Help Selecting Good P67 Mobo for overclocking

[jedinegotiator]

I am in a motherboard selection crisis. My opinions keep swinging back and forth. I am either going to be getting the intel 2500K or 2600K, I haven't decided yet. I want to be able to overclock with ease to a stable 4.5Ghz at the least. I want a mobo with a good stable BIOS.

I dont think I need three PCIex16 slots but I need at least two for sure.

My preferred spending money is about $200 but I could go a bid higher if the extra money is worth it.

Please help me in my selection.

Build so far

Mobo: undecided
CPU: 2600K or 2500K
GPU: Most likely two ATI Radeon 6950s
RAM: For now two 4GB sticks rated at 1600Mhz may eventually get two more 4GB sticks for a total of 16GB
PSU: CORSAIR HX Series 850W
CPU Cooler: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus

Let me know if you have any recommendations for my build so far as well.

 

[tecmo34]

I would look at the ASUS P8P67 Pro... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131703

It looks to meet all of your needs for a P67 motherboard, IMO.

 

[jedinegotiator]

This board would easily overclock my CPU to 4.5Ghz?

Any other suggestions?

 

[tecmo34]

1) Yes... it will handle your CPU at 4.5 GHz

2) Here are some other options: Newegg Comparison

 

[jedinegotiator]

Ok thanks for those.

I am seriously considering the Deluxe model of Asus's lineup. I am trying to decide if the extra cash is worth it.

I was reading this article : http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/asrock-p67-extreme6-asus-p8p67-deluxe-msi-p67a-gd80,2924-17.html

And read this..

That leaves the Asus P8P67 EVO and MSI P67-GD80. Because the simple act of installing a graphics card in either board's bottom x16 slot requires disabling several onboard controllers, these can’t seriously be considered high-end models. We also find it disappointing that the second PCIe x1 slot of both boards is used more for its good looks than actual functionality. Asus is already nudging its board down to the upper-midrange market with a $200 price, and MSI should follow suit. Had either of these been available at the right price when we were conducting our $150-200 motherboard roundup, one of them might have even won.

What exactly does that mean that you must disable controllers and which port is the bottom port.?

 

[tecmo34]

What it is saying is when you install a graphics card in the third x16 slot (bottom slot), you have to disable on-board controllers to support x8,x8,x4 support. This explains it a little more from the article (maybe we'll get lucky and Crashman will stop by, since he is the author of the article ).

Moving those two controllers to a PCI bus still doesn’t prevent the P8P67 EVO from running out of PCIe pathways, though. Instead, the third PCIe x16-length slot drops from x4 to x1 mode in order to enable the top PCIe x1 slot, eSATA controller, and secondary SATA 6Gb/s controller. And even when that x16 slot is in x1 mode, it steals that lane from the second PCIe x1 slot.

Those are big sacrifices to enable a x4 slot for x8-x8-x4 triple graphics card configurations, but some gamers don’t need more than six internal drives or eSATA. Nevertheless, a less convoluted layout would have at least eliminated the second x1 slot, since it’s always tied to the third x16-slot’s first lane (unusable) and blocked by the graphics coolers of most performance-oriented graphics cards (inaccessible).

 

[jedinegotiator]

So if I am wanting to do 3 way crossfire/SLI I should get the deluxe but if I am only going to do two way the Pro or Evo will be suitable for my needs?

If so I am going to have to think on it. I dont have any plans to 3 way but that doesn't mean I wont want to in the future.

 

[tecmo34]

Yes... you are correct.

 

[jedinegotiator]

Ok thanks for your help tecmo best answer awarded =)

 

[jedinegotiator]

Best answer selected by jedinegotiator.

 

[RetiredChief]

For around $400 - Gigaybyte P68-7UD7
Does X8,x8,x8,x8
should be out in a couple of weeks, already in a few select markets.
LOL