Building a new PC and needs some help with MOBO selection

[izt_is]

Hey guys, It's been about 2 years since I built my last PC and I haven't had time to keep in touch with motherboards and CPUs since then due to my schedule ): I've only been able to keep in touch with graphics cards.

The last motherboard I got was a Gigabyte P55 UD4P with an i7 i believe an 860. This new build will be for my friend.

I'm looking now to make another high mid to high end build PC. I'm wondering what is the motherboard to go for now that is best bang for buck and power, by which i mean what chipset? (specific models are also welcome but I usually prefer gigabyte)

Also which CPU should I pair with this motherboard? I'm looking at a quad core for some future proofing and for games with multi threading capability. So it will probably have to be an i7.

Anyway, all help is appreciated. Thanks guys!!

P.S. if I'm not overclocking, the stock i7 heatsink that comes with the CPU should be fine yes? I usually get a custom cooler but am on a tight budget right now.

 

[stahlhart]

Which CPU generation -- Sandy Bridge?

 

[janas19]

Well, if you are sure you won't overclock, and if you prefer a discrete graphics card (over an IGP), then the best bang for the buck would be H61- that's the most vanilla of the chipsets. Right now, Asus is offering $15 dollars rebate on all their H61 boards - you can get a brand new one for $49.99 after MIR at Frys Electronics (grrr I paid $70 for mine). That's your best value but keep in mind you won't be able to use the Sandy Bridge IGP or overclock.

The i7-2600 is a four-core with Hyperthreading. If you demand 8 threads for heavy computational work such as video editing or 3d modeling, then this is the price to pay. However for gaming 8 threads is really overkill, for just that an i5-2400 is suitable.

At this point in time such a setup will play any game out there now and in the forseeable future. However even the cutting edge becomes dull, and in 2-3 years your chip may start showing it's age. So, it may be wise for you to invest the extra $30 now for the i5-2500 "K" or i7-2600 "K"chip which is unlocked, and can overclock for an average 20% performance gain. Even if you choose not to overclock now, if you decide to change your mind in the future, then all you will need is a motherboard and cooler upgrade to squeeze more life out of your processor.

 

[izt_is]

I'm definitely getting the i5 2500K chip. I'm just a little unsure about the MOBO at the moment. Should I get a Z68 or stick with the P67?

I might be overclocking later in the future and will ONLY be using discrete graphics, with no concern for power consumption. Are there any features in the Z68 that I am missing if i got for the P67?

 

[Puppies04]

Z68 allows you to utilise the igpu on the cpu as well as a discrete graphics card depending on the task. It also allows you to use a SSD to cache regularily used programs and still allows you to overclock in the future. If it was me, even if i wasn't going to use those features now I would still stump up a little extra cache just incase I ended up using them in the future.

The main benefits I can see are that unlike P67 you can still run the pc without a discrete GPU which is good for trouble shooting and video encoding absolutely flys on the iGPU.

Basically unless you can say with certainty you will never need/use any of these features then get a Z68.

 

[Kristijonas]

Perhaps Llano would also be a good choice?

 

[janas19]

Z68 allows you to utilise the igpu on the cpu as well as a discrete graphics card depending on the task. It also allows you to use a SSD to cache regularily used programs and still allows you to overclock in the future. If it was me, even if i wasn't going to use those features now I would still stump up a little extra cache just incase I ended up using them in the future.

The main benefits I can see are that unlike P67 you can still run the pc without a discrete GPU which is good for trouble shooting and video encoding absolutely flys on the iGPU.

Basically unless you can say with certainty you will never need/use any of these features then get a Z68.

I don't know if paying extra for features you don't need is that good an idea either.