Current Best M/Board for i5-2500K Gamer

[cmonster]

Hi guys, sorry if this has been covered, but I couldn't quite come to a conclusion from previous threads...

I plan to go with the i5-2500K CPU and aim to overclock on the stock cooler. (Maybe upgrade if really needed.)
I will run a single Gigabyte GTX560 Ti GPU. (Fastest single 560 on charts and best value in class.)

Used for gaming + general Windows usage.

My question :
What M/Board would you suggest? (Looking at 150-200$ ballpark)
P67 vs Z68 and why?
Would you pair with any other CPU?

Going with Gigabyte GPU I thought Gigabyte board... don't know if that matters at all...

Any suggestions welcome. I'm a noob at this and rather than waste money "learning" i'll ask people with experience!

Thanks in advance!

 

[rolli59]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128512

 

[itzdanielp]

I would *highly* suggest against clocking on the stock HSF... You will get nothing but headaches.

 

[cmonster]

Thanks rolli59, I see you suggest the GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3. It is on my short list and probably a favourite at the moment.

I also looked at the older P67 boards which clocked well, but it seems the new sandy bridge i5-2500k i'm going for justifies using the Z68 chipset.

itzdanielp - Thanks, I take heed to your warning. Will go with proper cooling from the start then!

Also looked at the MSI Z68A-GD5 and the ASRock Z68 Pro3.
Higher priced boards go over the $200 mark, and the rest of the hardware i'm using doesn't justify that. Neither the features i'm looking for.

Any more suggestions welcome. I am leaning towards rolli59's suggestion, unless someone has a reason not to go with that board.

Either way, feel free to give your opinion.

Thanks!

 

[k1114]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271 Asrock Extreme3 gen 3.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128502 GA d3h.

 

[rolli59]

Two articles I looked at therefore the UD3 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/z68a-gd80-p8z68-deluxe-z68xp-ud5,3025.html and http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/z68xp-ud3-dz68db,2980.html

 

[k1114]

Those boards I suggested weren't available at the time of the review. Not saying it's bad, just more options.