Gigabyte Z68 Comparison Help

[Sierpinski]

Well I've put a lot of thought into this problem of mine since first reading about the new Gigabyte motherboards.

Ive decided on getting one, but there are so many! Newegg finally stocks my favorite choices so its time to decide. There are basically six that I have my eyes on.

GA-Z68X-UD3P-B3-----$170
GA-Z68X-UD4-B3------$190

GA-Z68XP-UD3---------$160
GA-Z68XP-UD3-iSSD--$240
GA-Z68XP-UD3P-------$190
DA-Z68XP-UD4---------$210

So my comparison is as follows,

All have nice features, basically identical ports and expansion slots, and seem to all support the same Gigabyte utilities from what I read. The most important to me being SRT, Virtu, and a couple others. Money is sort of an issue here, being that I don't want to spend money on an SSD atm, but in the future I definitely will want to.

The Z68XPs have the HDMI port, which could be useful (I think). I have a discrete card, so I dont need it unless the card dies. Would there be any other reason I would want to spend the $20 to upgrade to the XP version from the X version? The HDMI port seems to me to be the ONLY difference between the boards.

Now, the UD4 has the eSata ports. Are they worth $20 more? I've never used anything with eSATA. Will I ever?

The UD3/UD3-iSSD. The mSATA port is the main difference. (And they are not black which is lame, and for some reason I really dont want a blue mobo... I wonder who isn't tired of Blue and White) The regular UD3 is the cheapest, and the 20GB SSD turns out to cost $80! Its SATA2, so its pretty slow. Its not very future proof and doesnt seem to be worth it.

Overall I'm leaning towards the XP-UD3P or the X-UD3P-B3. Its a matter of the HDMI. The UD4 seems to not be worth the $20 extra and the mSATA seems to slow, for slight increase in cost I could get a SATA3 drive thats faster, or a SATA2 drive thats bigger. And I'm not extremely confident in the SSDs yet, don't know if I should invest until later.

I do intend to do some minor overclocks if that would change anything, but I don't expect it to. I play games and use it as a media center.

I also don't think I would get anything better from MSI or ASUS for the same price, so just stick with talking about these Gigabyte boards please.

Here's my build, all I need left is the Mobo:
Intel Core i5-2500k (Stock)
G.Skill 2x4GB 1600 DDR3
EVGA GeForce GTX 465 SC 1GB
Thermaltake 600W PSU
Western Digital Caviar Blue 7200RPM 1TB
Sony Optiarc DVD/CD RW Combo
Air Cooled Diablotek Diamond Mid-Tower Case

 

[jaquith]

Welcome to Tom's Forums!

First off if you want Quick Sync {Virtu GPU Virtualization} the Z68 MUST have an iGPU port period. IF your plans are to OC later then I'd go with the GA-Z68XP-UD4 as a better investment http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128507 otherwise get the GA-Z68XP-UD3P.

Side-by-Side http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007627%20600093976%20600158412&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&CompareItemList=280|13-128-507^13-128-507-TS%2C13-128-506^13-128-506-TS%2C13-128-512^13-128-512-01%23

IMO other than Quick Sync the Z68 offers little. The SSD + HHD caching doesn't compare to a real 120GB SSD. So taking Quick Sync out save more $ and possibly go with the P67.

Q - Will you ever SLI the GTX 465? I assume no but thought to ask.
Q - What's the purpose of this build?

 

[Sierpinski]

Don't plan to SLI the 465, not a big enough PSU for that, and another big investment.

Basically I'm using this for gaming, some other media based uses, video transcoding as well but nothing like CAD or other big programs.

Why would the UD4 OC better than the UD3P?
And the HDMI port is required for virtu? Why is that? It doesn't seem like it needs to be.

 

[jaquith]

The number of phases aides in the longevity of the MOBO; OC + Phases: smoother transitions, lower VRM temps, longer life of components, etc. At some point >16+ e.g. 20 offers a lesser advantage.
GA-Z68XP-UD4 = 16
GA-Z68XP-UD3P = 12

Quick Sync Virtu, d-mode is the better overall choice, and yes if you use the HDMI port you'll render slightly faster but in Gaming using the HDMI (i-mode) is considerably slower. Perhaps it will change but I wouldn't recommend using the HDMI (i-mode). Worst switching is a royal PITA.

The other Z68's with non IGPU Gigabyte MOBO's that lack some form of onboard IGPU connection cannot 'start' a/k/a turn-on the Quick Sync features, Gigabyte oddly took this approach on some of their Z68 MOBOs I assume to replace the P67 and a slight performance gain in heavy multi-GPU gaming. Nice Article -> http://techreport.com/discussions.x/20955

 

[Sierpinski]

Thanks for your help, it seems I'm going to go with the UD4, probably the UD4-B3 as I have a discrete card and don't really need quick sync.

 

[jaquith]

The P67 often has faster USB and SATA throughput; see -> http://www.anandtech.com/show/4330/asus-p8z68v-review/5

Again, it's all about the needs and use so the benches and setups vary on need.

Good Luck!

 

[silverssaint]

The number of phases aides in the longevity of the MOBO; OC + Phases: smoother transitions, lower VRM temps, longer life of components, etc. At some point >16+ e.g. 20 offers a lesser advantage.
GA-Z68XP-UD4 = 16

GA-Z68XP-UD3P = 12

Quick Sync Virtu, d-mode is the better overall choice, and yes if you use the HDMI port you'll render slightly faster but in Gaming using the HDMI (i-mode) is considerably slower. Perhaps it will change but I wouldn't recommend using the HDMI (i-mode). Worst switching is a royal PITA.

The other Z68's with non IGPU Gigabyte MOBO's that lack some form of onboard IGPU connection cannot 'start' a/k/a turn-on the Quick Sync features, Gigabyte oddly took this approach on some of their Z68 MOBOs I assume to replace the P67 and a slight performance gain in heavy multi-GPU gaming. Nice Article -> http://techreport.com/discussions.x/20955

I am planning on gaming with a computer I am building, so is the GA-Z68XP-UD4 = 16 a better MOBO than the GA-Z68XP-UD3P = 12? the UD3P advertises PCI gen 3? wich is the dual video card support correct? I dont think I will be using 2 video cards any time soon... although I do plan on OC... the UD4 just went on sale for the same price as the UD3P