Help figuring out which chipset to use?

May 10, 2012 7:38:14 PM

So I'm new to this whole building computers thing. I've done some research and picked out a build, all except the motherboard. I definitely want to go intel (I intend to use the i5 2500k), but all these different chipsets (H67, P67, Z68, etc) are terribly confusing to me and I don't know what they mean or what they do. Could someone explain to me the difference between different chipsets and which chipset is the best one for both performance and upgradeability?

More about : figuring chipset

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Chainzsaw

Motherboard Expert

May 10, 2012 8:00:41 PM

Z68 allows overclocking and has more features than the H67 and P67.

Do you plan on overclocking?

Anyways here's a quick run down of what the differences are:

H67 – Onboard graphics are enabled, while overclocking is disabled
P67 – You need a graphics card for this chipset – onboard graphics is disabled, however overclocking is enabled here
Z68 – best of both worlds. Onboard graphics are enabled, as is overclocking

I would go for the Z68. Since you have a 2500K processor you intend to get. The z68 will be more future proof thanks to it's OC potential, as well as integrated graphics support.

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TheScarecrow97

May 10, 2012 8:07:09 PM

Chainzsaw said:

Z68 allows overclocking and has more features than the H67 and P67.

Do you plan on overclocking?

Anyways here's a quick run down of what the differences are:

H67 – Onboard graphics are enabled, while overclocking is disabled
P67 – You need a graphics card for this chipset – onboard graphics is disabled, however overclocking is enabled here
Z68 – best of both worlds. Onboard graphics are enabled, as is overclocking

I would go for the Z68. Since you have a 2500K processor you intend to get. The z68 will be more future proof thanks to it's OC potential, as well as integrated graphics support.

Okay thank you very much for explaining this to me