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mATX Core i5 board recommendations

A

antef

Senior member
I haven't built a PC in awhile and want to do a Core i5 build with an mATX board. Any suggestions? I'm not sure if brands like ASRock and such are good, I've only used ASUS, MSI, Epox, and Gigabyte in the past. I won't be OCing but probably don't want a chipset that would rule it out and I'll be using a single video card. Just want something stable, UEFI for Windows 8 (maybe they all have this now?), and easy. Thanks.
 
I probably won't be OCing at all though so I don't need an absolute top performer, it probably wouldn't be worth it for me.
 
The Gene-z is probably the best but the Asrock Pro3-M is decent too for a lot less money (150 vs 100 euro in NL for example). I can easily OC my 2500k to 4.2Ghz, haven't tried anything higher yet. The board layout is easy to work with, almost identical to the Gene-Z.
 
Another vote for both boards mentioned. I've done builds with them both. The Asus Gene-Z is top notch but expensive at around $170. The ASRock Z68 Pro3-M is very decent for $110. About the only thing the ASRock board is missing is USB 3.0 headers but only for newest cases with that feature.
 
Zap said:
Another vote for both boards mentioned. I've done builds with them both. The Asus Gene-Z is top notch but expensive at around $170. The ASRock Z68 Pro3-M is very decent for $110. About the only thing the ASRock board is missing is USB 3.0 headers but only for newest cases with that feature.
Click to expand...

and firewire.... (case has a firewire port, didnt realize mobo doesn't have any sort of firewire plugs at all 🙁
 
Meh. BITD I used Firewire with some external enclosures and once with a digital camcorder. Haven't needed it in years.
 
Thanks guys. I like the ASRock PRO3-M. I will be getting a new case with front USB3 but I think it's fine to just use the back ports when I need the speed. The 2 year warranty however is a little disappointing. Any reasons you favor the ASRock over the Gigabyte options (Z68MA-D2H-B3, Z68MX-UD2H-B3, Z68M-D2H) or MSI (Z68MA-ED55)?
 
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