Intel H61 vs H67 vs P67 vs Z68

[rockycrrab]

Hello,

I have trouble deciding between these chipsets. My build will consist of an i7-2600 and a single GPU (like a Radeon 6850). I don't want to overclock or run multiple graphics cards. Also, I don't really care about SSD caching. I prefer a full ATX form factor. Which one would be best for my needs? Thanks!

 

[geofelt]

All will work. but there are some other considerations.

H61 Will usually cost the least. But inexpensive motherboards may not have 6gb sata or usb3.0 Check the details carefully.
H61 will not be compatible with the upcoming ivy bridge cpu's; the others will.

I do not see the 2600 as a optimum pick for gaming. Games rarely use more than two or three cores, so the added hyperthreads will go mostly unused.
The extra $100 price premium for just one extra multiplier from 3.3 to 3.4 seems like too much. You would game better with a 2500@3.3 and spend the $100 for a 6950 or such.

Just to preserve your options, I would go ahead and spend an extra $15 or so on a 2500K. You don't have to overclock, but going from 3.3 to 4.0 is trivial.
That path will eliminate the H67 path, since the H67 can not be effectively overclocked.

That leaves P67 or Z68, either of which is equally good. If the price were equivalent, I would go with z68 simply on the basis that it is a newer chip, and has no negative on it's capabilities.

Lastly, do you really need a full atx motherboard?
Do you have a plan to fill the 7 expansion slots it provides? Particularly since you will avoid sli(and I agree with you there)
Do you plan on a bunch of hard drives which need a large case?

M-atx will have 4 slots, and ITX will have only the pcie-x16 slot for your graphics card.

There are some really nice smaller cases out there.

 

[rockycrrab]

Thanks for the reply!

The reason why I didn't go with the 2500K is because I don't need to overclock. Even though I do play games, the most taxing game I have is Battlefield: Bad Company 2, which could run maxed out on a 5770 and there would be no need for a CPU overclock. Therefore, I settled on the i7, since the extra threads will be useful in the future when programs utilize more threads. I don't think overclocking it to 4GHz will make any difference for me for my uses. A 6950 would be overkill since I play games mainly on my wii/xbox with family. Also, I don't upgrade often (my current computer is still a Pentium 4 Northwood!), so being a bit "future-proof" will help.

Your right, I should go with a micro ATX board if the need arises. I just thought that the extra slots might be useful in the future, but currently I have no plans for it.

I think I will go with the Z68 since the prices are pretty similar

 

[sam_fisher]

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/306246-28-2500k-2600

Personally I wouldn't get the 2600 even if I was 'future proofing' as a quad core will be sufficient enough for a while to come. Having 8 threads is really only an advantage for video encoding and such, and for another $100 you'd be better off saving it or putting it into something else. Get a 60GB SSD or as geofelt said put it into a 6950.

 

[nero912]

if overclocking z68 or p67 (in that order).
if low budget h67
if low budget and no upgrading to ivy bridge h61.

 

[kyle382]

haha I just read like 10 threads about this and nero sums it up in 3 bullet points. Best answer

 

[brookheather]

Some H61 motherboards now have an updated BIOS to support Ivy Bridge cpus - an example is the ASUS P8H61-M PRO - the latest BIOS release notes state:

Enable support for Intel Next Gen 22nm Processor E1 stepping MP version CPU.

 

[geofelt]

Thanks for the reply!

The reason why I didn't go with the 2500K is because I don't need to overclock. Even though I do play games, the most taxing game I have is Battlefield: Bad Company 2, which could run maxed out on a 5770 and there would be no need for a CPU overclock. Therefore, I settled on the i7, since the extra threads will be useful in the future when programs utilize more threads. I don't think overclocking it to 4GHz will make any difference for me for my uses. A 6950 would be overkill since I play games mainly on my wii/xbox with family. Also, I don't upgrade often (my current computer is still a Pentium 4 Northwood!), so being a bit "future-proof" will help.

Your right, I should go with a micro ATX board if the need arises. I just thought that the extra slots might be useful in the future, but currently I have no plans for it.

I think I will go with the Z68 since the prices are pretty similar

Hyperthreading makes use of unused parts of the main core to dispatch a second task. The hyperthread task does not have the full compute power of the main task. It is, perhaps, the equivalent of 1/4 of a full core.

These hyperthread tasks only come into play when there are more than 4 threads(on a i7 cpu) available to be dispatched. If your app can consistently dispatch 8 or more threads, then you have the equivalent of a 5 core cpu running at the stock multiplier. 3.4 in the case of the 2600.

If, on the other hand, you have a 2500K with a mild oc to 4.0, you will have approximately the same compute power.
90% of 2500K chips will oc to 4.0 or better. 50% might reach 4.5.
If you still really think that multiple threads will be useful to you, consider spending an added $25 or so for the 2600K to preserve the OC option.

Some arguments for the 2500K:
The 2500K will be $100 cheaper than a 2600 to start with, and better since you do not now need to OC.
The 2500K will do better @4.0 when there are 4 threads or less to be dispatched.
By the time future apps that you use are capable of using many threads, your "future proof" 2600 may well be obsolete.

 

[kyle382]

epic necro you just did

 

[rockycrrab]

Best answer selected by rockycrrab.

 

[Anandphilips7393]

Hyperthreading makes use of unused parts of the main core to dispatch a second task. The hyperthread task does not have the full compute power of the main task. It is, perhaps, the equivalent of 1/4 of a full core.

These hyperthread tasks only come into play when there are more than 4 threads(on a i7 cpu) available to be dispatched. If your app can consistently dispatch 8 or more threads, then you have the equivalent of a 5 core cpu running at the stock multiplier. 3.4 in the case of the 2600.

If, on the other hand, you have a 2500K with a mild oc to 4.0, you will have approximately the same compute power.
90% of 2500K chips will oc to 4.0 or better. 50% might reach 4.5.
If you still really think that multiple threads will be useful to you, consider spending an added $25 or so for the 2600K to preserve the OC option.

Some arguments for the 2500K:
The 2500K will be $100 cheaper than a 2600 to start with, and better since you do not now need to OC.
The 2500K will do better @4.0 when there are 4 threads or less to be dispatched.
By the time future apps that you use are capable of using many threads, your "future proof" 2600 may well be obsolete.

hi,
i'm havin trouble choosing over asus p8h61 or asus h67.
Also i need to spend money on nvidea 520 or maximum gt 620. I hav i5 2500. No overclocking or multi graphics card or no upgrade to 3rd gen. Budget concerned. Pls help.
If no graphics cards needed for mass effect 3 n batman ark etc. . Pls explain if my i5 can play without graphics card with p8h67.

 

[Anandphilips7393]

Hyperthreading makes use of unused parts of the main core to dispatch a second task. The hyperthread task does not have the full compute power of the main task. It is, perhaps, the equivalent of 1/4 of a full core.

These hyperthread tasks only come into play when there are more than 4 threads(on a i7 cpu) available to be dispatched. If your app can consistently dispatch 8 or more threads, then you have the equivalent of a 5 core cpu running at the stock multiplier. 3.4 in the case of the 2600.

If, on the other hand, you have a 2500K with a mild oc to 4.0, you will have approximately the same compute power.
90% of 2500K chips will oc to 4.0 or better. 50% might reach 4.5.
If you still really think that multiple threads will be useful to you, consider spending an added $25 or so for the 2600K to preserve the OC option.

Some arguments for the 2500K:
The 2500K will be $100 cheaper than a 2600 to start with, and better since you do not now need to OC.
The 2500K will do better @4.0 when there are 4 threads or less to be dispatched.
By the time future apps that you use are capable of using many threads, your "future proof" 2600 may well be obsolete.

hi,
i'm havin trouble choosing over asus p8h61 or asus h67.
Also i need to spend money on nvidea 520 or maximum gt 620. I hav i5 2500. No overclocking or multi graphics card or no upgrade to 3rd gen. Budget concerned. Pls help.
If no graphics cards needed for mass effect 3 n batman ark etc. . Pls explain if my i5 can play without graphics card with p8h67.

 

[allanitomwesh]

^No it can't. You need dedicated graphics if you want those games to look anywhere near decent.
What is your monitor resolution?