Which Z68 board should I choose for i5 2500k?

[fongnam]

Importance:
1. Multi-Tasking (running various programs at once)
2. Heavy gaming
3. Good graphics for movies.
4. Basic Graphics design

Date of purchase: From now till late January, 2012

Build
CPU- Intel i5 2500k.
Graphics Card- ASUS Radeon HD6950 1GB
RAM- G.Skill 8G DDR3 1600 CL9 1.5V.
Harddrive- 2TB Seagate 5900 64mb sata3.
CD/DVD ROM- Blue Ray.
Power Source- 500W antec.
Monitor- Samsung 27 inch LED.



Which ASUS z68 motherboard should I choose, ASUS P8Z68-V pro, ASRock Extreme4 GEN3, ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z, or similar? Why?

Any other advice on my build is welcome and greatly appreciated!

 

[AdrianPerry]

Personally I think the ASRock Extreme4 GEN3 is by far one of the best boards out there at the moment in terms of features, price and performance.

I helped a friend build on one last night and it was very impressive. The spacing between CPU and RAM was great, the connections were all where you would expect them to be, you get front panel USB 3.0 support along with firewire as well (obviously depends on your case though). The board was very high quality and the black and gold colour scheme was beautiful It comes highly recommended, and from personal experience too!

 

[neonneophyte]

i recently had the extreme 3 gen 3 pointed out to me. seems the better deal

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

 

[ARchamps]

I must say that ASrock boards are very popular now. The one you have chosen has great features and good reviews. But, you really cant go wrong with ASUS either. Both boards will have support for IvyBridge as well.

Seems like you could probably step down to the Gen 3 though, as neonneophyte has suggested.

 

[DelroyMonjo]

You don't mention a case and I'd be wary of a new 2500k build and a 6950 GPU with only a 500W PSU.
I just got an ASRock Ex3 Gen3 and it looks good so far, only had it a few days though. It does allow SLI or Xfire and has UEFI BIOS and lots of fan headers.
I put a CM Hyper 212+ on a 2500K facing upward and it still clears the GSkilll heat spreaders on the 2X4Gb CL9 in the first RAM slot in an Antec 300 case.
Case has a bottom mounted PSU though so SLI would be tough with a double wide GPU.

Good Luck.

 

[neonneophyte]

500 watts is plenty for a single videocard. its a quality psu

 

[g-unit1111]

I have this one and love it - been up and running a couple of months now with no problems whatsoever:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128506

 

[AdrianPerry]

i recently had the extreme 3 gen 3 pointed out to me. seems the better deal

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

The main feature difference is the Extreme3 Gen3 doesn't support front panel (case) USB 3.0 ports, or Firewire.

If this isn't required though and your not splashing extra on a case with these front panel features, by all means go with the Extreme3 Otherwise, stick with Extreme4.

I have this one and love it - been up and running a couple of months now with no problems whatsoever:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128506

Solid board, no doubt about that. But it doesn't make sense to buy a non-GEN3 ready motherboard in a new build. Its like buying a CRT monitor over an LCD - old tech :lol: