]

Oh I forgot to mention the Intel chip was $179.99 and the mobo was $79.99.

not too shabby

 

[godbless]

Does this $50 off apply for i3 combos too?

 

[Rvenger]

Checked for the Biostar, but they had sold out of them before I got there. I ended up buying the 898858 MSI Z68A-G45 G3 1155 ATX $129.99 The same board as Nitrousninja. Interested to see how it handles. I have heard mixed reviews on MSI boards. Can anyone comment here? I suppose I should create a new post and ask about it as well...thanks to everyone for their help. i can't wait to start my build!

I am sure the MSI board will do you just fine. I had a P67A-C43 (B3) and I sold it to a buddy here at work. He has had it since July and it has been working great for him. Overclocking options are a little messed up on MSI boards though. No offset feature.

 

[paperwastage]

Does this $50 off apply for i3 combos too?

nope....

earlier this year, they had an i3 2100 + mobo for $120 though ... didnt get it... wished i did

 

[IslandStylin]

Do you have anymore insight on the overclocking features being messed up on the MSI boards? I am getting a little worried with my purchase now and thinking I might have made a mistake?

 

[santanac]

I got the same deal but chose the ASRock Extreme4 Gen3.

 

[mike208]

I am wondering this very same thing. Would love to hear some more opinions.

 

[Kenmitch]

Do you have anymore insight on the overclocking features being messed up on the MSI boards? I am getting a little worried with my purchase now and thinking I might have made a mistake?

The lack of offset vcore voltage only gives 2 options. Auto which most of time is more than needed or hard locked which kills throttling of speed and voltage at idle. Meaning if you over lock go 4.? Ghz with 1.3v's you idle at it also.

 

[Bill Brasky]

I generally recommend the cheaper gigabyte z68. Oh derp. Sorry, I didn't see that you'd already purchased the msi.

 

[nitrousninja]

I have that board and CPU and I'll mess with the overclocking features but i need to refamiliarize myself with it. I havent overclocked since my 800Mhz Athlon because i'm not sure where to start.

 

[knightc2]

Hard to beat Microcenter. Two weeks ago I bought a i5 2500k for $179.99 and got a gigabyte z68ap-d3 board for $40 AR. Doesn't do SLI but I am not really a gamer so no big deal to me. I was debating the AMD/Intel thing and this made my choice pretty easy. Thankfully I live several hours from the nearest store so I can't be tempted to spend all my money on a regular basis.

Good luck with your new build.

 

[IslandStylin]

So after reading more and more comments about the board I bought I have decided to return it. Apparently it does have OC issues and I definitely want to OC to around 4.5ghz

ugh, back to the drawing board so to speak. I still can get the deal from MicroCenter though....hmm what to choose>>..

 

[severus]

get the biostar. you won't be disappointed.

 

[Kenmitch]

So after reading more and more comments about the board I bought I have decided to return it. Apparently it does have OC issues and I definitely want to OC to around 4.5ghz

ugh, back to the drawing board so to speak. I still can get the deal from MicroCenter though....hmm what to choose>>..

Which microcenter will you be shopping at? Inventory varies so it' pointless to suggest something that's not at your store