Z68 - Asus vs MSI vs Gigabyte

[IronIcon]

Sorry for posting yet another thread about Z68 boards but I just don't know what to go for.
I need to select a board for a new Sandybridge build, but the more research I do, the more issues I find with boards I thought would be a good bet. I've been looking at the following boards:-

Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3P
Asus P8Z68-V/Gen3
MSI Z68A-GD55

The Asus P8Z68 range seem to be plagued by issues with slow post/boot speeds.
The Gigabyte boards have issues with reboot looping.
I can't find anything much at all bad or good on the MSI boards.

My main questions are:-

How many people out there are not affected at all by the Gigabyte and Asus boot looping / slow boot problems?
Does anyone know of any issues with the MSI board?

I would like to be able to overclock in the future and I need at least one PCI slot for my Creative X-fi. I may go crossfire at a later date (already have a 6950)

Help / advice / opinions welcome.

Thanks.

 

[abekl]

I have the Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD4-B3 and have had zero problems with it for the entire 6 months I've had it.

 

[nitrousninja]

I have the MSI Z68A GEN3 and its been flawless so far. Cheap compared to the other GEN 3s too. I havent overclocked yet but it seems really easy to do with the software it comes with.

 

[Skott]

According to THG the MSI Z68A-GD55 was designed to compete directly against the GA Z68XP-UD3. The MSI OCed slightly higher but the UD3 had the lower price point. They ended up giving the nod to the UD3. Recently MSI upgraded some of their mobos warranties from 3 years to 5 years which is nice. I know the GD65 and the GD80 were upgraded so you may want to look and see if the GD55 was as well.

Here's the link to that THG article:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/z68xp-ud3-dz68db,2980.html

 

[Rvenger]

Recent MSI boards seem to be rock solid out of the box.

 

[Drazn]

yeah I was wondering the same thing. I am looking to build a new system soon and I am totally lost when it comes to Z68 chipset boards. They seem to all have boot problems to one degree or another.

 

[chimaxi83]

I have the P8Z68-V. I do love the board. However, I have random double boots from a cold boot.

That's been my only issue. Boot (outside of double boot) times are around 20 seconds and reboot times are closer to 30 seconds. It was faster when I had pure SSD setup, but now that I'm using SRT caching feature, boot time is maybe 4-5 seconds longer.

 

[latexblanky]

I'm the same boat as OP and I'm curious...is it worth spending the extra on one of the Gen3 boards? I know it supports PCI-E 3.0 but when is that going to come out?

 

[chimaxi83]

I'm the same boat as OP and I'm curious...is it worth spending the extra on one of the Gen3 boards? I know it supports PCI-E 3.0 but when is that going to come out?

Next gen AMD and Nvidia cards should both support 3.0, according to speculation anyway. Most likely will.

 

[Husky55]

I just built a new system with the MSI z68A-D65 and it was rock solid with the latest firmware. I don't think anybody can go wrong with Asus or Gigabyte either. They are really superb boards. I chose the MSI because I am cheap.

 

[Drazn]

The double boot problem is the only thing concerning me about the asus. hmm

 

[latexblanky]

Next gen AMD and Nvidia cards should both support 3.0, according to speculation anyway. Most likely will.

Can you use 3.0 as long as you have a gen 3 motherboard, or do you have to have an Ivy Bridge CPU as well?

 

[Mem]

The double boot problem is the only thing concerning me about the asus. hmm

Double boot problem is not an issue,its a simple BIOS setting ie go to boot menu then "Option Rom messages",set it to "keep current" ,if you don't then it will display third party rom messages hence double boot.

Once again its not a problem or issue but Bios feature.


For the record zero issues with my Asus Z68 V/Gen3 board.

 

[chimaxi83]

Can you use 3.0 as long as you have a gen 3 motherboard, or do you have to have an Ivy Bridge CPU as well?

Ivy Bridge will support 3.0. Sandy Bridge does not.

Double boot problem is not an issue,its a simple BIOS setting ie go to boot menu then "Option Rom messages",set it to "keep current" ,if you don't then it will display third party rom messages hence double boot.

Once again its not a problem or issue but Bios feature.


For the record zero issues with my Asus Z68 V/Gen3 board.

I'm going to try this. Thanks!

 

[videopho]

GB owner here...The more you monkey (tweak/play) with it the more issue(s) it will become. Unless you leave it alone enough then what is the point of building your own rig?
That being said. My next build will be another GB.

 

[IronIcon]

I've just taken the plunge and ordered the Asus P8Z68-V/Gen3 along with a Core i5 2500k and 16gb of low profile Corsair Vengeance. Already have a Corsair TX650M and an MSI 6950.

Thanks for all the replies.

 

[chin311]

I just built my system tonight, asus gtx 560, 8gb gskill, i5 2500, intel 320 ssd...

running a GIGABYTE GA-Z68AP-D3 , got it @ tigerdirect, 69.99 AR, was over the holiday weekend. went together flawlessly, no issues! came from a E8400 setup with a gigabyte board as well. works great.

 

[IronIcon]

So just to report back, I've built my new system and it's all working ok so far. Haven't had any issues with double posts on the Asus motherboard after changing the bios settings as recommended here (disable full screen logo and set option rom messages to keep current). I also disabled the JMicron controllers.

The only problems I'm having are with my case blocking access to the sata ports, easily fixed by blowing more cash on a new case.

If anyone wants to build a similar system specs are as follows:-

Intel® Core™ i5 2500K (stock cooler)
Asus P8Z68-V/Gen3
2 x Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB kits
MSI TwinFrozr 6950
Corsair TX650M

all housed in a CoolerMaster Mystique.