New ASRock Gen3 Boards (Z68 Extreme Gen3 versus Reg Extreme4 Z68)

[chillin15]

They are out on Newegg! Not just the Fatality board too..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157264
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157265

Here is a comparison of the z68 extreme4 with the the z68 extreme4 gen 3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007627%2050001944%20600093976%20600158412&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&CompareItemList=280|13-157-250^13-157-250-TS%2C13-157-264^13-157-264-TS


I see the only differences:
PCIe3.0 (gen3)
V8 + 4 Power Phase Design (gen3) versus V8 power phase
Some slot differences??

Anyways, I have not yet pulled the trigger yet on getting the extreme4 z68 so what are your thoughts about adding in $10 to get the gen3 addition?

 

[chillin15]

Oh I forgot to add...gold caps instead of "duracaps" lol

 

[knut]

For the extra $10 I'm going with the Gen 3. Not sure it will matter but I'm getting an x2 vid card and I'm hoping the PCI-E 3.0 spec will give me enough bandwith to add an extra card in the future.

 

[JamesSneed]

For the extra $10 I'm going with the Gen 3. Not sure it will matter but I'm getting an x2 vid card and I'm hoping the PCI-E 3.0 spec will give me enough bandwidth to add an extra card in the future.

See below. Double posted.

 

[chillin15]

Does the lower volatge make the memory last longer? The g skill has better timings and is cheaper:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231445

 

[JamesSneed]

Does the lower volatge make the memory last longer? The g skill has better timings and is cheaper:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231445

The g skill you linked is higher priced than the Mushkin I linked prior. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226184&Tpk=N82E16820226184

Lower voltage will make the memory run cooler. It is possible but hard to say if the cooler running memory will it last longer. I tend to try to choose things that run cooler and since its cheap memory why not. Also, the lower voltage should put less stress on the Sandy Bridge IMC(Integrated Memory Controller).

Anand has a good article on memory for the Sandy Bridge CPU's. Basically timing and frequency don't matter that much. If your building for playing games see the chart with Crysis and Metro on this review. They got less than 1 FPS going from DDR3-1333 to DDR3-2133. http://www.anandtech.com/show/4503/sandy-bridge-memory-scaling-choosing-the-best-ddr3

FYI: I just bought the ASRock Z68 EXTREME4 GEN3 from newegg.

 

[chillin15]

Best answer selected by chillin15.

 

[john10001]

I thought the Gen3 was also compatible with the new IvyBridge CPU's on the way from Intel? Or is that incorrect?

 

[chillin15]

Yes that is correct, gen3 is compatible with IB

 

[speedlebaumer]

Just thought everyone might be interested that you will only get the benefit of PCI-E 3.0 with Ivy Bridge CPU. Please see note from ASRock website.

Note: To run the PCI Express 3.0 slots in Gen 3 speed, you must install the Ivy Bridge CPU which supports PCI Express 3.0. If you install the Sandy Bridge CPU, the PCI Express 3.0 slots will run only at Gen2 speed.

Also, PLX PEX8608 chip onboard for Extreme 4 gen. 3
Note: 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!