MoBo for 2500k for OC and Raid5

[V4705]

Hi,
I'm looking for a good OC mobo for 2500k, with integrated gpu support and raid1/0/5 (h67/z68?). I'm not looking to spend too much money on OC (it's just to "squeeze" more performance on the same price). maybe around 100-120$ ?

The computer is mainly for work (virtual machines, adobe premiere, lots of multitasking and such) not gaming.

I also need suggestions about cooling and power supply, again, not too pricey. the OC is just to get more performance for similar price.

Any other tips will be great as well and sorry for the n00b questions, last time I had time to OC was before the military, Barton 2500, nf7 with thermalright sk7 =]

 

[jaquith]

Welcome to Tom's Forum!

About the cheapest MOBO that I recommend for OC is the ASUS P8P67 PRO {RAID 0, 1, 5, 10}. The Intel DH67GD won't OC at all, only P67 and Z68 allow any OC. As far as RAID 5 or any parity RAID I don't recommend using any onboard RAID because it's slow without a dedicated RAID card, but non-parity RAID 10 is fine using the onboard controller. On the drawback RAID 10 has 4 drive minimum whereas RAID 5 is 3 drive minimum.

The HSF depends on the OC you're targeting, the CM 212+ is okay for <4.2GHz~4.5GHz or vCore <1.35v; the lower vCore has a good correlation to 12 Phases or more. In other words, forget a 4+2 Phase MOBO with a low vCore, and vCore >1.45~1.50 no cheapo HSF will cool it. The next step up is a Thermaltake Frio or adding a push/pull to the CM 212+ {Cooler Master 212+}.

 

[V4705]

Thanks
What about PSU? without Graphic card and not for gaming I don't think I'll need a crazy expensive one. but still because its for work I need something reliable enough.
Hec XPOWER585 should be enough? or CORSAIR CX430? (company budget isn't flexible for OC parts :/).

Edit: Ah, I forgot I need 3/4 HDD for Raid and 2 DVDRW. So 430w isn't enough for sure. what do you think about this cheap nice looking Hec ?

Edit2: I do want to use the integrated GPU (getting video card would kill my budget) so I need Z68 and not P67, Asus P8Z68-V LX is a good OCer?

 

[jaquith]

IF you want to OC and not use a GPU then you have one choice - Z68 period; ASUS P8Z68-V PRO 12+4 Phase {RAID 0, 1, 5, 10}. The ASUS P8Z68-V LX is a lousy OC with 4+2 Phase.

PSU I would personally would not get anything less than 500W and maybe 450W Corsair, but for the $ the Corsair CMPSU-600CXV2.

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

Of the chipset that we have made that support the 2nd generation Intel Core processors there are only 2 of them that will support overclocking of the core clock speed of the processor, they are the P67 or the Z68. Of those 2 chipsets only the Z68 will support the IGP (Intergraded Graphics on Processor).

On power supplies you can check out this site for the minimum power that you need but I would agree 100% with jaquith 500w and Corsair is where you want to be.

Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

 

[V4705]

Thank you both,
So thats the order right now, let me know if I need to change something before I order it:

CPU: 2500K
MOBO: ASUS P8Z68-V PRO
PSU: CORSAIR CX600 V2 600W
HSF: THERMALTAKE FRIO
CASE: COMPUCASE 63RABB
HDD Fan: Scythe 12cm Slipstream 1200rpm

Hardware I already have so I'll use it, let me know if they're super bad and I must get something else:
HDD1: WD 5000AAKX
HDD2: WD 5000AAKX
HDD3: WD 5000AAKS
HDD4: HITACH 0a37990 500GB (RAID 10)

MEM1: Mushkin Silverline pc10666 4gb
MEM1: Mushkin Silverline pc10666 4gb
MEM3: G.skill F3-10600cl9d 4gb
MEM3: G.skill F3-10600cl9d 4gb

 

[jaquith]

MEM1: Mushkin Silverline pc10666 4gb
MEM1: Mushkin Silverline pc10666 4gb
MEM3: G.skill F3-10600cl9d 4gb
MEM3: G.skill F3-10600cl9d 4gb

It's best to get all the same RAM.

 

[V4705]

I'll try with them first, its free =] if not, I'll get a new ones.
Something else wrong with this specs or can I order that?

Thanks again, you're rock!

 

[jaquith]

Mixing, especially 4GB density sticks isn't always successful, but DDR3 1333 as you've chosen 'can' work together better than faster frequency RAM.

Still it's nothing that I would do, either get ALL Mushkin or ALL G.SKILL. It's an unnecessary risk to stability.

 

[V4705]

Ok and 1333 is a decent frequency for OC or I'll need something "higher" ?

 

[jaquith]

If DDR 1333 MHz then look for really low CAS 7~8, otherwise the best is DDR3 1600 MHz CAS 8~9. And IMO the best is to purchase a 4x4GB matched set since it seems you're looking for 16GB.