New Mobo

[Crzywhiteskata]

I just ordered an asrock extreme3 z68 gen3 and it seems to be having some issues with overclocking so I am going to send it back to newegg and get a new one. I thought I might aswell get an upgrade while I was at it looking at the asrock extreme4 z68 gen3 and the asus z68 pro 3 both at about the same price range. I can't decide which one is better. The system has an overclocked i5 with a single 560 ti with a probable 560 ti sli in the future. Which board would be better for what I'm going for, or is there even a difference between the lower extreme3 and these upgraded models.

 

[geekapproved]

If your having a problem overclocking with a Gen3, then you either don't know what your doing or you got a cpu that doesn't overclock well.

 

[Crzywhiteskata]

I'll have to make some more attempts, I'm hoping its not the cpu. It was requiring some way high voltages for a low overclock to make it stable even for a bit in a prime run. Other then a possible shitty cpu though, is there any advantage to boosting up the mobo?

 

[abekl]

The most important thing to look for in an upgraded MB is the cpu power section. For example, Gigabyte, in their UD4 and 5 "upgraded" MBs, uses a 16 phase Digital VRM technology that performs way better when overclocking than their standard UD3 eight phase VRM.

So, look for a better power handling section.

 

[Crzywhiteskata]

Whats the best rated gaming/overclocking board in that $160-200 price range. I checked on tom's for the review but the last one for that price range was a while back without the gen3 upgrade.

 

[geekapproved]

The Gen 3 has a 12 phase, not as good as a much more expensive mobo, but according to the newegg reviews there are a lot of people running 4.5ghz and over on the Gen 3.

 

[abekl]

So after all that, in the 200 price range, I'd suggest two boards:
ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790

or

GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD4 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128507

with preference to the Gigabyte board for it's more advanced power handling section.