Is this the best Z68 motherboard for around $100?

[ManBearPig]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...G?tag=at055-20

Would you choose any others for a single GPU system at the same price point?

Thanks!

 

[DesiPower]

At the same price range, NO, its a great board for that price. Asrock is a great manufacturer.

btw, I see its out of stock @ amazon, egg does have it but you pay shipping :thumbsdown:

 

[Duvie]

ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

I like this board a bit better. It is the one step higher then that board with some more ocing options in the bios, and some nice heatsinks over the power caps around the cpu socket.

114.99 after rebate...

OK, I am partial because I ordered that board...I looked at the board you have listed before it was out of stock and wasnt as impressed...

 

[paperwastage]

i just bought a ASRock Z68 Pro3-M from microcenter... though i won't be completing the build until my case comes in sometime next week

can't say I'm impartial to it either... when it cost me $50 (microcenter 60 off mobo with an i5)... from reviews(go google), the mATX and ATX verisons perform the same

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I'd say the advice in prior posts is pretty much in the ballpark.

With the competition in the motherboard market, we can find that the rule of "getting what you pay for" applies.

I always keep my eye on the low-end boards because I "build and maintain" for mainstream users of the fam-damn-ily.

You might find some shortcomings in how far you can over-clock a system, and I find that the low-end boards have a simpler phase-power design than those which cost more. But from what I've read in the forums here over the last five months, you won't be too much disappointed at over-clocking performance if you had in mind the "get what you pay for" imperative from the beginning.

And actually -- that board is a mid-range ASRock. It's only got a low-end price in the Amazon ad.

 

[Skott]

I keep hearing some people saying be careful of low end ASRock mobos but not sure if thats good advice or not. Not sure what is 'low end' when it comes to ASRock considering like most other mobo manufacturers ASRock makes low price budget boards as well as high end. Basically just try to find reviews (other than NewEgg) of the mobo in question and go with that as a guide.

 

[ManBearPig]

So since amazon sucks and doesnt have the mobo you guys recommended, and newegg charges like $8 shipping for it...would you say i just get it from newegg or order one of these two slightly more expensive boards? In other words, are these better boards than the Asrock?

GIGABYTE GA-Z68P-DS3

BIOSTAR TZ68A+

The biostar has free shipping so it works out to be about the same price as the ASrock and the Gigabyte has a rebate. Thanks!

 

[Rvenger]

Get the Biostar out of that list. I had both of those boards. While the Gigabyte board is good, the Biostar is a better overclocker and has a better bios layout.

 

[ManBearPig]

Get the Biostar out of that list. I had both of those boards. While the Gigabyte board is good, the Biostar is a better overclocker and has a better bios layout.

You'd take that over the Asrock pro3?

 

[Rvenger]

I actually have the ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 and so far so good. I just didn't like the fact that it wanted to cook my CPU and RAM at first post.

I recommend either, they are both good but the Biostar is cheaper and it was on your list of 2.

 

[Taft12]

The lack of USB 3.0 on that Gigabyte board is a real bummer.

I also avoid ASRock at all costs because they only provide a 1-year warranty compared to the 3 years that Gigabyte and Asus do. The Biostar board looks alright to me.

 

[Rvenger]

ASRock has a 2 year warranty and their RMA process is slow.

 

[Taft12]

ASRock has a 2 year warranty and their RMA process is slow.

1-year

http://www.asrock.com/support/index.asp?cat=RMA

Says so on my motherboard box as well.

Not competitive. ASRock is strictly on my do-not-buy list.

 

[sno.lcn]

ASRock has a 2 year warranty and their RMA process is slow.

Not surprising, considering the company that owns Asrock :whiste: