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Ideal motherboard for my needs! Advice please

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Hello,

This is the latest build I have come out with that comes out at a good price.

Intel Sandybridge i5-2500K Unlocked Core i5 Quad-Core Processor (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache, Socket 1155) 
Corsair CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 8GB 1600MHz CL9 DDR3 Vengeance Memory Two Module Kit
MSI GTX 580 Lightning 1536MB
60Gb OCZ Agility 3 SSD Read 525MB s Write 475MB s
Samsung F3 HD103SJ 1TB internal Hard Drive SATAII 32MB Cache 7200RPM – OEM
Coolermaster HAF 922 Mid Tower Chassis
Corsair TX Series, 650 Watt, ATX, PS/2, Power Supply, UK Version
Samsung Blu-ray Combo Drive
Genuine Windows 7 Home Edition x64

I have been learning all I can about PC's this week and must have done 30+ hours researching and I am at my wits end lol.. I've learnt that all the above components are more or less the best for what I want it to do; University studies, Movies and mostly gaming.

I am aware that a new Asrock board is out that has PCI-E 3.0 which is needed for the next generation of video cards but I don't need this as I have a GTX 580 which is PCI-E 2.0 and apparently this graphics cards is more than enough to play games on max setting for the next 2 years at least. If I need more power then rather than buying a new PCI-E 3.0 card I would prefer to go the SLI route and get another 580 which by that time will be a lot cheaper.

Here are my questions please;

1) Can someone recommend to me the cheapest and best motherboard for my needs? I heard that Z68 is one of the best but I am completely new to this so I am all ears.

2) Is 650w enough for my current build and if I go SLI then how much power will I need? I might get a higher PSU in preparation of future SLI.

3) Is the case I've chosen any good for cooling and ventilation or do you have alternatives?

I'm sorry that I am probably asking a question that has been asked 100 times before but I have been researching a lot for all these components again and don't want to do another 10 hours research for something that you guys could answer in a couple of mins. I just want to buy the parts now lol

Thanks!



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Motherboard Expert

case is good :)  but if you want to take a look, see if the TJ08-E finds a soft spot in you :p 

I noticed you don't have an aftermarket cooler listed in your parts list. want to add one?

I'd personally go with a Asus Maximus IV gene-z board. has all the bells and whistles you'd need....i think.

PCI-E 3.0 is backwards compatible with PCI-E 2.0/2.1 cards. You don't have a PCI-E 3.0 card so that will make no difference getting a PCI-E 2.0/3.0 board ponly that you might be future proofing yourself with the slots.

I'd side with a 750W or a 850W pSU when your thinking of SLi'ing.

OH, welcome to the forums, newcomer!

on another note, if you aren't interested in OC'ing the iGPU, then go with a P67 board. If you ain't going to be OC'ing the CPU, then the H67 board line up is better. That K series chip indicates that you're getting it to OC that CPU to the 4.0+GHz spot

Lutfij said:
case is good :)  but if you want to take a look, see if the TJ08-E finds a soft spot in you :p 

I noticed you don't have an aftermarket cooler listed in your parts list. want to add one?

I'd personally go with a Asus Maximus IV gene-z board. has all the bells and whistles you'd need....i think.

PCI-E 3.0 is backwards compatible with PCI-E 2.0/2.1 cards. You don't have a PCI-E 3.0 card so that will make no difference getting a PCI-E 2.0/3.0 board ponly that you might be future proofing yourself with the slots.

I'd side with a 750W or a 850W pSU when your thinking of SLi'ing.

OH, welcome to the forums, newcomer!

on another note, if you aren't interested in OC'ing the iGPU, then go with a P67 board. If you ain't going to be OC'ing the CPU, then the H67 board line up is better. That K series chip indicates that you're getting it to OC that CPU to the 4.0+GHz spot


Hi,

Thanks for your help.

I had a friend recommend the Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3P Z68 Motherboard but that doesn't have the PCI-E 3.0 slot and neither does the Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z board.

Do you think I should go for the ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 Intel Z68 Socket 1155 Motherboard? It has the PCI-E 3.0 slot and z68, but would it have everything else I would need if I wanted to overclock?

I think I will get a 850w PSU as you recommended.
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Motherboard Expert

are you really hell bent on getting a PCI-E 3.0 slotted board?

if you are then get the Asrock board. 850W? how about a NZXT Hale90 850W 80+gold PSU?

the asus has an easy step to OC'ing and the gigabyte...well i haven't been hearing much from them.

Here's the deal, open two tabs and compare the Maximus IV gene-z and the Asrock gen3 and look at the other features - apart from teh PCI-E 3.0 slot :) 

but i can figure you're stuck with the Asrock in heart.

Lutfij said:
are you really hell bent on getting a PCI-E 3.0 slotted board?

if you are then get the Asrock board. 850W? how about a NZXT Hale90 850W 80+gold PSU?

the asus has an easy step to OC'ing and the gigabyte...well i haven't been hearing much from them.

Here's the deal, open two tabs and compare the Maximus IV gene-z and the Asrock gen3 and look at the other features - apart from teh PCI-E 3.0 slot :) 

but i can figure you're stuck with the Asrock in heart.


Hi,

It's not so much I have the Asrock at heart but I just needed the PCI-E 3.0 for future graphic cards. I don't want to have to buy another motherboard in 2 years time to be able to use the Graphics Card I want.

I have done as you said and opened them into their own tabs and 90% makes little sense to me as I have only been trying to teach myself for the past week. A lot of the functionality appears to be the same across both.

I am now going to buy a GTX 570 instead of a 580 because I have read lots of reviews and looked in the benchmarks and there is hardly any difference in FPS between the both. If the 580 has a game at 80fps and the 570 at 74fps then it doesn't really matter as I cannot tell the difference anyway. Also it costs about 65% of the price of the 580 for only a 10% performance boost so I will get rid of the 570 in 2 years when it gets redundant and buy a new single GPU or Dual (2 GPU's in one card). I don't think I will bother with SLI.

Do you think that I need more than a 650w PSU for just one graphics card and do you think it's enough to future-proof me from the new PCI-E 3.0 cards or do I need to go to 750w?

Personally i don't see the need to buy the asrock just because it has pci-e 3.0. Surely in two years you would be better off buying a new board as by then the asrock will be old and out of date with probably an old chipset etc.

killkillkill said:
Personally i don't see the need to buy the asrock just because it has pci-e 3.0. Surely in two years you would be better off buying a new board as by then the asrock will be old and out of date with probably an old chipset etc.


Very good point! Why didn't I think of that :pt1cable: 

I won't get the Asrock then.

So is the Asus Maximus IV GENE-Z the way to go or the Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3P Z68?

A family friend who builds computers who builds computers for a living recommended the latter board but if the Asus Maximus IV GENE-Z is better then I will get that. They are the same price anyway.
Motherboard Expert

:lol:  you wan't thread specific to the Gene-z;

http://www.overclock.net/intel-motherboards/1004219-asu...

if you want in the future i can PM you the link that is a sweet tutorial for OC'ing the Gene ;) 

i see you've come around to the Gene-z :)  I'm in line for that...along with a TJ08-E case. until i can save up for a GPU - i'll just use the onboard HDMI port ;) 

gigabyte has been running dry in terms of feature rich content on boards. The Gene-Z is packed full of bells and whistles. If you ain't using them then they will be in the future. caching, raid, crossfire, sli, CPU levele up creative app add on - need i go on?
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