Please help me choose a motherboard for this 3570K

[therealnickdanger]

I could use some help in finding the smallest motherboard possible that would still allow for 32GB RAM and some healthy overclocking (possibly water). AFAIK, it's not physically possible to make an ITX board with support for 32GB with this CPU, so it's going to have to be mATX. One PCIe slot will be sufficient. SATA6Gbps is a must. USB 3.0 would be nice-to-have. Intel GbE is probably asking too much.

I looked at Newegg, but their selection of overclockable boards in this form factor seems really limited.

Any ideas?

 

[VirtualLarry]

Z77 boards are a bit scarce new, now. I would go with whatever you can find.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Larry's correct.

I found this just now at the Egg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293&cm_re=Z77-_-13-157-293-_-Product

I think I'd ordered one of these last year, and it had bent socket pins or some irregularity when it arrived. I just happened to look at it closely with a magnifier. I sent it back under Egg return policies, and found an alternate choice at Ascendtech -- an outfit that does "IT asset-management" and refurbishing of used boards.

You should be luckier with the AsRock unit.

It has an 8+4 phase-power design, which seems promising.

If you want an Intel LAN controller, the Pro NICs can be had for probably less than $20. EDIT: Well -- do a wide search, beyond the Egg. See what's there.

 

[therealnickdanger]

Thanks, folks. I have been using an ASRock Z77 Extreme4 on my own 3570K OC machine for a few years now and no complaints. I just didn't really want a large ATX board for this build. My wife wants to build a smaller, more aesthetically pleasing case than the monstrosity that I use. So I guess that leads into my next question:

Smallest/cutest ATX case? LOL

 

[PhIlLy ChEeSe]

them new mini boards look cool, not sure they would use 32GB AS I never had 1.

 

[rgldsmth]

I replaced a Asus P8Z77 Vwith a Asus Z77 Extreme4 due to Asus mishandling my RMA and I am very happy with product. Inexpensive and performs well.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Last year I was searching first of all for a certain skt-1155 processor. There were bundled offerings at E-bay for P8Z77 "M(?)" mATX boards -- brand new in original packaging.

You can look for something like that. Also keep an eyeball on AscendTech. They come highly recommended for refurb boards: I'm running one as I speak. It arrived already flashed with the very latest BIOS. There WAS something defective: a broken RAM-slot latch. But the slot worked just fine -- as did all four of them.

Here's an offering at Amazon. The "new" item seems way overpriced. But there are "used" and "refurbished" units for less on that page:

http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-P8Z77-M-Intel-Micro-Motherboard/dp/B007RIFKS0

You also might want to keep your eye open for P8Z68-V Pro Gen3 boards, but those I know of are full ATX.

 

[Burpo]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Biostar-Tz7...884?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4d2f16623c