Help Choosing a Motherboard for a core i5-2500k system

[mniasfreemag]

Hi ,
I need help choosing a Motherboard for i5-2500K CPU. I was looking at ASUS, Gigabyte, ASrock and MSI motherboards. Some of my concerns/requirements are:

1) I use both windows and Linux, windows for gaming and Linux for programming/work. So the Mobo should be completely compatible with linux as well.
ASrock has etron Usb 3.0 chipsets, i heard they do not work with linux.
Gigabyte has Renesas D720200 chipsets, the z68 ones have etron chipsets.
Asus uses both nec and ASMedia chipsets.
Msi uses NEC chipsets.

2) P67 vs Z68 - which is better for OC?

3) I have seen that a lot of ASUS p67 users have had problems with the board eg. reboot loops. Are there any known bugs for the other boards? are there any fixes out for these bugs. How is the customer service by these companies?

4) Overclocking - I read that higher VRM phases give better OC stability, some of the MSI mobos have only 4-6 phases are they any good for OC?

5) Finally price, I am looking for some thing in the $150 - $200 range.

All suggestions are welcome, Thanks

 

[Leaps-from-Shadows]

1. The USB3 chipset drivers are only relevant if you actually use USB3 devices in Linux. If you don't then it doesn't matter. Plus, those drivers will be developed eventually so it would only be a temporary problem anyway.

2. Neither. Sandy Bridge CPUs overclock via the multiplier, so the chipset doesn't matter.

3. The dual-reboot on cold boots is a common problem for all Cougar Point boards. A BIOS update is the only way to fix it. You just have to wait until the manufacturer comes out with theirs.

4. MSI's VRM works different than most -- multiply the phases by 2 to get an idea of how many phases it performs like. And yes, MSI boards can overclock Sandy Bridge processors as well as any other board.

 

[mniasfreemag]

thanks for the reply, after looking through the linux forums. it seems that etron usb controllers are not supported under linux. So I guess I will go for a Asus or MSI board

 

[mniasfreemag]

Best answer selected by mniasfreemag.

 

[mrhercules]

1. The USB3 chipset drivers are only relevant if you actually use USB3 devices in Linux. If you don't then it doesn't matter. Plus, those drivers will be developed eventually so it would only be a temporary problem anyway.

2. Neither. Sandy Bridge CPUs overclock via the multiplier, so the chipset doesn't matter.

3. The dual-reboot on cold boots is a common problem for all Cougar Point boards. A BIOS update is the only way to fix it. You just have to wait until the manufacturer comes out with theirs.

4. MSI's VRM works different than most -- multiply the phases by 2 to get an idea of how many phases it performs like. And yes, MSI boards can overclock Sandy Bridge processors as well as any other board.

Would you please explain what dual reboot on cold boot problem is?

 

[Leaps-from-Shadows]

You press the power button.
The system powers on for a few seconds.
The system powers itself off for a few seconds.
The system powers itself on and boots normally.

If you do a restart from Windows it will boot normally. It will just boot twice when cold booting after having been turned off for a while. It doesn't happen to everyone, but it is pretty common. As I said, a BIOS update is the only thing that can fix it permanently.

 

[mrhercules]

You press the power button.
The system powers on for a few seconds.
The system powers itself off for a few seconds.
The system powers itself on and boots normally.

If you do a restart from Windows it will boot normally. It will just boot twice when cold booting after having been turned off for a while. It doesn't happen to everyone, but it is pretty common. As I said, a BIOS update is the only thing that can fix it permanently.

Got it. Thanks Leaps From Shadows

 

[Maziar]

This topic has been closed by Maziar