I need a Reliable Z68 MoBo suggestion please. Thanks!

nshinkle

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Jun 6, 2011
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I am building my first build. Computer is going to be used as a basic computer, some games and a lot of Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.


Approximate Purchase Date: Everything purchased except for Motherboard, possible SSD and possible another 8GB memory

Budget Range: (Total up to $980 minus MoBo)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: (e.g.: Adobe Lightroom Photoshop, surfing the internet, games)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: (e.g.: newegg.com, fry's, craigslist & ebay)

Parts Preferences: by brand or type (Corsair)

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Monitor Resolution: (1920x1080)


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Case - Corsair Graphite 600T
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139003&cm_re=corsair_600t-_-11-139-003-_-Product

CPU - Intel i7-2600K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070&cm_re=2600k-_-19-115-070-_-Product

Motherboard - ?????


Video Card - MSI GTX 560ti
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565&cm_re=msi_gtx_560ti-_-14-127-565-_-Product]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565&cm_re=msi_gtx_560ti-_-14-127-565-_-Product


Power Supply - Corsair AX 750
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139016&Tpk=corsair%20ax%20750

Memory - Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) ***For Lightroom, does 16GB improve performance?***
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345&cm_re=corsair_vengeance-_-20-145-345-_-Product

Hard Disk - Samsung F3 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&Tpk=samsung%20f3

DVD/CD Drive - LITE-ON iHas324
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106334&Tpk=ihas%20324

CPU Cooler - Corsair H70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181013&Tpk=corsair%20H70

WiFi Card - ASUS PCE-N13
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320048&Tpk=asus%20pce-n13

OS - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986&cm_re=windows_7_home_premium_64_bit_oem-_-32-116-986-_-Product

SSD - I want one for an O/S boot drive Pros? Cons?
 

striker410

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Looks good! Might I suggest getting this ram instead? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233147&cm_re=corsair_vengeance-_-20-233-147-_-Product It's pretty much the same, except it's $5 cheaper and slightly faster (CL8 vs CL9).

For mobo suggestions, I would recommend one like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128502&cm_re=gigabyte_z68-_-13-128-502-_-Product It's pretty good, and only $129.

Also note to get the most out of the CS5 Mercury Playback engine, you will need to unlock the software to be compatible with your GPU.

http://www.studio1productions.com/Articles/PremiereCS5.htm

http://www.indiev.org/?p=308

For an SSD, the only real con is cost. If you have the money, it's a good upgrade. Here's the best value 60GB SSD in my opinion: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227725&cm_re=agility_3-_-20-227-725-_-Product It's one of the fastest out there, and only costs $10 more than competing models.
 

striker410

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The main difference appears to be that the one you linked is actually a P67 board fitted with a Z68 chipset. That means you lose the ability to use the IGP (no big deal) and I THINK it means you lose the lucidlogix virtu feature, which is just a power saving feature I believe.

Either will work, but the one I linked gets you slightly more features for less. Check out this comparison: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/comparison/list.aspx?ck=2&pids=3912,3853