Advice needed for buying a Asus P8Z77-V with 3570K

[030910TA]

Hi guys, I was just wondering if anyone has used the Asus P8Z77-V with 3570K and what the setup, system stability and overclocking was like ? I am putting together a system that should last me atleast 4 years with some upgrades to gfx and ram. What is the difference between Asus P8Z77-V and the other 'LX, LK, LE Plus' variants as I dont see any listed on the website I buy from ?

Previously I had a gigabyte GA-73PVM-S2H with E5200 overclocked at 3.81ghz which has allowed me to play games like dishonoured, sleeping dogs, cyrsis 2, mafia 2, driver, nfs the run at high and avg more than 30 fps so you see thats the kind of setup I am looking to build which is solid and can last me for a while. maybe in two years time when the i5 3570k isnt enough I want to be able to overclock it to about 4.8 - 5.0 ghz, has anyone ever done this ?

Also is there any point in buying the more expensive P8Z77-V as compared to the LE plus variant in regards to overclocking ? I tried looking at newegg just for the reviews and they dont seem to be so good. Any alternative boards you would suggest ? The asus p8z77-v is the most expensive board I can buy because I am on a budget.

This is what I want to put together

- Asus P8Z77-V
- i5 3570K
- Ati HD6770(upgrade at a later date maybe)
- Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600MHz CL9 XMP
- XFX 650Watts
- 2TB Sata HDD

Thanks for the help

 

[030910TA]

I also looked at the memory list and the p8z77-v does not list 'CML32GX3M4A1600C10' in there, do you think it will still be supported ? I cant even find this memory in the extreme formula motherboards list which is the top end board they offer.


Product Link:
http://www.dabs.com/products/corsair-32gb--4-x-8gb--vengeance-lp-1600mhz-ddr3-dimm-cl10-black-86RG.html?refs=55260000&src=3

Thats just for future upgrades btw.

 

[Newf]

...Also is there any point in buying the more expensive P8Z77-V as compared to the LE plus variant in regards to overclocking ? I tried looking at newegg just for the reviews and they dont seem to be so good. Any alternative boards you would suggest ? The asus p8z77-v is the most expensive board I can buy because I am on a budget...

Yes, there is a very real reason to go with the P8Z77-V. This board has better power handling capability with more phases and good attention to cooling them.

It also has many other features that you may or may not care about. You can compare these well on Newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007627%2050001315%20600093976&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&CompareItemList=280|13-131-824^13-131-824-TS%2C13-131-823^13-131-823-TS%2C13-131-837^13-131-837-02%23%2C13-131-848^13-131-848-TS%2C13-131-820^13-131-820-TS

Are there other boards? Sure. You can look at an Asrock Extreme 6, but I think you will like the Asus.

Newf.

.

 

[Newf]

I also looked at the memory list and the p8z77-v does not list 'CML32GX3M4A1600C10' in there, do you think it will still be supported ? I cant even find this memory in the extreme formula motherboards list which is the top end board they offer.


Product Link:
http://www.dabs.com/products/corsair-32gb--4-x-8gb--vengeance-lp-1600mhz-ddr3-dimm-cl10-black-86RG.html?refs=55260000&src=3

Thats just for future upgrades btw.

The 1866 speed version of this ram is listed. My guess is that you could get it to work. Since it is a future issue, wait until "then" to pick something out.

One thing I see you are missing is not more ram, but the lack of a SSD.
You want speed, get an SSD.

Newf.

.

 

[030910TA]

The 1866 speed version of this ram is listed. My guess is that you could get it to work. Since it is a future issue, wait until "then" to pick something out.

One thing I see you are missing is not more ram, but the lack of a SSD.
You want speed, get an SSD.

Newf.

.

I wanted to get an ssd before when I wanted to buy an i3 processor but now I am spending that money on the i5 processor and I am limited on the budget now so cant get the ssd, I wasnt going to install my games on the ssd anyway so does it really matter ? I dont care about the loading times I care more about the program/game performance/fps. Should I upgrade to an ssd in the future and just install games on that because otherwise I am going to have to install the whole OS and programs again ?

 

[Newf]

I wanted to get an ssd before when I wanted to buy an i3 processor but now I am spending that money on the i5 processor and I am limited on the budget now so cant get the ssd, I wasnt going to install my games on the ssd anyway so does it really matter ? I dont care about the loading times I care more about the program/game performance/fps. Should I upgrade to an ssd in the future and just install games on that because otherwise I am going to have to install the whole OS and programs again ?

Well, I guess you can't have it all...
You want to overclock and are spending extra $$$ on the Asus V board.
You want an i5 instead of an i3.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106.html

It is also possible to just by an Asrock Extreme 4 for around $100, get the i5 to overclock and get a 120GB SSD.
That size drive will take your OS and quite a few games.

Newf.

.

 

[030910TA]

Well, I guess you can't have it all...
You want to overclock and are spending extra $$$ on the Asus V board.
You want an i5 instead of an i3.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106.html

It is also possible to just by an Asrock Extreme 4 for around $100, get the i5 to overclock and get a 120GB SSD.
That size drive will take your OS and quite a few games.

Newf.

.

but which one is better ? ASRock extreme 4 or the Asus p8z77-v in terms of overclocking, quality and future upgrade ? They have the same power phase and 2x PCIe 3.0. I google it and see most people saying Asus has better quality, is this true ?

 

[Newf]

but which one is better ? ASRock extreme 4 or the Asus p8z77-v in terms of overclocking, quality and future upgrade ? They have the same power phase and 2x PCIe 3.0. I google it and see most people saying Asus has better quality, is this true ?

The Asrock power handling and overclocking is why I mentioned it. It has the basics for great overclocking.
The Asus is much more feature laden. It also has a better LAN chip among other things.
Remember the Newegg comparison chart I linked for you. Look at all the features the V board has.
That's why it is so much more expensive than the Extreme 4 board.
The cheaper Asus boards also cut back on power conditioning which the Asrock Extreme 4 does not.

There is one other thing though.
Asus does a better job at providing periodic BIOS updates, and has a better BIOS interface.

If you want the best of everything it costs the best of money.
The market for computer components is very competitive.
It's not like you are ever going to find the "right" answer. It's all about choices and compromise.

Newf.

.

 

[030910TA]

The Asrock power handling and overclocking is why I mentioned it. It has the basics for great overclocking.
The Asus is much more feature laden. It also has a better LAN chip among other things.
Remember the Newegg comparison chart I linked for you. Look at all the features the V board has.
That's why it is so much more expensive than the Extreme 4 board.
The cheaper Asus boards also cut back on power conditioning which the Asrock Extreme 4 does not.

There is one other thing though.
Asus does a better job at providing periodic BIOS updates, and has a better BIOS interface.

If you want the best of everything it costs the best of money.
The market for computer components is very competitive.
It's not like you are ever going to find the "right" answer. It's all about choices and compromise.

Newf.

.

Thanks for the reply, I guess I have to do more research then. do you have experience with both brands ? which one have you found to be of better quality and which one gave you less issues ? I have read that some extreme 4 boards come with bios only compatible with sandy bridge therefore I will have to update it before being able to use the ivy bridge i5 on it which is a hassle as I only have the ivy bridge.

 

[Newf]

Thanks for the reply, I guess I have to do more research then. do you have experience with both brands ? which one have you found to be of better quality and which one gave you less issues ? I have read that some extreme 4 boards come with bios only compatible with sandy bridge therefore I will have to update it before being able to use the ivy bridge i5 on it which is a hassle as I only have the ivy bridge.

I ran into a hassle like that on an Asus AMD board years ago when an X2 cpu needed a BIOS upgrade to work properly with the board. It would POST however with the new cpu, and then a BIOS update was easy. It is possible that the Ivy Bridge chip won't work at all with an older BIOS version, but I suspect that there are just features that the new chip has that requires the BIOS upgrade. Only further research will tell you. If you buy a board retail rather than on-line, you can find out what board revision you are getting, and usually return it if it will not work. This may help. Otherwise there's no way to tell how old the production board you buy really is.

As far as "better" is concerned,
Asus is a top tier board maker. Gigabyte has been and while recently I keep hearing about issues with Z77 boards, I have never had a problem with them.
Intel boards are made by Foxconn, tend to have less frills, great support and are both pricey for what you get and solid performers.
Then you have MSI, Asrock and maybe Biostar. These boards compete at a lower price level. They are niche market operations who provide less frequent updates and typically lower service support.

All these companies ship pre-tested working products. Most problems are user driven, but sometimes even the best board makers ship problems. Last week my local Microcenter store had a shelf full of returned Gigabyte Z77 UD3 boards and about half as many Asus Z77 LX and LE boards. I don't know why. Boards that sell the best will have the most returns, but these stood out for me. Which brand is better? Hard to say.

Newf.

.

 

[030910TA]

I ran into a hassle like that on an Asus AMD board years ago when an X2 cpu needed a BIOS upgrade to work properly with the board. It would POST however with the new cpu, and then a BIOS update was easy. It is possible that the Ivy Bridge chip won't work at all with an older BIOS version, but I suspect that there are just features that the new chip has that requires the BIOS upgrade. Only further research will tell you. If you buy a board retail rather than on-line, you can find out what board revision you are getting, and usually return it if it will not work. This may help. Otherwise there's no way to tell how old the production board you buy really is.

As far as "better" is concerned,
Asus is a top tier board maker. Gigabyte has been and while recently I keep hearing about issues with Z77 boards, I have never had a problem with them.
Intel boards are made by Foxconn, tend to have less frills, great support and are both pricey for what you get and solid performers.
Then you have MSI, Asrock and maybe Biostar. These boards compete at a lower price level. They are niche market operations who provide less frequent updates and typically lower service support.

All these companies ship pre-tested working products. Most problems are user driven, but sometimes even the best board makers ship problems. Last week my local Microcenter store had a shelf full of returned Gigabyte Z77 UD3 boards and about half as many Asus Z77 LX and LE boards. I don't know why. Boards that sell the best will have the most returns, but these stood out for me. Which brand is better? Hard to say.

Newf.

.

Okay I will ask the customer service if they can tell me what version the bios is. If the motherboard does not operate with ivy bridge what do I do then ? is there a way to update bios without the right cpu ?

Also I have found a good deal on a 1TB HDD which will save me money so instead of buying the 2TB HDD I can get the 1TB HDD + 120GB SSD, later on I will buy a 500GB HDD for backup which might be a better option because if the main drive fails I wont lose my backup. Now the question is should I still go for the Asus board, do you think it is worth the extra £30 over the extreme 4, the asus seems more well built and better heatsinks and like you said it is in the top tier so it must have a better rep than asrock. As I dont have much experience so I dont know how the extra features can benefit me but I wouldnt mind having those.

 

[030910TA]

Also is there a forum/thread on here which shows other peoples' overclocks ? It would help to see what the overclocking statistics are with different boards.