Gigabyte Z68 or Asrock z68

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hedshotx

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Hello, I am currently in the process of building a new somewhat budget gaming computer, and I cannot decide between these two mobos.

Gigabyte : http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1165562&CatId=7212&SRCCODE=LINKSHARE&cm_mmc_o=-ddCjC1bELltzywCjC-d2CjCdwwp&AffiliateID=je6NUbpObpQ-OZdz3Y.iMr6HKnk9qedQhw

Asrock : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-Motherboards%20-%20Intel-_-ASRock-_-13157271&AID=10440897&PID=3938566&SID=

The Asrock is 40-50 dollars more expensive ( I think I have a 10$ off promo for that Gigabyte mobo somewhere ), But I wanted to know what you guys thought of these boards. I've read reviews that seem to go both ways, and I don't really know what to think or which to buy. Is the Asrock a better performing mobo? Or is the difference in performance too miniscule to pay 40-50 extra dollars.

On top of this, what brand/speed of RAM should I buy? I know I am getting 8 GB, but someone on these forums told me that the lower the RAM ( 1333 > 1600 ) is better, or even if I should get RAM that is overclockable. Trying to save money, but keep a good performance.

Current Build:

i5 2500k
8gb RAM
XFX 6950 or XFX 6970
750W PSU
Rosewill Challenger U3
MOBO
 
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H

hedshotx

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Gotcha. Motherboards have always been a really confusing piece of hardware for me, and I don't really get what makes the higher quality boards "better" per say. In a nut shell, can you guys answer this for me? Will the Asrock run faster, such as giving me more fps in games? My goal with this computer is to buy a rig that can run BF3 on ultra for as cheap as possible. Anti-aliasing not really included, 2x or so would be nice though :p. Will the gigabyte allow me to crossfire GPUs by the way? I know it has 2xpci16, but I've heard that some gpus that are larger cover up both of them.

As for the memory, these are the ones that have been suggested in the past:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220570

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220569

Also sosofm, being almost 1/3 of the price that I'm spending, I'm trying to buy from XFX so that I have a lifetime warranty on my GPU xD. I do like MSI's cards, especially their twinfrozr line, but the 2 year warranty really scares me :/
 
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hedshotx

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Sorry but I think those boards in that round up are a bit out of my ball park! $122 for the asrock extreme3 was about my max for the mobo, I was just looking to cut the price a bit so I could spend the money else where by considering the mobo. Speaking of the gigabyte, I was looking at pictures of it and on the board it says DX 10.1. Does this board not support directX 11 or is it referring to something else?
 
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tlmck

tlmck

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Tom's should use these for 6 months to a year and see which one(s) are still running.
 
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hedshotx

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I'm not planning on using any aftermarket cooling with the CPU, not off the bat at least, or are those holes useful with stock cooling?

Also does anyone know what that DX 10.1 thing is about on the Gigabyte board? I'm worried it isn't dx11 compatible or something.

So my main question for you guys is this: Will the Asrock provide much of a difference in the realm of gaming for me that it would warrant spending extra money on it? Or can I save 50$ by getting the gigabyte board, and still be able to play BF3 on ultra (or close to that).
 
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hedshotx

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Alright, thanks much for clearing that up malmental. Can you give your opinion on the latter half of my last post?

"So my main question for you guys is this: Will the Asrock provide much of a difference in the realm of gaming for me that it would warrant spending extra money on it? Or can I save 50$ by getting the gigabyte board, and still be able to play BF3 on ultra (or close to that)."
 
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hedshotx

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Haha, I was hoping 122 would be max for me! I guess I'll leave this for last in deciding which to buy. If I have extra cash left over I'll go for the Asrock.

Would you mind shedding some light on what RAM to get? I've been told that G. Skill makes good Ram for gaming and is easily overclockable and I found these :


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820220570

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231314

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231428

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820220569

Someone earlier in this thread suggested Corsair Vengeance
 
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hedshotx

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Not totally there yet nikorr xD. Still ordering some of the last pieces of the puzzle like the PSU and GPU, after that I'm gonna see how much I'm OVERBUDGET :(. If it isn't bad, I might just bite the bullet and get the asrock. Chances are I will stick with the gigabyte though. Just makes me sad I won't be able to SLI nvidia gpus :/. Can you answer me about the XMP profiling question?
 
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nikorr

nikorr

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ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 - Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)
 
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