Should I go with P67 or Z68/75/77 Motherboards?

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devilgodspider

devilgodspider

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Making a gaming computer and I'm getting really close to purchasing it, noticed prices dropped, and thought maybe I could get an SSD (which I don't have in my current build). Then I remembered about these motherboards, is there really a big difference? I mean, I'm getting ASRock over ASUS, and I'm questioning myself all the time if I should pay more and get ASUS. I'm using this for mainly gaming and a bit of editing. I only need to know this: Is there really a difference between Z** and P**? in any big way? Or even *67-*77?

Thank you in advance, and if there's already any thread about this, redirect please and I will either close this down or leave link to it.
 
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Sakkura
My Core i5-3450 has run at 3.7 GHz for a heck of a lot of time with no issues, and it turbos up to 3.9 when only one core is active. I've had no issues, and the motherboard temperatures are fine. 3.8 - 3.9 GHz on a 3570 should be fine.

No-K OC works well. It's not really a special Asrock feature, they just put a name on it. Any board with a Z** chipset will allow overclocking non-K Core i5s. They're not actually multiplier-locked, they are "limited unlocked" to quote Intel. You can get an extra 4 bins (~400 MHz) on most of the models.

Here's a comparison of the Core i5-2500K and 2500 (no K):

lTeiSUZ.jpg
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Sakkura

Sakkura

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Compared to P67, Z68 adds support for Intel SRT (SSD caching) and using (and overclocking) the integrated GPU. Not really important features in most cases.

Z77 has mostly the same features as Z68, but adds native support for PCIe 3.0 (depending on the CPU) and USB3.0. It's also newer, so it tends to support the newer Ivy Bridge CPUs out of the box, whereas most Z68 (and P67) boards will need a BIOS update before they support Ivy Bridge.

As for Asrock vs. Asus, it depends what models you're choosing between. Asrock is fine as long as you pick a good board.
 
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devilgodspider

devilgodspider

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The Motherboard I'm planning to buy from ASRock is the Z75 Pro3, as for the CPU it's an i5 3570 (Not unlocked / K).
 
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Sakkura

Sakkura

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I have that board running a Core i5-3450. It's not suitable for serious overclocking, but with that CPU you can get the 4 multiplier bins (~400 MHz) overclock available and it'll run that just fine.

Mine's been running overclocked like that for a year now, and I run Folding@Home on it most of the day (when I'm not gaming on it).
 
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devilgodspider

devilgodspider

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will it handle an overclock until 3.8-3.9GHz? Not thinking about overclocking but who knows lol & does this No-K overclock feature really work like ASRock says? :p
 
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Sakkura

Sakkura

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My Core i5-3450 has run at 3.7 GHz for a heck of a lot of time with no issues, and it turbos up to 3.9 when only one core is active. I've had no issues, and the motherboard temperatures are fine. 3.8 - 3.9 GHz on a 3570 should be fine.

No-K OC works well. It's not really a special Asrock feature, they just put a name on it. Any board with a Z** chipset will allow overclocking non-K Core i5s. They're not actually multiplier-locked, they are "limited unlocked" to quote Intel. You can get an extra 4 bins (~400 MHz) on most of the models.

Here's a comparison of the Core i5-2500K and 2500 (no K):

lTeiSUZ.jpg
 
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devilgodspider

devilgodspider

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I had no idea...! Thank you so much! :') *picks best answer*
 
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devilgodspider

devilgodspider

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I forgot to ask one more thing... So the ASRock feature doesn't do anything then, right? Because I thought it then allowed for at least, idk, 0.6-0.7GHz of a overclock. But it doesn't right?
Please answer asap (no pressure lol, just a bit curious about that feature)
 
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Sakkura

Sakkura

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The equivalent of the Asrock feature should be present on all other Z75 or Z77 motherboards too. And the actual limits are set by the CPU (Intel simply set a maximum that each model can be set at). Typically the limit is 0.4 GHz above stock.
 
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devilgodspider

devilgodspider

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I see... I guess I'll have to go with 3570K if I plan to overclock substantially... thank you
 
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