Best of these 3 SB motherboards

[treebus]

Hi all,

Building a SB 2600k system for Maya > CS5 > games(BFBC2/BF3). Need some advice on which motherboard to choose. I will be buying a single GTX 570 for now, and I will be giving the 2600k a slight OC.
As I'm in Australia, the parts will be purchased from PCCasegear.
So it's between these three:

ASUS P8P67 PRO
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_711_1183&products_id=16808

Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD4
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_711_1183&products_id=16793

MSI P67A-GD65
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_711_1183&products_id=16813

They're all about the same price and same specs, so I guess I'm just asking which brand I should go with?

Thanks!

 

[WR2]

Hello Treebus;

You've listed them in the exact order I'd chose them.

And I'd add the Asrock P67 Extreme4 into the list at about equal to the first two based on an excellent price and great reviews.

 

[treebus]

Thanks for the quick reponse.
Yeah, I was looking at the Asrock boards, but PCcasegear are out of stock with no ETA.
So that's a +1 for the Asus.

 

[Apennyworth]

Ooo thanks WR2, I was curious about the same thing.

 

[treebus]

Here's the rest of my proposed build, if anyone wants to make any suggestions...
I already have a case, screen and 1G HDD.

Intel Core i7 2600K Intel Core i7 2600K $369.00

Samsung SH-S223C SATA DVDRW Drive $35.00

Corsair CMX8GX3M2A1600C9 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 $119.00

OCZ Vertex 2 60GB SSD $149.00

OCZ Fatal1ty Series 750W Modular $129.00

ASUS P8P67 PRO Motherboard B3 $255.00

Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler $108.00

Gainward GeForce GTX 570 1280MB Phantom $429.00

Total: $1593.00

 

[WR2]

@ Apennyworth; They are all good choices. I wouldn't get upset if someone chose one of those based on a preferred color scheme. They're that close IMO.

@ Treebus;
I know the i7 2600K is better at programs that use lots of threads. But the i5 2500K is also very good at those same jobs. There's just not enough 'performance' separating them, IMO, to jump on the more expensive CPU. 2500K will do everything the 2600K will.

I'd also think you can look for a less expensive CPU cooler.
Thermaltake Frio OCR CPU Cooler
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=14111

 

[treebus]

Thanks WR2, good points.
But for me, it's all about rendering (MentalRay). I think the i7 will be worth the extra.
The cooler choice is based on noise rather than OC abilty and the ambient temp here can reach 45c in summer. I know it seems like overkill for a small OC, but I hate having to worry about temps while rendering. My last build, a 930 with a Cogage True (smoted by lightning), would sometimes reach upper 70's while rendering. I had to dissable cores to get the temps down on hot days.

 

[WR2]

Hmmmmmm...... I wonder if under-clocking, but leaving all cores running would have been a better trade off?
Did you ever test that scenario?

 

[christop]

Asus all the way....

 

[JackNaylorPE]

If priority is gaming, look for the P8P67 Pro in newegg combos once it arrives w/ B3 stepping. Paired w/ the 2500k or 2600k, there's a substantial savings in the combo. If 3D Modeling, big spreadsheets / databases , CS5 movie editing, etc is the priority, the 1366 platform may better choice. If sticking w/ the 1155 platform, given your oher comment about cooling, I'd give strong consideration to the ruggedized Asus Sabertooth TUF1155 MoBo and its 5 year warranty

Of those you listed the P8P67 Pro to my mind sits well above the others. The MSI I'd put 2nd and the Gigglebyte 3rd.....the AsRock given its weaker components is several steps down the chain. Where the Sabertooth ups the component quality to provide a more rugged board (and a corresponding increase in price), the AsRock goes the other way and needs to include less expensive components to meet their target budget buyer.

Corsair CMX8GX3M2A1600C9 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 $119.00 - That's a bit steep for CAS 9 RAM ... should be about $99. For C5, Maya etc, CAS 7 RAM would be better.

OCZ Vertex 2 60GB SSD $149.00 - Problematic part and Vertex 2 is about to be put out to pasture. here's why ya don't want the 60 GB / 120 GB Vertex 2

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ocz-vertex-2-25nm-ssd,2867.html

If you can't wait till end fo month and Vertex 3, then grab the Intel 510

OCZ Fatal1ty Series 750W Modular $129.00 - Not a good choice. Twin 570's will require an 850 watter. The XFX Black's perofrmance can be matched but only by much more expensive models

$130 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207001
$150 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011
$183 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139015
$109 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371024

The last one requires Antec compatible case (1200, DF-85, P193, P183). All those PSU's have 10.0 performance ratings on jonnyguru.com

Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler $108.00 - performance can't compete w/ $40 coolers. Ya wanne spend $100, get the Thermalright Silver Arrow. The Scythe Mugen 2 SCMG 2100 beats the NH-D14 handily on 1155/1156/1366 CPUs

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=674&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=4
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=447&Itemid=62

Gainward GeForce GTX 570 1280MB Phantom $429.00 - The reviews I have read don't show me anything that would make me wanna spend an extra $70 - $100. I'd consider twin 560 Ti's factory OC'd to 900 Mhz which sit right on the heels of the reference 570 performance. Two can be had for $100 more than that Phantom but ya could drop the PSU down to the 750 Black which would take back $20 of that.

 

[treebus]

No I didn't, but that would have been a good idea at the time. Or maybe turning of HT?
I ended up changing my case fan config, this fixed the problem to an extent.
Antec 600 - made all four 120mm case fans as intakes, twisted the CPU cooler 90deg (pushing up) and everything vented out the top 200mm fan. It was like a blow heater

 

[WR2]

My first thought is to leave the HT alone and underclock to where your temps are OK.
You can do benchmark testing to see which options performs best.

You can do the same type of thing with your case fan configurations.

 

[treebus]

Sadly Newegg don't ship to Australia and my budget is tight. I could save on the cooler and get a better PSU. What about this one:

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_995&products_id=15350

I dont think i'm going to be able to afford a SSD better than that one (the cheapest one on PCcasegear), so I think this will be better than nothing.

The Gainward Phantom just looks cool (temp wise), quiet and well built. These are the cards I'm choosing from:

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=193_1177

The other Gainward looks OK to. Any suggestions?

 

[Bigmac80]

I have the MSI P67A GD65 motherboard and its amazing! The new bios is easy to use also. I don't think Gigabyte has the new style bios.

 

[treebus]

Is there anything wrong with the OCZ PSU apart from it being to weak for 570 SLI?

SLI is not that important to me as Maya will not take advantage of the twin cards. Just want the best single card I can afford right now.

 

[WR2]

OCZ Fatal1ty 750 W Power Supply Review

 

[treebus]

Thanks for the link, seems to be a good value PS from this account. Just have to make sure I don't get the rails mixed up.

 

[WR2]

I can't imagine how you'd actually end up doing that. You'd need a really unusual system configuration and you won't have that based on what you've listed.

It tested well under a high load and under hot conditions.
There are better units out there but it's certainly a good PSU and a good value.

 

[WR2]

OK, I see what you're referring too.
Might be a good idea to print that out and include it along with the PSU documentation if the PSU manual doesn't make it clear.

 

[treebus]

Yeah, good idea
I think you've sold me on the Thermaltake Frio OCR CPU Cooler.
So that frees up some moneys for other stuff...Thinking...

 

[WR2]

I know it's tempting to grab the 'best of breed' options but lots of times you can get 90% of the performance for 50% of the price.

 

[treebus]

Best answer selected by treebus.