MB for mild 2600K OC

[Z1NONLY]

I have finally pulled the trigger on a 2600k when I saw them in comp USA for $229.99.

At the moment it's, just a pretty paper weight because my current rig is AMD.

I want to get a MB I can OC with, but I don't think I need a $250 beast of a board because my goal is only to go as fast as stock-ish voltage will take me. I don't want to get an MSI fire-starter either though.

Compared to my Gigabyte 990fx UD3, most of the intel MB seem like they have very weak VRM sections, but that's probably just because intel doesn't draw as much current as the phenom X6 chips do. (and therfore don't need a gizillion phase setup.)

So my question is how much will I need to spend to get a "solid" OC MB if I don't need it to support crazy voltages?

I'm hoping for something below $150, but I will spend more if I must.

(Also would like to move my twoGTX 560's over to the new board too, so I want something that's SLI ready.

Thanks.

*forgot to mention I need fire wire (IEEE 1394a) too*

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

This will do nicely: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $134.99

 

[inzone]

I would usually try to post an inexpensive option but it seems like there is a good round of rebates happening for the Z-68 boards and the Asus board listed has a $20 rebate that puts it right at almost $150.

ASUS P8Z68-V/GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
$174.99 and a $20 rebate makes the final price $154.99.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131792

As you can see by the overview of this board that the VRM has been redone with overclocking in mind and will be a solid board in that respect.

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8Z68VGEN3/

 

[Z1NONLY]

Just realized that these don't come with fire wire. (IEEE 1394a)

I should have mentioned that I need fire wire in the OP. I have a card, but with two GPU's, I don't think I can install it without starving one of the GPU's fans.

So, my brief search has yielded these examples:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128506

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157265

Thanks for the help so far.

 

[inzone]

Yes I think that fire wire is being phased out as there are very few boards with it.

 

[Z1NONLY]

Any preference for either of the boards above? I have had good luck overclocking with two different Gigabyte UD3 boards, but that was with AMD stuff.

I'm leaning toward gigabyte though since they are 2 for 2 with me thus far.

 

[inzone]

Well of the two you have posted the Gigabyte would be the better board. I have one now and it had a bit of trouble so I had to send it in for a RMA and they fixed the problem and it's been working fine since. I really had my doubts when I saw the same board come back but it's working fine with no issues.

 

[Z1NONLY]

Best answer selected by Z1NONLY.

 

[Z1NONLY]

*update*

Bought the Gigabyte and ended up sending it back to newegg. The thing was "like a box of chocolates" every time I turned it on.

So now Gigabyte is 2 and 1 with me. (2 good AMD boards, 1 bad Intel)

I decided to just go to CompUSA and spend more for a little more for an ASUS board. The P8Z77-Vpro was sort of overkill for my application but it was in stock, so....

I am now running my 2600k @ 4Ghz with ~1.2v and enjoying my rig again.

I am selecting inzone's as the best answer because he gave me fair warning about the Gigabyte choice and recommended Asus.

I would still recommend Gigabyte for a budget AMD build, but I'm now wary of their Intel offerings.