Which Z68 MOBO?

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azag

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I am planning on a new build over the next couple weeks and would like to get some opinions on a Z68 motherboard choice. I plan on using the following:

CPU: i7 2700k
16GB DDR3 2133 GSkill
OCZ Vertex Sata 2 200GB
2-3 EVGA GTX 580 1.5GB until I can afford to upgrade to 590s

Does 1600-2133 memory speed make a noticeable difference? Should I be wary of boards that only offer 2133 as an OC? Will I still see a speed improvement with a SATA2 SSD on a SATA3 6GB/S slot?

TIA
 
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itzdanielp

itzdanielp

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Aug 23, 2011
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DDR3 2133 is pretty much pointless, as you will see a *maybe* 1-2% difference in benchmark performance. No difference in real world use. 1600MHz is the sweet spot for Sandy Bridge (2700K)

16GB is a little over kill as well, unless you are running Virtual machines, or hosting a server you won't touch over 8GB.

If you are going with a SSD, I would save money on the RAM and get a Sata 3 drive.

I would stay with 2/3 580's instead of getting [a max of] 2 590's. 3 580's will destroy a pair of 590's. And you can not go 3-way with a 590, since a single card is already considered a SLI pair.

You will see no improvement with a SATA II drive in a SATA3 slot. Again - save money in other places and get a SATA 3 drive.
 
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jaquith

jaquith

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Feb 8, 2009
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IMO - IF you're starting off day (1) with 3-WAY GTX 580's then:
1. Only get the 3GB versions ; the only justification is 2560 x 1600 or (3 monitors) 5760 x 1080 = vRAM bottleneck.
2. Wait for the SB-E / LGA 2011 coming out in a couple of weeks

The current Sandy Bridge with a 'locked' BCLK will only benefit with >DDR3-1600 for a few Multitasking uses and not in Gaming. I agree 8GB vs 16GB is only good for Rendering or Huge Databases.

IF I had to build an LGA 1155 / SB 'today' with 3-WAY I might too be thinking + PhysX:
3-WAY SLI:
Z68 GA-Z68X-UD7-B3 (no Virtu support)
Z68 EVGA Z68 FTW 160-SB-E689-KR (no Virtu support)
P67 GA-P67A-UD7-B3

3-WAY SLI + PhysX:
P67 ASUS P8P67 WS REVOLUTION
 
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azag

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I'm using a 30" dell at 2560x1600.

What exactly does Virtu support get me? The ability to connect my monitor to the onboard video and utilize the cpu video and dedicated graphics cards at the same time?
 
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jaquith

jaquith

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Feb 8, 2009
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Virtu and QuickSync is using the Sandy Bridge to accelerate MPEG-2/4/H.264 'movie' output.

Why 'Z68'??

See 1.5GB vs 3GB vRAM comparisons -> http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/06/28/msi_n580gtx_lightning_xe_3gb_sli_video_card_review it depends on the Quality and the how the particular game renders to run into a vRAM issue. In your resolution it 'can be' and issue so it's worth you being aware of the potential problems.

Examples of vRAM bottlenecking 2560 x 1600:
1309163052zcB17FAWTk_3_6.gif

1309163052zcB17FAWTk_10_4.gif


Grosses Example of vRAM bottlenecking:
1309163052zcB17FAWTk_5_5.gif
 
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azag

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I don't have a good answer other than that I was looking for the latest and greatest.
 
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jaquith

jaquith

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Feb 8, 2009
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The P67 vs Z68 on the stuff that counts (SATA & USB); see -> http://www.anandtech.com/show/4330/asus-p8z68v-review/5

For Gaming there's no plus side for Z68 other than QuickSync and Intel SRT (SSD Caching). Therefore, unless you're going to be producing a crap load of MPEG-2/4/H.264 movies then Z68 isn't for you. Spending all that money on GTX 580's and using Intel SRT is equally CrAzY; it's much faster to have dedicated 120GB+ sized SSD and faster yet in RAID 0 with what you're looking at spending.

Otherwise, as stated above 2. Wait for the SB-E / LGA 2011 coming out in a couple of weeks In addition I expect the NEW GTX 600 Series to also become available in unison with LGA 2011.

IF I had to buy an LGA 1155 + SB 'today' with 3-WAY GTX 580's, as said 3GB version and plopped onto the (P67) ASUS P8P67 WS REVOLUTION; 3-WAY SLI (3GB GTX 580)+ PhysX (GTS 450).
 
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jaquith

jaquith

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Feb 8, 2009
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Last I heard the HD 7000 series was 'supposed' to be launched with LGA 2011 and the prevailing 'guesses' are ditto with nVidia. It's been a year since the GTX 580 was release (November 2010).

Combine the facts of US and other Countries shopping season November~December, it's not a stretch to accept the going rumor mill.

HD 7000 series -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Islands_(GPU_family) ; November 2011

I too have read anything from Q4 2011~Q1 2012.

IF AMD and nVidia have any sense whatsoever then Q4 2011 -- Sell them during season and while the GNP is on the positive side. My REO data has shown we are and have been in very serious problems, and the banks keep delaying the inevitable. We predicted the 2008-2009 collapse in mid-2005. I expect negative GNP growth now pushed to Q1~Q2 2012. See graph -> http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/Jaquith/ForeclosureOptionARM.jpg in 2008 the REO time-frame was 200~230 days now it's 700+ and it's going to happen. The only thing that's holding the World economy in one piece is ultra-low interest rates and banks dragging their butts foreclosing. So either string-out a disaster and get it over with quickly.
 
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azag

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I am definitely going to wait at least another two weeks for the SB-E CPUs. My current EVGA x58 motherboard is on RMA. I am either going to use this as a backup system or turn it into a media server. I already own the 3 EVGA GTX580s. I don’t mind dropping the money for 3GB cards but it is probably smart to just wait for a new series card to release.

Thanks for the advice.
 
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