Need some input on rig rebuild

[deltatux]

Hey guys,

It's that time again to rebuild my rig as Ivy Bridge is literally around the corner.

My current rig: http://www.kwokinator.com/page/computer-specs#desktop

My planned rig:
Intel Core i5 3570K
Mushkin 4 x 4 GB DDR3-1600 CL9
LG DVD Writer
Mushkin Chronos 120 GB SATA III SSD

Absolute maximum budget: $750 all in (shipping+taxes, taxes 13%).

All I'm missing is the motherboard and I have narrowed it down to 3 choices. Each with its own strengths and weaknesses:


ASUS P8Z77-V
Pros

• Moderately priced
• Plenty of USB rear ports
• Built-in WiFi
• Good motherboard layout
• Has PCI slots for backwards compatibility

Cons

• Price, for what it is, $189 would be more suited than $209

Price: $209.99+tax

ASRock Extreme4 Z77
Pros

• Moderately priced
• Fair amount of USB rear ports
• Good motherboard layout
• Has PCI slots for backwards compatibility
• Good amount of PCIe slots, does away with the useless third PCIe x16 slot

Cons

• AsRock has yet proven to me in terms of durability
• Doesn't seem that it supports UASP?
• Not many stores carry this board at the moment

Price: $189.99+tax

Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H
Pros

• Moderately priced
• Gigabyte's 2oz Copper + fibre glass PCB
• 2x Gigabit LAN adapters
• Modest amount of rear panel USB plugs
• 3x USB 3.0 headers on board
• USB 3.0 front panel module included
• Good motherboard layout
• Has a PCI slot for backwards compability

Cons

• Is there UASP support??
• Would the keyboard and mouse be constantly lit because power is still supplied to it when powered off when using those red USB ports on the rear??

Price: $189.27+tax

I'm mainly looking for durability, my current board fell short of expectation in terms of durability. It also fell short on performance as AHCI is buggy on the SB600 southbridge on my existing board as well as an overvolting BIOS bug.

Requirements for the board: must have a minimum of 6 USB ports at rear and a minimum of 8 SATA ports on the motherboard itself (regardless of SATA II or III). Rig should not exceed more than C$750 at all.

Also, it seems that the RAM I want to buy may or may not fit under my existing cooler which I'm going to use in the rig rebuild.

Currently, I have the Zalman CNPS-8700 LED fan and G.Skill HK Series 4 x 2 GB DDR2-800 RAM (F2-6400CL4D-4GBHK) installed.

Here are the images taken of my current RAM and HSF clearance: http://imgur.com/a/5we2W

Do you guys think this RAM will fit in there?: http://mushkin.com/Memory/Quad-Kits/993995.aspx

So thoughts guys? All feedback is highly appreciated.

Thanks,
deltatux

 

[denis280]

I would take ASUS.and for the rams they will go in but very tight.so i would get a cooler master for the cpu

 

[deltatux]

Any specific reasons why the ASUS over the other two choices?

Thanks,
deltatux

 

[denis280]

Well my son did get alots of trouble with gigabite.and now is in to new mobo asus just like me.but this is my choice.other mobo are good too.

 

[JonBlack]

Honestly, all three boards should be really good. I'm a big fan of Gigabyte (minus the boot-loop issues) and I'm currently using two ASRock boards with good success. Of course ASUS has a great reputation too.

Are you going to reuse the HSF? That may be deciding factor with using 4 RAM sticks and fitting it with the HSF.

 

[Nastrodamous]

i got an asrock extreme 4 earlier this week and i love it also it was 139

 

[deltatux]

Honestly, all three boards should be really good. I'm a big fan of Gigabyte (minus the boot-loop issues) and I'm currently using two ASRock boards with good success. Of course ASUS has a great reputation too.

Are you going to reuse the HSF? That may be deciding factor with using 4 RAM sticks and fitting it with the HSF.

yes I'm going to be reusing my Zalman CNPS-8700 LED HSF as stated in the original post that's why I'm worried the Mushkin RAM I quoted may or may not fit.

deltatux

 

[JonBlack]

yes I'm going to be reusing my Zalman CNPS-8700 LED HSF as stated in the original post that's why I'm worried the Mushkin RAM I quoted may or may not fit.

deltatux

Sorry about missing that!

I'm guessing the Mushkin's will tightly fit but you will probably have install the RAM before the HSF.