I am researching a new build and am relatively decided on all of the components, but the motherboard. I know that I will be doing some mild water-cooling for "Quiet" CPU cooling and medium Over-clocking with no extreme voltage boosts on the CPU, so stability is a primary factor for me. I understand that the power-phases are what supply power directly to the CPU, so More/Better Power Supply phases means better CPU over-clockability. How many is enough and how important are they in the grand scheme of things since I am not doing extreme over-volting?
The two boards I am primarily interested in are the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 and the GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD4. The Asus has a 12+4 power phase with 12 for CPU and 4 for iGPU while the Gigabyte has 16 power phases, but no mention of how they are split up. I will almost always be using an aftermarket GPU for anything intensive and the iGPU for only daily web browsing/youtube viewing, so are the Asus' dedicated 4 power phases on the iGPU of any use? Are some power phases more robust than others? What does it mean when some Mobos are VRD12 certified? Also is the Digi+ VRM from the Asus board essentially the same thing as the Driver Mosfet from the Gigabyte board?
The two boards I am primarily interested in are the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 and the GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD4. The Asus has a 12+4 power phase with 12 for CPU and 4 for iGPU while the Gigabyte has 16 power phases, but no mention of how they are split up. I will almost always be using an aftermarket GPU for anything intensive and the iGPU for only daily web browsing/youtube viewing, so are the Asus' dedicated 4 power phases on the iGPU of any use? Are some power phases more robust than others? What does it mean when some Mobos are VRD12 certified? Also is the Digi+ VRM from the Asus board essentially the same thing as the Driver Mosfet from the Gigabyte board?
