irlwizard

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Hey my mobo died and I am going to buy a new one. But when I looked at the latest PC build of the month...

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-a-pc-overclock-benchmark,3276.html

Not one of the 3 PC models, cheap, enthusiast an extreme. Had a Z77 selected as its moterboard.

Is there something wrong with them or are they just overrated and overpriced?


My CPU is a i7 2600 (not K)... i just want 4 DIMs for RAM 1 PCIe card for graphics and perhaps Ultra Durable (I´m leaning towards buying a gigabyte, my ASUS broke). What are your thoughts on the Z77s.

I know how to choose a mobo myself but there are too any mobos for sandybridge. If someone could bring me up to speed and explain to me the difference between P67, Z68, Z75, Z77, X79. I would not be so confued. :(
 
Most of the 'System Builder Marathon' builds are bad, their goal is for benchmarks at the expense of 'balanced' build and good components.

The link, $1,000, should have been either a Z75 or Z77 with a IB (K) CPU.

There's no perfect MOBO and if you have any ASUS LGA 1155 MOBO then it's under warranty. Also, often enough folks blame the MOBO when in fact most of the time, if the MOBO is actually 'bad', your PSU killed it.

Therefore, for FREE (cost of shipping) contact ASUS and request an RMA and also request if possible a Cross-Ship to reduce your downtime.
 

irlwizard

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What does the Z77 have that H77 and B75 do not?

The PC is bought secondhand. Don´t have a receipt for it in the mobo box either so warrenty probably won´t be an option.
 

master_chen

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Just get Z68 board. Really. AsRock "Extreme7 Gen3" is the second best (after ASUS "Maximus IV Extreme-Z", THE very best Z68 board these days) Z68 board out there, I highly recommend it, especially since you're using i7 2600 and not Ivy.

If only someone could explain to me the difference between P67, Z68, Z75, Z77, X79. I would not be so confused.

P67 - can OverClock, cannot into Integrated Graphics.
H67 - could into Integrated Graphics, cannot into OverClocking.
Z68 - could into both of the above, initial support of Virtu (not all boards, most of the Gigabyte's Z68 boards don't have the support).
Z75 - haven't tried it personally, but looks like it's the same as Z77 (but cannot into Intel's Smart Response).
Z77 - Basically Z68 for Ivy, not so much of an update, really. Better support of Virtu, support of Virtu MVP (newer version).
X79 - For 2011 socket and Sandy Bridge-E, basically the descendant of 1366 socket.
 


Hope he didn't accidentally throw out the CPU socket cover, they're sticklers about that.



Here's a rough outline of the features that each chipset has

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGA_1155

Motherboard manufacturers are also able to add additional add-in peripherals as they wish (within reason) so there's a large variance in motherboards, particularly on the top end chipsets.
 

No doubt and just being paranoid I always take macro photos of the CPU socket. If the CPU Socket Cover is gone the OP can purchase another from e.g. ASUS.

/Edit - In a Cross-Ship ASUS will include a CPU Socket Cover ;)
 
Personally I would go with the Z75/Z77 over any of the early chipsets because I don't want to take the risk of getting one that has an earlier Bios that doesn't support the 3rd generation Intel® Core™ processors.
 
No doubt, but the OP has a i7-2600 (Sandy Bridge). Not to mention their current MOBO is under warranty (RMA). I'd take a long look at the PSU and RMA the first if cheap get a good SeaSonic or Corsair (SeaSonic in disguise).

The 'System Builder Marathon' ($1,000) used a P67 and buried the fact that they had to use a donor CPU. The average Joe doesn't have a spare SB laying around in a drawer, and the fix is a pain: RMA (shipping + refurbish MOBO), Shop (repair cost) or Donor CPU (free or $41 SB).
 

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