New motherboard, need help (cheap and cheerful or more expensive and safe?)

[kaihonsou]

I am upgrading from my p7p55d with i3 530 @ 4ghz to a i5 2500k. I am on a budget but can stretch it if I need to.

The problem I have at the moment is justifying paying 40 euro more for some of the more popular motherboards while the real budget entry level boards seem to be just what im after. I plan on mildly overclocking, but this board will have to last me for at least 5 years.

The original motherboard was the MSI P67A-C45. The G45 is a tiny bit extra but if I am just paying for the extra pci-e, Id rather stick with the C45. After reading loads of reviews (mainly the C43, since the C45 is non-existent on the web) I was happy intill I read about some scary voltage problems with MSI.

The Asus P8P67 LE is the only card close to my budget. I only have a few motherboards to select from since I will only buy from komplett.ie.

Everyone recommends that if possible, you should get the more expensive motherboards, either the GD65 or the P8P67 Pro. The only thing stopping me is that their is nothing more that those cards give that the C45 offers.

I will be living with a 4.2ghz overclock for 5 years and will probably buy IB when the first price cuts for it hit.

Am I making the right decision? The money I would save buying the C45 could mean 8gb of ram from my 4gb, if I decide to splash the extra cash.

Honsou.

 

[pauldun170]

I'll run it down..
Mid range to highend Asus and Gigabyte have the best vrm on em
Low end gigabyte and asus are jinxed from the factory with random garbage bits attached to the motherboard.
Asrock is the best bargain brand. Rule of thumb is check the phases and take a peak at the cooling on the board and match that up with what you want to do 9with asrock). OC'n and you'll want to see heatsinks round the CPU socket and more than just the typical 4x1 or 4x2 phases on the spec sheet. Also...the mid to upper range Asrock uefi bios is nice. (Especially after dealing with Asus P67 and its peek a boo times two bios start up crap.

MSI.... too be honest after the caps debacle of ..er 2008....2009....2010 ...well after the MSI mess with boards exploding randomly, I stopped recomending MSI boards. They have their fans and the whole "military spec" boards are supposed to be nice but as far as I'm concerned, they get tossed into the seagate harddrive basket of bad exepriences.

Biostar has some stuff out there. I dont see many Biostar boards with heavy duty voltage management (correction I dont give them much thought but wouldn't hesitate in recomending thing for basic usage)

ECS - Deserves mention in that they offer all the danger of old MSI boards with all the fun of a Foxconn board that took a ride off the second floor of the factory...though a window.
Zotac makes itty bitty boards with lots of itty bitty problems. definite niche product bought by very patient, tolerant people


Summary - If you want to stretch your budget, stretch it with Asus, Asrock or Gigabyte. If you want stick to budget Asus or Asrock (Asus typically has little extra with voltage\heat management over Asrock but Asrock isn't far behind)
If you want to spend money on other components an Asrock is a good option...just make sure you review the spec sheet if your over clocking.

You could get MSI, but I'd ask around first and try and track down someone who has a 3-5 year old MSI board with all its caps intact.
That just me though. I'm sure some MSI owners will pipe in abou t how they have no problems (and hopefully they will list how long they've had the board and how they use it)

i apologize for grammar, spelling and tone. I'm exhausted

 

[kaihonsou]

P8Z68-V it is, but only because the P8P67 Pro is not in stock.

I have been really stressed trying to find the right motherboard because this will last me a good while.

Thanks for the extremely valuable insight. Asrock would probably of been my option if it were avaliable to me. Actually it is, but the website is notoriously hit and miss with no support after sales. The place im buying from I can collect/resend in person.

Thanks again Pauldun.

Honsou.

 

[pauldun170]

No problem (you may want to wait for others to offer their take)
If you do get that board, remember that it has bluetooth on it. I also think that is one of the annoying "double posting bios" boards (you need to fuss around in the bios to get it to post properly).
You might want to do a little more research on that board as there seems to be a few reports of quality issues with that particular board but that might be just with one particular rev. Not sure. There also seems to be some reports on that P8P67 Pro.

 

[kaihonsou]

I can live with fixable issues as long as the board lasts a good while. DOA's and the mobo catching fire are better reasons to avoid a motherboard then the double posting.

What kind of quality issues anyway? The long boot times and double posts? Anything else apart from that?

Honsou.

 

[troisanh]

Wait for p8z68-v gen3 if you havent bought yet, should be out anytime now.

 

[Mem]

Wait for p8z68-v gen3 if you havent bought yet, should be out anytime now.

That model is now available at Newegg and in stock.

 

[dawp]

also, if you can swing it and if it's available, the ASUS Sabertooth P67 has a 5 year warranty. since you're going to keep the board for at least that long, that may be something you would want.

 

[kaihonsou]

The p8z68-v was really pushing the budget, I would not of been able to afford the tiny price gap between that and the sabertooth

Im counting on a mild overclock along with the cool Irish weather to keep it running for a good while

Honsou.