LGA 1155 Motherboards - Most Bang for my Buck?

[tacotown]

Hey guys, sorry, I have done some searching but have not found anything completely up to date (questions like mine seemed to be at most recent, from fall 2011, I wasn't sure if their is anything new out, so i thought I'd ask) so, I am here, with a measly 0 posts, to ask a question. I know I'm whoring off the community, but hopefully I'll be able to donate my time to the community in something that is more of my niche.

K sorry for the intro, so I'm looking to upgrade my PC, I just bought a TX650 (PSU) for a pretty good price at a ocal store, and a Radeon 6950 (Which has a switch that unlocks it so it's really a 6970) from a friend, for 200, which I thought was a great deal, considering what 6970's sell for other wise. So in the near future (I.E. when my silly Playstation gets sold) I would like to put in a 2500k Sandy bridge, maybe an ivy bridge if it's worth it, but I'm looking to hopefully reap any price drops on sandy bridges once the ivy's roll out. Upgrading to an LGA1155 socket CPU will call for a new mobo, and that's where I am stumped. Theres so many features, and I understand them, but then there's stuff like reliability, and I just don't have the experience to know what board is reliable and which one is going to risk fizzing and popping

So, I am coming to the humble leprechauns of Tom's, to ask what the best LGA1155 board is right now, in terms of reliability and features. I have max 200 to spend on a board, UEFI would be nice, but not necessary. I would like USB 3.0, but only like 2 ports, it really wont be a deciding factor. I'm really just looking for a board that may or may not have UEFI and USB 3.0, but I would like a board that's going to let me install and after-market cpu cooler, my case should be able to handle it, but I've heard of boards where RAM slots get covered by CPU coolers, stuff like that. Thank you!

Gosh darn how rude, I left you guys to do all the work, here is an example of something I'd be looking for :

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=26_722&item_id=039519

I don't think it has UEFI, which is okay, but it has the rest of the features I'm looking for, it truly is a matter of just needing to know what's reliable, what isn't going to bust.

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=26_722&item_id=047272

Another example.

 

[chesteracorgi]

The most bang for the buck is more a matter of opinion and taste. The Z77 chipset is the newest and has some new features over the Z68 but both the P67 and H67 have their uses and advantages as well.

I'll confine suggestions to the Z77 as you seem to want to "future-proof" your rig (not that it is possible, but the most advanced hardware at least keeps you in the game longer).

Look at these mobos: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=Property&N=100007626%20600093976&IsNodeId=1&PropertyCodeValue=717%3A288642&bop=And&CompareItemList=280%7C13%2D138%2D355%5E13%2D138%2D355%2D02%23%2C13%2D157%2D293%5E13%2D157%2D293%2D02%23%2C13%2D128%2D551%5E13%2D128%2D551%2D05%23%2C13%2D131%2D837%5E13%2D131%2D837%2D02%23%2C13%2D130%2D644%5E13%2D130%2D644%2D02%23
They all have UEFI BIOS. They will all work with IB CPUs when the IB is released, and can use current SB CPUs (but not SBe).

All mobos can be fitted for after-market CPU coolers. But I wouldn't buy into the tall heatspreader RAM because they sometimes conflict with some coolers. I use closed loop coolers myself, and there is no conflict, but I have low profile RAM nevertheless.

Good luck.

 

[venur]

For a cheap but good mobo go for the ASrock ones: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007626%20600093976%20600315497&IsNodeId=1&Description=asrock&name=Intel%20Z75%2fZ77&Order=PRICED&Pagesize=20&SecondSearch=1

Just brows them and look for the option that you do need. Asus and gigabite are great ones but a little more pricy. For someone on a budget the Asrock mobo are usualy reccomanded over them for the $/quality. My bro got one for 130$ for christmass this year to use it on his i5-2500k 2way crossfire and he is happy with it.

 

[tacotown]

Thanks a lot guys I really appreciate this. Yeah I know future proofing isn't really possible, but I would like to be able to get longevity out of my future system if that makes sense. So thanks, I'll look at the boards recommended, seems like ASRock, ASUS or Gigabyte don't really make crap, and all these horror stories of mobo's not working are probably improper installation. Thanks!

 

[tacotown]

Best answer selected by tacotown.

 

[nikorr]

This topic has been closed by Nikorr