Which ASUS mobo should i get for a 2500k i5?

[Guest]

I have been looking which motherboard to get in order to run a 2500k i5. I would also like it to be able to an ATI 5850 smoothly and in the future be able to run two of these if i upgrade.

I would like it to have 2 PCI-E x16 slots but is it possible to have both the slots run at x16? All i am seeing is things like 1 slot x16 running at x16 and then two other slots running at x8, x4 etc..
even if there aren't any; would there be any good ones any of you recommend. It is for gaming. Also would it matter if i used a microATX mobo for gaming with an 2500k? or are they too small/not well ventilated.

My budget is just over £100

Help would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[xlzhsteven]

MicroATX is better for one graphics card build, if you want to add another GPU in the future, ATX will be the best option. Since the new Z68 chipset is out, I recommend you to get the motherboard which support full functionality. ASUS, ASrock and MSI are all great brand for motherboard, however I think ASrock Z68 Extreme4 has better SLI support, it uses PLX PEX8608 chip. "With PLX PEX8608 chip, it generates more PCI-E lanes for PCI-E devices, so that all PCI-E devices are able to work at the proper speed simultaneously!" (Asrock website) It's also cheaper than both ASUS and MSI.

 

[chesteracorgi]

Unless you go up to the $350 range you cannot get 2 PCIE running at 16. The Micro ATX form factor doesn't lend itself to Xfire/SLI.

I can join xlshsteven in recommending a look at the ASRock with the PLX PEX8608 chip. But even the Asus P67 Extreme6 is still limited to to PCIE 1 @ X 16 (or 2@ X8 X8, or X16 X0 X4.

For more PCIE bandwidth you have to shop for a top board or go to a different processor & mobo (like the X58).

 

[garyhope]

MicroATX is better for one graphics card build, if you want to add another GPU in the future, ATX will be the best option. Since the new Z68 chipset is out, I recommend you to get the motherboard which support full functionality. ASUS, ASrock and MSI are all great brand for motherboard, however I think ASrock Z68 Extreme4 has better SLI support, it uses PLX PEX8608 chip. "With PLX PEX8608 chip, it generates more PCI-E lanes for PCI-E devices, so that all PCI-E devices are able to work at the proper speed simultaneously!" (Asrock website) It's also cheaper than both ASUS and MSI.

I'm interested in your comment about Micro ATX mobo's being better if you're using just one graphics card. Why do you say that? My computer is simple and i just use one graphics card which is a PNY Quadro NVS 440 which is mostly a financial workstation card which I use to run 4 monitors for financial and Forex currency trading from one slot. The only other card I have installed is a simple Creative sound card for my speakers set up. I've looked at some Micro mobo's but wasn't sure if they were too limiting for later expansion.

I'm not a gamer and probably never will be. I am interested in building a new 1155 Sandy Bridge Z68 with an i5 2500K with 8 gigs of Ram and maybe later a SSD for a boot drive. I have a new WD Black HD and W 7 HP 64 bit that I haven't installed yet.

What are the advantages of a Micro ATX mobo for a simple computer? Thanks.