I purchased the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H for $89.9, and i5-3570 Intel CPU for 189.99 combo at at Microcenter.
This is not the Gigabyte board that I wanted, however, it has good overclocking reviews, although the motherboard has 6+2+1 phases. 8 phase for the CPU used to be the target minimum for overclocking 4 core CPUs and longevity, however, for moderate overclocking [4.2 GHz to 4.5 GHz] the i5-3570 will require less voltage than previous CPUs, so, 6 phase should be ok for long term use.
Make sure you are using a high quality PSU, such as the Corsair Enthusiast Series TX650M [$110 at Microcenter, the non-modular version is $20 less]. The more expensive one has flat cables that will help with airflow in the proper case.
Note, the TX650M is a partial modular, some cables are not modular, however, there are enough modular connections to make a big difference in most cases.
I have been building and overclocking systems for many years and through those years I have used different motherboards. Every motherboard is not perfect. Currently for longevity this Gigabyte board will be very good. It is not the fastest board [though you will not be able to tell the difference with your eyes, only benchmarks will show it to be a little slower than the fastest], but it will last longer.
Note that lasting longer can mean how crazy you get with overclocking, how careful you are when building the computer [ESD], and the use of quality components.
Note that G.Skill RAM does very well with Intel chipset Gigabyte motherboards. I purchased G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB [2x4GB] DDR3 1866 [PC3 1490] which is CL8. CL7 is available, but not worth the extra price.
You can get by with good DDR3 1600 if the latency is low.
I do not have this put together yet, still waiting on some parts from Newegg. Also, I have some major things to take care of in the next several days. So, I cannot tell you what my personal findings and overclock will be, however, I expect at least 4.2 to 4.4 GHz with low voltage, and that is enough for me.
Note that I did not mention USB, SATA 3, PCIe 3, or other features, as you can look those up at Gigabyte's web site or Newegg.com
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram