Motherboard Choices. Help Appreciated.

[Alltel]

I am purchasing an Intel Core i5 3570K 3.4GHz LGA 1155 from MicroCenter in the next few days and they provide good discounts on motherboards if purchased at the same time.

My options are:

$109.99 (w/ CPU) Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H LGA 1155 Z77 ATX Intel Motherboard http://www.microcenter.com/product/387556/GA-Z77X-UD3H_LGA_1155_Z77_ATX_Intel_Motherboard

$94.99 (w/ CPU) ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Z77 ATX Intel Motherboard http://www.microcenter.com/product/387554/Z77_Extreme4_LGA_1155_Z77_ATX_Intel_Motherboard

I am unsure about which would be better.

Eventual plans are to overclock and possibly SLI.


Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you and kind regards,

Alltel

 

[vance09]

Either is great, I personally would go with the Gigabyte for quality and durability.

 

[Alltel]

I know that the ASRock is rather easy to overclock. Is there any issues with overclocking the Gigabyte?

 

[vance09]

Not that I know of, it might actually be easier since it features a superior mosfet.

 

[maestro0428]

Extreme4 hands down. Great quality, performance and price. I use the M version in the workstations I build and its great at everything.

 

[Alltel]

The other option is:

$84.99 (w/ CPU and rebate) ASUS P8Z77-V LK LGA 1155 Z77 ATX Intel Motherboard http://www.microcenter.com/product/393422/P8Z77-V_LK_LGA_1155_Z77_ATX_Intel_Motherboard

I had my eye on the ASRock prior to this, but I wasn't really intending to buy one so soon. But with such good deals, I can't really pass it up.

Kind regards,
Alltel.

 

[Alltel]

All three seem like good choices, but is there any significant differences I should worry about?

 

[boyabunda]

Intel Z77 Motherboard Review with Ivy Bridge - ASRock, ASUS, Gigabyte, and MSI:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5793/intel-z77-motherboard-review-with-ivy-bridge-asrock-asus-gigabyte-and-msi/20

"if you want control, go for ASUS; if you want mSATA, go for Gigabyte; if you want a full Z77 on a budget, go for ASRock; and if you want a very easy to use board, go with MSI."

 

[neon neophyte]

i have to say go with the asrock. when i did my research for which board to get i found that the asrock boards were on average achieving much higher overclocks than any other brand.

so i bought a z68 asrock extreme 4 and can overclock my sandybridge to 5.1ghz stable (albeit too hot with my air cooling.)

edit: and this may not be a selling point for you, but it was for me: the asrock boards can mount heatsinks from other chipsets without needing a different bracket. i reused the heatsink off my socket 775 setup. saved me 30 bucks.

 

[Alltel]

Best answer selected by Alltel.