Z68 Motherboard Dilemma

[tizm]

I'm having a hard time deciding between MSI, ASRock, and Asus z68 mobos.

MSI
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130597

ASRock
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...scrollFullInfo

Asus
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...scrollFullInfo

Can anyone here recommend which one based on past experiences / known customer service history? I'd appreciate any insights.

 

[Jhatfie]

I think all three of those boards would treat you well. I personally prefer MSI and ASUS, based on dozens of builds I have done with both brands, but from what I have read, the ASRock is pretty decent as well.

I have only done one Z68 build so far and that is with my personal gaming rig. It is the step down from the one you listed, the ASUS P8Z68-V and I absolutely love it. Very stable, easy to work with, excellent layout and OC's great. So imagine it's bigger brother is much the same, just with the firewire and extra SATA3 controller/ports.

 

[adairusmc]

I have the V-Pro, and it has been a flawless board for me so far. Never had an issue of any kind with any Asus board I have owned, been using them almost exclusively since Abit went away.

 

[you2]

I would go with the msi or asrock board; but if the msi I would suggest the gd65 over the gd80. I have the asrock board nad the p67-gd65. I kind of prefer the asrock but it has a weirdness with boot devices (when changing the list of devices I have to unplug and replug in the sata ports for the system to boot else it hangs on the boot device). The p67 board has a stupidity with the case connectors blocking the pcie card; but they fixed it on the z68 version. I'm using windows 7 on the msi board and linux on the asrock. The asrock has a weirdness with suspend s3/s4/s5 (unfortunately i did not test it with windows 7 so unsure if this is a linux or asrock issue). The oc genie on the msi is dangerous and useless so I recommend you avoid it.
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The key advantage of the msi board is (a) cheaper (b) backup bios. The key advantage of the asrock is usb 3 front header (not yet useful for linux as linux does not support the etron chip) and diagnosis led. Generally I prefer the asrock layout (power/reset button placement and minor tweaks). So far no real issues other than suspend on the asrock with either board.

Btw I'm using a single ati 6950 on the msi and hd3000 on the asrock. The msi board has no other cards; the asrock has a pci tvtuner (amazing little devil that has worked well for 12 years).
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Btw both asrock and msi repsonded to my email (one each). The msi user forum tends to be unfriendly and heavy handed moderated; but the asrock has no user forum. Not required warranty service. Asrock was suppose to call back after testing s3/s4/s5 but they never did (not totally surprise but they said they would). The specific question had to do with s4/s5 (deep sx) not being enabled in the bios but the mb trying to enter s4 state.

 

[MTDEW]

I own the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO and the ASRock Z68 Extreme4 , and quite honestly i couldn't choose between the two if asked to pick a favorite.

I've tried the same 2600k cpu in both boards and it overclocks the same, with the same voltages on both boards if that is of interest to you.

The Asus board has a slightly better software bundle, I wouldnt say way better than the ASRock just a little better.
Of course as mentioned the ASRock comes with the front case mounted USB 3.0 bay which is useful if your case doesn't have front USB 3.0 ports.

Asus and ASRock both have nice UEFI interfaces if that matters to you.
(which isnt surprising since last i checked they are still sister companies despite ASRock trying very hard lately to differentiate itself as its own brand...and doing a darn fine job i might add)

So i can tell you from experience choosing between these two boards is just a simple matter of looking at the specs and choosing either one based on your needs/preferences because they both overclock well and have nice clean layouts.

Note: I'm on water cooling now, but i can confirm that a large air cooler such as my Noctua NH-D14 fit both boards easily.
Just be sure to use lower profile ram.(i used 16gb G-skill sniper memory)

 

[lupi]

i went with the asrock based on toms review and comparison to the asus.

 

[tizm]

I own the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO and the ASRock Z68 Extreme4 , and quite honestly i couldn't choose between the two if asked to pick a favorite.

I've tried the same 2600k cpu in both boards and it overclocks the same, with the same voltages on both boards if that is of interest to you.

The Asus board has a slightly better software bundle, I wouldnt say way better than the ASRock just a little better.
Of course as mentioned the ASRock comes with the front case mounted USB 3.0 bay which is useful if your case doesn't have front USB 3.0 ports.

Asus and ASRock both have nice UEFI interfaces if that matters to you.
(which isnt surprising since last i checked they are still sister companies despite ASRock trying very hard lately to differentiate itself as its own brand...and doing a darn fine job i might add)

So i can tell you from experience choosing between these two boards is just a simple matter of looking at the specs and choosing either one based on your needs/preferences because they both overclock well and have nice clean layouts.

Note: I'm on water cooling now, but i can confirm that a large air cooler such as my Noctua NH-D14 fit both boards easily.
Just be sure to use lower profile ram.(i used 16gb G-skill sniper memory)

Thanks everyone for the replies.

I was actually leaning towards the asus along with a Noctua d14 / G.Skill sniper ram so good to know they'll play nice together Also it's great to hear that overclocking is fine on both as I read somewhere that Gigabyte's isn't always stable, hence why I didn't really want to consider it.

As for the case, I might go with the Haf-X which has 3.0 USB on the front so I don't need to worry about that on the mobo.

 

[you2]

I shoudl have mentioend one other thing; the asrock comes with display port; the asus board does not.
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This is only relevant if you wish to use the hd3000 and drive a monitor > 1080p. As I noted I used the hd3000 in my linux box. This is probably not relevant to your build but thought I would mention it.

 

[MTDEW]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

I was actually leaning towards the asus along with a Noctua d14 / G.Skill sniper ram so good to know they'll play nice together Also it's great to hear that overclocking is fine on both as I read somewhere that Gigabyte's isn't always stable, hence why I didn't really want to consider it.

As for the case, I might go with the Haf-X which has 3.0 USB on the front so I don't need to worry about that on the mobo.

I just bought the Haf X Blue , its a nice step up from my old Haf 922.

Be aware my G-Skill sniper DDR3 1600 doesnt have the same heat spreaders that are shown on Newegg now, they changed them. (see pic)
It still shouldnt be a problem since you can just slide the fan up a bit on the Noctua if needed.
Even though the ones currently on Newegg have the exact same serial number, they have different heat spreaders.

My G-Skill Sniper ram looks like this pic.

Some quick pics of my Haf X build. (it's got plenty of room!)

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I had seen the connection before, but confirmed it again: ASUS corporate owns ASRock. Here is one of those assessments I consider naive, about the target customer-base for each manufacturer -- from another forum:

Yes, ASRock is a subsidiary of ASUS. Kinda like Chevy/GMC. One is for the "normal" person, and the other is for the higher end "professional" type person.

MTDEW: Are you a "Normal" person, or a "professional" type person? Maybe . . . you're a "normal, professional-type person."

One thing for sure, though. I'm not "normal." . . . . . So why am I happy with my V-Pro?

Incidentally, there's another thread I started -- probably has "run out its string" now -- about BSODs. MadScientist posted his screenies of the ASRock BIOS. I may keep my eye on that product line, now that I've seen what it looks like.

:biggrin:

 

[MTDEW]

I had seen the connection before, but confirmed it again: ASUS corporate owns ASRock. Here is one of those assessments I consider naive, about the target customer-base for each manufacturer -- from another forum:

Yes, ASRock is a subsidiary of ASUS. Kinda like Chevy/GMC. One is for the "normal" person, and the other is for the higher end "professional" type person.

MTDEW: Are you a "Normal" person, or a "professional" type person? Maybe . . . you're a "normal, professional-type person."

One thing for sure, though. I'm not "normal." . . . . . So why am I happy with my V-Pro?

Incidentally, there's another thread I started -- probably has "run out its string" now -- about BSODs. MadScientist posted his screenies of the ASRock BIOS. I may keep my eye on that product line, now that I've seen what it looks like.

:biggrin:

LOL, i'm neither "normal" nor "professional".
I chose to put the Asus board in my HAF X build simply because it goes with my black and blue color theme better than my ASRock.

And even then it was a tough decision since the ASRock has a black & blue theme also, and i honestly do consider both boards equal so i couldn't make up my mind.
(keep in mind i'll never consider going with more than two GPUs and my HAF X has front usb 3.0 ports already so in my mind they are both equal for my needs)

The Asus won simply because my wife said it looked better with the blue heatsinks...not sure if she was feeling 'normal" or "professional" when i asked for her opinion... :biggrin:

I admit i'm a bit ashamed to post i chose one over the other simply because of the color scheme my wife liked better, but if anything it does prove just how equal i consider these two boards to be.

 

[MadScientist]

My shrink, wife, and kids say I'm no where near normal so that's probably why I went with the Asrock MB. That and Newegg emailed me one of those 15% off MB codes. Gotta get off their mailing list before I go broke.

Last MB I had was an Asrock P55. Most trouble free MB I've owned. Hopefully I can say the same for the Z68.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

My shrink, wife, and kids say I'm no where near normal so that's probably why I went with the Asrock MB. That and Newegg emailed me one of those 15% off MB codes. Gotta get off their mailing list before I go broke.

Last MB I had was an Asrock P55. Most trouble free MB I've owned. Hopefully I can say the same for the Z68.

You might appreciate this. I think you live in WV, and I lived for 30 years in the state to the east. The [great and wonderful] Potomac Mills Outlet Mall was about three miles from my home, and they featured commercials on the local TV stations. In one, a housewife with plenty of time and money was standing there with a $500 pair of leather boots and $4,000 mink stole, which she alternately held up to the camera to say "I saved 40%! I saved 60%! I saved . . . . A HUNDRED PERCENT!!"

MTDEW: I have to say it! You are a "sensitive Artiste!!" But I guess computer fashion has been in fashion for years. Now you have me wondering if I should mod my HAF 922 to cut out windows from one or both side-panels after using a heat-gun to mold lexan to their extruded shape, and fitting it with the big rubber molding . . . . I have SO MUCH of that bling-bling stuff in my parts lockers from the 2007 build. Once I get these OC profiles tested and saved, I'll probably start using it.

 

[BrianTho2010]

I have the Asus and am in love with it. Super easy setup and the EFI is awesome. Additionally there is tons of support on the forums for this board and Asus has multiple guides on the Republic of Gamers website with great overclocking tips.

I would stay away from the Gigabyte boards because they do not implement the easy to use GUI that EFI allows.

I have no information on the MSI board.

 

[Chaosblade02]

I am a very unhappy customer of an ASrock Z68 Extreme 4, I don't recommend buying anything ASrock. Go with ASUS or Gigabyte. Avoid ASrock like the plague.

There are some really strange quirks with the ASrock boards that are unique to them only that can completely screw you if you are trying to setup RAID or Intel smart response. The only way I could see going ASrock is if you planned to only ever have one hard drive, and then you should have no problems with it. But what is the point in upgrading with a board like this if it defaults back to IDE and you are stuck with IDE?

To setup RAID you have to go in the bios to change it before you install windows, but if you do that it just goes in a brick loop and keeps shutting off, and I have personally confirmed this happening to 2 boards in a row. I thought the first one was faulty, so I installed the second one, and it did exactly the same thing. Now I am going to have to RMA this one too, because I cannot setup RAID or intel smart response on this board. It doesn't work like it was advertised.

If someone here DID manage to setup Intel Smart Response on this board, then please PM me and tell me how you did it, thanks.

 

[Patrese]

I am a very unhappy customer of an ASrock Z68 Extreme 4, I don't recommend buying anything ASrock. Go with ASUS or Gigabyte. Avoid ASrock like the plague.

There are some really strange quirks with the ASrock boards that are unique to them only that can completely screw you if you are trying to setup RAID or Intel smart response. The only way I could see going ASrock is if you planned to only ever have one hard drive, and then you should have no problems with it. But what is the point in upgrading with a board like this if it defaults back to IDE and you are stuck with IDE?

To setup RAID you have to go in the bios to change it before you install windows, but if you do that it just goes in a brick loop and keeps shutting off, and I have personally confirmed this happening to 2 boards in a row. I thought the first one was faulty, so I installed the second one, and it did exactly the same thing. Now I am going to have to RMA this one too, because I cannot setup RAID or intel smart response on this board. It doesn't work like it was advertised.

If someone here DID manage to setup Intel Smart Response on this board, then please PM me and tell me how you did it, thanks.

I haven't tried RAID or Smart Response on my board, but I know that it does not work at all with BIOS versions prior to 1.30. If you're already on the lastest BIOS (1.60) and drivers, I'd try posting your problem on the boards below. There is a lot of great info on the first one, and the second one gets answers from AsRock representatives.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums...d.-Share-your-experiences-OCs-amp-tech-issues!

http://forums.ocworkbench.com/forumdisplay.php?f=31

 

[Chaosblade02]

I haven't tried RAID or Smart Response on my board, but I know that it does not work at all with BIOS versions prior to 1.30. If you're already on the lastest BIOS (1.60) and drivers, I'd try posting your problem on the boards below. There is a lot of great info on the first one, and the second one gets answers from AsRock representatives.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums...d.-Share-your-experiences-OCs-amp-tech-issues!

http://forums.ocworkbench.com/forumdisplay.php?f=31

Thanks for the info, but none of that even matters when I got shipped 2 boards in a row with bent pins....

The Gigabyte board I got will be here in 2 days, and is $30 cheaper than the ASrock Extreme 4, only difference is one less PCIE X16 slot, unless you were planning tri/quad SLI/Xfire, you don't even need it anyway.

And the gigabyte has an easy Smart Response Setup. And it also appears to have a little more room around the CPU socket area for an after market heat sink than the ASrock Extreme 4.

I can't confirm yet of how the gigabyte will perform until I hook it up and test it. After getting 2 bad boards in a row from ASrock, my expectations are going to be very high from Gigabyte as a result. If Gigabyte is DOA then I guess I will RMA the whole thing and pay the restocking fee.

 

[nenforcer]

Does anyone know how the ASSRock Extreme 4 supports PCI-E 3.0 when the Z68 chipset itself does not?

Have they installed some 3rd party controller or is it just "electrically" pin compatible?

It's fairly pointless since there are no add in PCI-E 3.0 cards yet but should be this fall.

 

[MTDEW]

Does anyone know how the ASSRock Extreme 4 supports PCI-E 3.0 when the Z68 chipset itself does not?

Have they installed some 3rd party controller or is it just "electrically" pin compatible?

It's fairly pointless since there are no add in PCI-E 3.0 cards yet but should be this fall.

That is the ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 and you'll need an Ivy Bridge CPU.

 

[xamoel]

Sorry for intruding, but I'm kind of the same situation.
Trying to build a new PC, but not sure yet which Z68 mb is best atm.

As a MB right now the Asus Maximus IV Extreme-Z is my choice, but I'm not so sure why it's more expensive than the Asrock.
If you tell me it's the best I can get atm though, then I'm fine