Z68 vs P67 for i7 2600K/16GB workstation build

The P67 chipset costs about $8 less than the Z68 chipset. Now the Z68 has all the features of the P67 plus Intel® SRT (Smart Response Technology) for SSD caching and in most cases the Z68 supports the IGP (Intergraded Graphics on Processor) and comes with the Lucidlogix Virtu Software. The Virtu software we check with the application that you are running and see where the best performance comes from; the dedicated video card or the Intel QuickSync technology. So for your usage I would think that you would get the most out of the benefits from the Z68.

Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

Thank you for the informed response I have learned a lot from it. I am undecided between these motherboards:

Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 Z68 Socket 1155 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard £108.69

OR

Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3P-B3 Socket 1155 onboard 7.1 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard £148.85

As for the UD3P: I don't understand what I would gain from "EXTREME MEMORY PROFILES" and "ITE IT8728 chipset" if there are advantages to these I'm more than happy to invest in the more expensive motherboard. I'm not sure if there are any additional benefits (please let me know if there are though). I am interested in achieving a good and stable overclock with the i7 2600K I'll be using.

I posted this on another thread but would love to hear from the "Intel enthusiast" on this:

I am looking at the Z68 motherboards and researching them and based on what I have found so far I am very skeptical that these will solve the problems associated with the P67/H67 fiasco Intel created. At this point I would not go there unless someone can defeat my logic on this conclusion. Here is my logic:

1. The Virtu software that is needed in the Z68 motherboards apparently selects the integrated graphics and GPU graphics automatically. Here is a review that suggests that the program does NOT choose the best option for graphics processing:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/m [...] -chipset/4

So I ask, if this article is correct, would you want your gaming done on the integrated graphics and simpler tasks done on the GPU with no way to override this?

2. I tried to get instructions on the Virtu program from Lucidogix (called a week ago and e-mailed as well - no response yet so what does that tell you about their support if there are conflicts with this program as reported in some comments on Newegg, etc.?) and from Intel. I had been hoping that there might be a manual override where one could use GPU graphics all the time except when one wanted to use Quick Sync for video transcoding. Intel told me that there is no such override despite seeing a slider bar in the main panel illustration for the software that looks like there may be some manual control. I believe this is what people who want the best quality will want to do since the Intel graphics 3000 on their new K processors is not as good as an AMD Radeon HD 6570 GPU which you can buy for $69. See:

http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 25-14.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 59-21.html

So it seems you would only want the integrated graphics for transcoding with Quick Sync; otherwise there is no benefit except in power consumption but if you want lower quality that's what you get as a tradeoff for the small incremental wattage consumed by a Radeon HD 6570 (and the Virtu software only idles the card from what I understand so it doesn't save much - also see the bit-tech conclusion on this which suggested it drew MORE power!).

3. I posed whether there was any way to override the Virtu software, and I was told that you have to adjust the BIOS - in essence turn off the integrated graphics there to do so. That means that if you are not going to overclock the processor, this Z68 is worthless and no better than an H67 board from what I can tell.

4. Last but not least, with all of the problems I've had getting information from Intel and Lucidlogix on this, what will happen when BIOS updates occur - will this software keep up or will there be conflicts. Given what I've seen in my experience getting information I suspect the worst.

Please everyone feel free to poke holes in what I've said. If there was truly a way to get this Virtu software to do what I think those who want the best quality will want - that is have a control to use the GPU all the time except for video transcoding - I'd buy the board tomorrow. But at this point, I'd wait on this one.

By the way, in terms of getting the best quality video transcoding, while Quick Sync is the fastest, do you want to give up quality?

See this:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/video-transcoding-a...

Given the issues with Z68 I cite (unless someone can rebut them) and if you want the best quality all the time, it seems to me you are better off with the P67 if you want to stick with Intel.

I suggest you have a look on the PPBM5 benchmark test :

It appears that P8P67 EVO seems has very very good perfomrmance compare with the Z8 chipset.

Example :


Personal Computer Id Mlacom test OC
Gigabyte Z68X-UD5
GTX 580
MPE gain : 2,7x


Personal Computer IdNovak 470
Asus P8P67 EVO
GTX 470
MPE gain : 16,5x

Video encoding = Z68

Use the P67 (as an example P867 EVO (version B3))

But also :
Use an SSD for your boot and OS.
Use at least 16Go RAM


I thing the PPBM5 is a good synthesis to be looked at.

to intel enthusiast can u help me i am planning to upgrade my pc too, money doesn't matter i use my rig for hd movie editing and 3d rendering i use maya and 3ds max as well as cad and design adobe master suite especially premier so kindly give me configuration for best and performance and future proof thanx in advance, note please give all specs for workstation pc not a gaming pc mostly i work in 3d rendering and watching 3d hi def movies my work is graphic designing. sorry for my bad English

Techsearcher:

I have these exact same questions, and I was wondering if you ever got a definitive answer on your points.

Workstation Build + Add what your budget allow for a Pro GPU, and adjust the PSU as needed
Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5 GPU http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/tech-specs.html
PSU | Power Supply Finder - http://www.corsair.com/learn_n_explore/?psu=yes

If money is not option then look at Xeon (MP) options, options like the SR-2 and other WS/Server MOBOs; SR-2 build starts at $6K and $10K+ builds are not uncommon. SR-2 MOBO - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

-- Core LGA 1155 Workstation --
Type Price Description Link
CPU 350 Intel Xeon E3-1275 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
MOBO 230 ASUS P8B WS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
RAM 199 Crucial UDIMM 2x4GB DDR3 1333 ECC CT2KIT51272BA1339 http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=P8B%2...
SSD 240 OCZ Vertex 3 Series – MAX IOPS VTX3MI-25SAT3-120G 120GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
HDD 60 SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
HDD 60 SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
PSU 116 CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650M http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
CASE 88 CM RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Advanced http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
OS 140 Windows 7 Pro SP1 64-bit - OEM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
ODD 22 ASUS 24X DVDR - Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Total 1505

HSF Options:
HSF 58 Thermaltake Frio http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
HSF 126 CORSAIR H100 Liquid CPU Cooler http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Compare:
PassMark ; CPU Mark -> http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html
PassMark ; Disk Mark -> http://www.harddrivebenchmark.net/high_end_drives.html

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If you can wait ~90 days then look at the forthcoming X79/LGA 2011. It’s worth investigating and evaluate in choosing between the LGA 1155 or LGA 2011.
Link -> http://www.fudzilla.com/processors/item/23517-core-i7-3...
Link -> http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/motherboards/2011/06/0...
Link -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGA_2011
Link -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Bridge#Desktop_proce...