Which motherboard to pick?

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Last response: August 11, 2011 4:34 PM in Motherboards

zedero

August 10, 2011 10:09:47 PM

Hi, I need help with choosing my motherboard.

Things I plan on doing:

I will most likely be overclocking my GPU (either Radeon 6950/GTX 560) and my CPU (Intel i5-2500k)

I will NOT be using two cards or anything.

I also have noticed the issue of SATA ports being in awkward positions, so if you can find one without that, it would be great (LEAST CONCERN).

My budget is 100-180 or so, and if you know of any nice coupons or deals OR i5-2500k CPU COMBOS, please let me know.

Also, if you could, help me pick which GPU I should get, thanks to all!

If you have any additional questions please ask me.

More about : motherboard pick

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chillin15

Motherboard Expert

August 10, 2011 10:26:47 PM

DO you need to use integrated graphics? If so, go with my z68 picks. These are the best mobos in your price range

P67:
1st: AS Rock Extreme 4 Gen3 (Main feature: PCIe3 Ready with Ivy Bridge)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

2nd: ASUS P8P67 PRO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

3rd: GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD4-B3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Z68:
1st: AS Rock Extreme4 Z68 Gen 3 (PCIe3 compatible with Ivy)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

2nd: ASUS P8Z68-V PRO (This is above your price range by $20 but going down to the nonpro version imo is not worth it)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

3rd: GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3P
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

If you don't need to use integrated graphics, you get more for the price if you go with p67.

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zedero

August 10, 2011 10:35:41 PM

Can I boot up my computer and see stuff WITHOUT a graphics card?

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chillin15

Motherboard Expert

August 10, 2011 10:37:59 PM

Only with the z68 line and an intel core processor

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zedero

August 10, 2011 10:51:01 PM

is i5-2500k an Intel core processor? Sorry I am not very experiences.

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chillin15

Motherboard Expert

August 10, 2011 10:53:42 PM

Yes, it is. You would just plug your monitor into any of the motherboard's video outs (HDMI, DVI, even VGA). With a P67 motherboard, you do not have that option.

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zedero

August 10, 2011 11:16:16 PM

Ok what about if I put the graphics card in the PCI slot, but no drivers are installed, and i have no integrated graphics, will I see anything?

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chillin15

Motherboard Expert

August 10, 2011 11:27:45 PM

Yes, you will be able to boot up. The resolution will just be a little off until you update your drivers but you will be able to boot up.

Here is a great tutorial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxaVBsXEiok

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zedero

August 11, 2011 12:05:37 AM

Wow, okay thanks.

So I think I have everything, and I am ready to order.

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chillin15

Motherboard Expert

August 11, 2011 12:12:17 AM

which mobo are you going with?

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zedero

August 11, 2011 12:31:05 AM

GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3P LGA 1155 Intel Z68

Also can you please recommend me a nice PSU and GPU.

Either a GTX 560 or Radeon 6950, just I'm not sure which brand.

For my PSU I have been thinking of http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

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chillin15

Motherboard Expert

August 11, 2011 3:34:34 AM

I would get either a 560 ti or a 6950.

Benefits of Nvidia: 3d gaming and physx (better explosions, debris, etc.). benefits of AMD: 3+ monitor support on a single card

The 6950 performs slightly better than the 560 ti. Although individual game performance will vary.

For the gtx 560, I would get the MSI N560GTX-Ti Hawk GeForce GTX 560 Ti
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

For the amd 6950, I would get the sapphire 6950 dirt 3 edition
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

As for PSU, that is a great PSU but if you could buy this equally good 750W psu:
Corsair HX750 and save $20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

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zedero

August 11, 2011 3:39:00 AM

For the PSU, there is a coupon to make it 120 dollars.

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chillin15

Motherboard Expert

August 11, 2011 3:43:01 AM

Oh for 120, totally get that seasonic

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zedero

August 11, 2011 3:54:13 AM

Ok, thanks, and my mom told me to sell my current computer/monitor bundle and build my own. So I guess I'm doing that right now.

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zedero

August 11, 2011 3:54:56 AM

Where do you think I can sell it? It's HP

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chillin15

Motherboard Expert

August 11, 2011 4:01:51 AM

Selling a used computer is difficult for many reasons. In all honesty, you will be lucky to recover 40% of the original costs even after a year or 2. If it's more than 2 years, that percentages goes down.

Try craigslist and/or ebay. I know there are also some forums which have sections to sell parts or builds.

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zedero

August 11, 2011 4:03:17 AM

I owned for about 6 months. The model/bundle is Pavilion p6597c-b

And I just got it repaired by HP and they also cleaned and dusted it lol.

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zedero

August 11, 2011 4:34:19 PM

So does that make a difference?

It's an okay computer and no scratches or anything.

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