Is it worth getting the MSI Z68a GD55 over the G45?

AlphaStorm

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Oct 1, 2011
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Hey guys. I'm building a gaming PC on a sort of budget of 1.2 grand maximum, but the lower I'm spending, the better. I'd like to sit comfortably in the 1.15 grand mark. So here is my system specs.

MSI GTX 560 (dual fan, non ti)
i5 2320
Corsair Vengeance 8 gb 1600mhz
Western Digital Caviar Black 750GB 7200rpm Sata III 64mb cache
Corsair GS600
Corsair Carbide 500r
23 inch Asus LED 1920x1080 2ms
Msi Z68a GD55/G45
Stock cooler

SO what do you guys think? I think this system has a nice feel to it (thats what she said).

The question I cam here to ask is that is it worth buying the Msi z68a GD55 over the G45 for a few buttons I'm gonna use twice that I can live easily without? Or are there other features that the GD55 has that make it worth the extra £15? What do you guys say?

Thx for the answers.
 

suteck

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The bid difference is whether or not you want on die graphics. The P vs the Z chipsets. The Z chipset will allow you to save power and component life by switching to on die graphics during normal low graphic use like surfing the net or doing word processing. Then using the video card for graphic intensive programs and games. The P series will require you to use the graphics card at all times. So it mostly depends on your usage and wallet size. The P67A-GD55 doesn't have on die graphics while the Z68A-G45 does. I would say yes, spend the 15 - oops don't have the symbol for your money, and get your monies worth.
 

AlphaStorm

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Oct 1, 2011
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Good answer, but you misunderstood what I said. I was deciding between the MSI Z68a G45 and MSI Z68a GD55.
 

suteck

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Good answer for the wrong question lol. Sorry, I typed in GD55 and the P series came up and I went from there.
So, to answer your question with another of my opinions - I see the GD55 seems more pointed towards overclocking while the G45 has a few more usb 2.0 plugs. Also, the GD55 mentions "Military Class II components" which will be a little more durable with power increases for your overclocking. I see you're planning on using the stock cooler and didn't go with a higher wattage psu, yours is fine for the system you picked out with some room for a future discrete graphics card, so the extra bills you would spend on the GD55 would be wasted. Unless you have plans to do upgrading to power hungry GPU(s) and overclocking in the future.

Are you set on MSI? Is that because their easier to get or get serviced from where you are? I'm not a big fan of MSI because of a couple of bad experiences I've had with them. Just asking because lots of people are going with the ASROCK Z68 boards. Like this ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 FOUND HERE to look at specs.