I2500 chosen but Sandybridge mATX H67 or z68 *Confused*

[shiftlocked]

Dear lord I hope someone can help

My old rig just bit the dust and I need to get up and running on a traditional budget ( like a lot of posts here)

So I chose the i5 2500 over a top end i3 as it seems to be the best performing chip at a decent price range, although a little more than I wanted to spend.

However motherboard choice has beaten me. I have given up trying to work out whats what.

I know I need something like a H67 or a z68 and was planning on using Sandybridge with OB graphics just to get up and running. Im not a huge gamer but will upgrade to a graphics card eventually.

But then I looked and found that almost any graphics card is better than sandybridge it seems. Leaving me more confused

My total budget for Cpu, mobo and rma has to be £250 at the present time and im looking to get the best all round performance that I can at the moment.

Can anyone here please help and share their experiences for me please?

 

[fullofzen]

Overclocking
If you are only looking at the i5 2500 -- versus the 2500k -- you should feel comfortable going for the H67. The Z68 (and P67) have the ability to overclock the processor. The H67 does not offer the ability to overclock.

Onboard graphics

The H67 and Z68 both offer access to the HD graphics on the chip. The P67 does not. Both the H67 and Z68 offer access to the quicksync functionality that speeds up video format transcoding. The P67 does not.

Discrete video cards

You can use a discrete video card in the H67, P67, and Z68.

Price

Both the P67 and Z68 are generally priced significantly higher than the H67. If you're not looking to overclock, the H67 is a safe choice. I would note, though, that overclocking is a great way to, down the road, upgrade your system for free. It allows you to save money 4 years from now by delaying an upgrade to another motherboard and CPU.

Verdict

Assuming that you're not going to overclock, go with the H67. Good luck!!!

 

[shiftlocked]

Thanks for the overview. I haven't a clue on how to overclock ( i know and Im posting here lol)

It's all coming down to cost now. Seemingly getting an i3 with a board that will overclock and alongside a gfx is going to give the best money but am I then opening myself up to a world of pain with choosing a GFX card?

 

[shiftlocked]

So from what I've learnt now..

The H67 has no overclocking but has VGA
meaning I could save the £££ on a cpu but is that a false economy?

P67 HAS overclocking but no vga

Z68 has both but cost mucho moolah

The z68 is out of the running due to the sheer cost of it all.

It might actually start to head toward the AMD route which for some reason I'm dead set agains but don't know why. Prolly cause my knowledge is stil back from the days when the dual core E series whipped AMD ass.

Anyone care to throw some bundle suggestions into the mix?