I have ~$200, which Z77 is right for me?

[AshG]

Great forum here, looking forward to the advice I get.

I've got around $200 (I can go a little higher, but not by much) to spend on an IvyBridge-compatible motherboard. I've got an i5-3570K on the way in and already have 16GB of RAM (2x8GB) on my desk. I keep waffling on the motherboard purchase because I don't want to get something I hate.

What else is going into the system:
Gigabyte GTX 670 OC
2x Crucial M4 SATAIII drives (128GB, may RAID later but they aren't now)
Intel PCIe ethernet card

I'm coming from an aging P35 build with a q9300. I will likely be getting an H100i from my in-laws for Christmas, so I'm hoping this board will be overclocking-friendly enough that my first taste of the GHz game doesn't hurt too much.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Jimzz]

You don’t need to spend $200 on a z77 board unless you have multi-video cards and need for specific ports/slots.
Here are a couple Z77 boards that have 4 Sata6 ports and plenty of PCIe slots for your card/s.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157293

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128546


There are cheaper boards but these are a good Mid level board that still support dual video cards, have more than 2 Sata6 ports, and support raid.

 

[kleinkinstein]

^ You're links are bad. But I assume you shot him over the UD3H or UD5H and Extreme 4 or 6. All excellent options.

Yes, don't spend $200 on a mobo, If you're not planning dual vcards, why not optimize your buy with the Pro4 @ $110 or $60 at Microcenter.

 

[SolMiester]

I have the Pro4 M at work with 16Gb and SSD and several disk for virtualisation...great board..with nice features..