Reliable Price/Performance Motherboard for i5-2500k

jkleckne

Distinguished
Sep 15, 2011
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Hello All,

I was hoping someone might be able to provide some insight regarding some LGA1155 motherboard options that I've listed below for a new rig that will (finally) replace my 7 year old gaming desktop.

I'd say my three top focuses are (1) reliability of components, (2) price/performance (as a relatively new dad, I am on a budget on this one!) and (3) reasonable sustainability of performance over time.

Approximate Purchase Date: Today/Tomorrow

Usage: Primarily gaming: Most notably in the future are WoW, Diablo III, SC2, and SWTOR. Would like to play all of these at a high level and keep this motherboard/rig running at a high level for a good number of years.

Minor Usage: Occasional Video Copying & Editing (Pinnacle)


Relevant System Specs (new build)
Windows 7
CASE: Thermaltake Soprano (already have)
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor [$205]
HEATSINK/FAN: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus [$30]
RAM: Corsair XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) [$33]
PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified [$62]
(is this worth $10 over Antec EarthWatts EA-650 GREEN 650W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified [$50] )
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WDBAAZ0010HNC-NRSN 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive [$95] (already have)
Optical Drives: 2 x Lite-On or Sony Optiarc DVD 24X SATA DVD+/-RW (does it matter which?) [$45]
GPU: MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card [$225]


Preferred Website for Parts: www.newegg.com

Parts Preference: Have positive lean towards ASUS; slight concern (possibly unjustified?) about AsRock

Overclocking: Quite possible. Getting the i5-2500k for the price/performance value and ability to overclock to extend the life of the PC.


Additional Comments: Was debating a Z68 motherboard, but concerned about compatibility with the GTX 460 GPU, so my option list below contains a graphics card+mobo combo. Leaning more heavily towards the ASUS P67 now regardless, so this may be a non-issue.


The two main graphics cards / motherboards that I am looking at are:

Option 1: (current frontrunner)
ASUS P8P67 (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131705[$135]

Option 2:
GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD4-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard [$150]
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128494
(The price point for this Gigabyte Z68 is impressive, though the board strikes me as essentially their old P67 with a different NorthBridge Chipset - I won't have an SSD, so I wouldn't be taking advantage of that caching feature ... so is there any real benefit to this Z68 considering the no onboard video, etc.?)

Option 3:
ASRock P67 EXTREME4 GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard [$155]
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157265

Option 4:
Any other suggestions are very welcome!


Thank you to all for taking the time to review and provide comments - I appreciate the time and advice!

Jim
 
You can look a couple form MSI P67A-GD65, Z68A GD65 or a Intel DP67BG are 3 solid reliable products, at a solid price point, allow you to overclock, and should get you a high level of performance over a number of years.

Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team