Looking for a P67/Z68 board

[Elcs]

Long story short: I have an ASUS P8Z68-V LE and recently switched up to a 6870 CrossfireX setup running x16/x4 (which is absolutely rocking btw). However in this setup I lose my x1 PCI-E slot which contains my X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro, presumably shared slot.

I need a P67/Z68 board that doesn't compromise on what I have currently to replace my existing board.

I am in the UK and not opposed to using eBay for second hand items.

Current system:
ASUS P8Z68-V LE
i2500k (4740mhz @ 1.28v)
2x4Gb Corsair Vengeance LP1600
Thermalright Macho HR-02 with TR 140mm fan
Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional (PCI-E x1)
2x HD6870 (one HIS, one XFX)
120Gb OCZ Vertex Plus SSD (boot drive)
2x500Gb WD Green in RAID 0
1x2TB WD Green
Seasonic S12D 750W

So I'm looking for:

• x8/x8 CrossfireX and a working PCI-E x1 slot for my X-Fi
• Something that fits my Thermalright Macho and Corsair Low Profile RAM. Afaik most boards will but I want to be sure.
• Allow me to keep my RAID 0 Array. (not scared if I have to tear it down and rebuild it)
• To keep my overclock. Not something anyone can guaruntee but as the P8Z68-V LE is quite basic on the power front I'm hopeful that I can maintain the same overclock levels on a new board.

Anything else is just a nice bonus. I don't think I've missed anything out.


Most P67 boards seem to be still expensive over here. I've got my eyes on a P67 Sabertooth via eBay as well as a P8P67 Pro (B3). The P8Z68-V Pro and AsRock Z68 Extreme3 and AsRock P67 Extreme4 are boards I've been taking a gander at. I'm not sure if I'll be concerned about PCI-E 3.0 support or Ivy Bridge, though the latter might be nice.


This could be a tall order and I could be picky but I don't know. I'm just grateful for any advice you guys can provide.


Also, I've probably forgotten some of the features that I'd like on my new board so I'll give my memory a bit of a jog.

 

[Puppies04]

I have an ASUS P8Z68-V LE and recently switched up to a 6870 CrossfireX setup running x16/x4

So I'm looking for: x8/x8 CrossfireX and a working PCI-E x1 slot for my X-Fi

Sorry if I am being pedantic but I need to make sure you understand what you are asking. 1155 has 16 PCIE lanes total, you are not running X16 X4 atm and will not be rining X8 X8 X1 any time in the future on that setup.

Also the board you have is advertised as having 2 x PCIE X16 (or X8 X8 in crossfire/sli) 1 x PCIE X4 and 2 x PCIE X1 slots. How are you losing the X1 slot when you install the second GPU? Is it that you physically can't fit the sound card into the X1 slots or am I missing something...

 

[Elcs]

Sorry if I am being pedantic but I need to make sure you understand what you are asking. 1155 has 16 PCIE lanes total, you are not running X16 X4 atm and will not be rining X8 X8 X1 any time in the future on that setup.

Also the board you have is advertised as having 2 x PCIE X16 (or X8 X8 in crossfire/sli) 1 x PCIE X4 and 2 x PCIE X1 slots. How are you losing the X1 slot when you install the second GPU? Is it that you physically can't fit the sound card into the X1 slots or am I missing something...

ASUS P8Z68-V LE
1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (blue) *1
1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (x4 mode, black) *1
2 x PCIe 2.0 x1

*1: The PCIe x16_2 slot shares bandwidth with PCIe x1_1 slot, PCIe x1_2 slot.

So the 2 x1 slots share the bandwidth with the PCI-e x4 slot and this for some reason tells Windows that I do not have my X-Fi card plugged in despite it having been there for quite some time.

 

[Puppies04]

Sorry, the website I checked lists the wrong number of PCIE slots.
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-p8z68-v-le-intel-z68-s-1155-ddr3-sata-iii-6gb-s-raid-sata-pcie-20-%28x16%29-vga-on-board-atx

If you want to stick with asus then you need a P8Z68V (which I can't see for sale anymore) or the P8Z68V GEN3 or above.

If you don't mind another manufacturer you could sell your board and pick up a gigabyte GA-Z68x-UD3-B3 which quite a bit cheaper (£85)

 

[Elcs]

Sorry, the website I checked lists the wrong number of PCIE slots.
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-p8z68-v-le-intel-z68-s-1155-ddr3-sata-iii-6gb-s-raid-sata-pcie-20-%28x16%29-vga-on-board-atx

If you want to stick with asus then you need a P8Z68V (which I can't see for sale anymore) or the P8Z68V GEN3 or above.

If you don't mind another manufacturer you could sell your board and pick up a gigabyte GA-Z68x-UD3-B3 which quite a bit cheaper (£85)

The P8P67 Pro is available via eBay, as is the Sabertooth and they're looking like they might be reasonable prices (maybe even lower than the Gigabyte board). They're also B3 versions of the P67 chipset (confirmed).

As for Gigabyte, I had a Gigabyte Slot A board back when they were a must have and it let me down badly....

However, stuff happens so that GA-Z68x-UD3-B3 board looks fine. In fact in some aspects even better than the P8P67 boards and strangely so much cheaper than even the P67-based AsRock boards. Am I missing something?

Also looking at the UD3 series of boards I might aim for the UD3P flavour if it's not going to be much more.

EDIT: I was rather excited by the Marvel 9172 SATA RAID controller until I googled it. Oh well I still have plenty of Intel ports to keep me amused.

 

[Puppies04]

The P8P67 Pro is available via eBay, as is the Sabertooth and they're looking like they might be reasonable prices (maybe even lower than the Gigabyte board). They're also B3 versions of the P67 chipset (confirmed).

If you can find a P8P67 Pro or a sabertooth new for the same price of the gigabyte (£85) jump on it. I personally haven't ever seen them priced that low though. If you are talking second hand then that comes down to how much you trust the seller.

As for why the asus boards are cheaper than the gigabyte ones, your guess is as good as mine but it doesn't seem to be hurting their business.

 

[Elcs]

If you can find a P8P67 Pro or a sabertooth new for the same price of the gigabyte (£85) jump on it. I personally haven't ever seen them priced that low though. If you are talking second hand then that comes down to how much you trust the seller.

As for why the asus boards are cheaper than the gigabyte ones, your guess is as good as mine but it doesn't seem to be hurting their business.

The ASUS boards are used/refurb from ebay. I've had solid chats with the sellers and I trust them enough to make an informed purchase. I also have Paypal as a backup should I need it.

Will have to toss a coin and see how much the Sabertooth goes and the P8P67 auction ends shortly after that. I'm in no great rush.

And I meant the Gigabyte boards are a ton cheaper than the the ASUS boards (Talking specifically about the UD3P Vs. a P8Z68-V LE, -V or -V Pro). They're quite similarly equipped.

 

[Puppies04]

Depends which "UDP3" board you are talking about. The GA-Z68XP-UD3P is more expensive than the P8-Z68-V LE.

 

[Elcs]

Depends which "UDP3" board you are talking about. The GA-Z68XP-UD3P is more expensive than the P8-Z68-V LE.

Indeed I was talking about the GA-Z68P, not the XP. Much cheaper than most ASUS boards but with quite high standards.

Still not sure what the best option is but I think I'll try to squeeze out a P8P67 Pro from ebay.

 

[Puppies04]

Indeed I was talking about the GA-Z68P, not the XP. Much cheaper than most ASUS boards but with quite high standards.

Still not sure what the best option is but I think I'll try to squeeze out a P8P67 Pro from ebay.

The GAZ68P has less PCIE slots than you already have that probably accounts for it being slightly cheaper than the P8Z68V-LX

 

[Elcs]

A funny Q. The manual for this board states that the PWR-FAN header has ground, 12v and sense lines.

Am I right in suggesting that I could attach, power and potentially control a fan on that header?


The GA-Z68X-UD3P-B3

 

[donghui90]

Helped. Thanks