Motherboard opinions, sandy bridge compatible

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
S

Semmix

Distinguished
Dec 13, 2011
11
0
18,510
Hello all!

This is my first time posting on these forums but from what I have read people are friendly and helpful so here goes!

I am planning on building a new gaming pc, sandy bridge i5 2500k (3.3Ghz with the 3.7 Turbo boost), and a EVGA 560Ti graphics card, planning about 600W or up for a power supply. I've got some DDR3 ram all picked out (2x4gb sticks), but I'm not sure what motherboard to get!

I'd like a motherboard that is reliable, plenty of features (including HDMI, USB 3.0, etc.), and confused about chipset (z68, p67, ???). I'll probably be dropping another video card in there at some point so SLi is important. I've been told ASrock is a good bang for your buck, and they certainly have a lot of features, but I'm not sure how reliable they are...

I heard that ivy bridge is going to use the same slots that sandy bridge does? Does that mean that I'd be able to upgrade to ivy bridge at some point or will the motherboard not support it?

Thanks a lot you guys! :D
 
g-unit1111

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator
Jul 27, 2011
42,545
819
104,940
I am planning on building a new gaming pc, sandy bridge i5 2500k (3.3Ghz with the 3.7 Turbo boost), and a EVGA 560Ti graphics card, planning about 600W or up for a power supply. I've got some DDR3 ram all picked out (2x4gb sticks), but I'm not sure what motherboard to get!
Click to expand...

Your RAM will be determined by what motherboard you get, not the other way around. No matter which board you get it will be a good idea to head over to your manufacturer's support website. They generally post guidelines for picking out compatible memory (voltage and timing settings are huge factors in this) and which parts they've already tested. They can't test every part but a few from one manufacturer, a few from another will generally determine what's available.

You will need a good strong 600 - 650W PSU, but I'd recommend something energy efficient as well. Corsair is one of the most reliable PSU makers on the market, as is PC Power & Cooling, Seasonic, and a few others. What's your max budget? Maybe we could recommend some items based around that.

I heard that ivy bridge is going to use the same slots that sandy bridge does? Does that mean that I'd be able to upgrade to ivy bridge at some point or will the motherboard not support it?
Click to expand...

Yes - Ivy Bridge will continue to use the 1155 socket. They may improve the motherboard chipsets but you'll be able to use it on Z68/P67/H67/H61 platforms.

This is the board I've been using and I've been really impressed with it so far:

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

The aforementioned Asrock board isn't bad at all but the onboard video may conflict with any GPU you plan to use.
 
S

Semmix

Distinguished
Dec 13, 2011
11
0
18,510



Ok, thanks for the ram compatibility advice, I figured if it was DDR3 it would work as long as the motherboard supported DDR3, so thanks for the heads up!

Oh, and I don't really have a "max" budget, I figured it'd be somewhere between 800 to 1000 dollars, preferably closer to 800. :)
 
g-unit1111

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator
Jul 27, 2011
42,545
819
104,940


By default your motherboard will use the onboard video. With mine it defaults to use the onboard video but any time I reset the settings I always have to enable the option that says "DISABLE IF ONBOARD GPU IS PRESENT".

Ok, thanks for the ram compatibility advice, I figured if it was DDR3 it would work as long as the motherboard supported DDR3, so thanks for the heads up!
Click to expand...

No problem but make sure you get dual channel as triple channel DDR3 is only supported on the outgoing Intel X58, while quad channel is only supported on the new X79 platform.

the best would be Asus P8z68-v pro/gen 3
That gigabyte board from g-unit is pretty solid
And Asrock is pretty crappy
Click to expand...

Certainly not a bad choice either. I really like this board and I'll recommend it every time. I've heard mixed reviews about Asrock - either they make really good products or really bad ones. Alternately you could try the EVGA FTW series - they run a bit more (~$240 - ~$300) but for ease of overclocking they're practically unparalleled and there's no one that makes a better competing product in that category.
 
striker410

striker410

Distinguished
Mar 10, 2011
3,292
0
21,160

How is ASRock crappy? Because they don't charge massive amounts? I have used multiple ASRock boards and have zero problems.

And G-unit, it will only default to onboard if you plug it into onboard. It defaults to whatever you plug the monitor cable into, haha. By the way the board you suggested doesn't have onboard.
 
S

Semmix

Distinguished
Dec 13, 2011
11
0
18,510
I was reading reviews of the Gigabyte board g-unit suggested and people are getting stuck in boot loops?

Is this really a board stability issue or is it a user issue?
 
striker410

striker410

Distinguished
Mar 10, 2011
3,292
0
21,160

Probably just a bad BIOS version. I expect they've worked out those kinks by now.
 
S

Semmix

Distinguished
Dec 13, 2011
11
0
18,510


The reviews are pretty recent though, like a week ago. Is it possible its the latest BIOS update?
 
S

Semmix

Distinguished
Dec 13, 2011
11
0
18,510
Btw, the ASRock board you recommended was the one I was looking at. But people both swear by and condemn ASRock, so I figured I'd ask. Thanks :)
 
striker410

striker410

Distinguished
Mar 10, 2011
3,292
0
21,160

I'm no doctor but "Supports Intel HD Graphics Built-in Visuals" And a DVI port usually means onboard video....
 
g-unit1111

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator
Jul 27, 2011
42,545
819
104,940


Actually yes it does have an HDMI output on board and it enables the onboard video of the CPU I'm using (i3-2120). Although as much as I like the board I really question why Gigabyte included an HDMI and no eSATA. :lol:
 
madchemist83

madchemist83

Distinguished
Jul 21, 2011
3,041
33
21,190
yes the mobo itself does not have onboard video .. CPU does
here you go striker .. just for you :)
http://hardocp.com/article/2011/12/07/asrock_z68_pro3_lga_1155_motherboard_review/
and
http://hardocp.com/article/2011/11/09/asrock_z68_extreme4_gen3_motherboard_review/

there is a reason they don't charge much money. Also extreme 3 gen 3 - has only 2 year warranty. And it's worst ocer, and .. you can read it all in those two reviews. And PCI e 3.0 it's just a gimmick and nothing more
 
striker410

striker410

Distinguished
Mar 10, 2011
3,292
0
21,160

....Wow, are you seriously doing that? Every CPU that you can stick in here has onboard video. Meaning if you use this mobo, you have onboard.

A 2 year warranty. Versus what?

I will give you the fact that it doesn't OC well. The lack of heatsinks is to blame for that.

I would also say that PCI-E 3.0 is FAR from a gimmick. Doubling bandwidth a gimmick? On top of that the new AMD 7000 series cards are reported to actually make use of the extra bandwidth. Like I said, A gimmick? Stop trolling.

What board would you suggest, eh?
 
madchemist83

madchemist83

Distinguished
Jul 21, 2011
3,041
33
21,190
yes asus P8z68-v pro/gen3
stop trolling striker
I'm just saying that CPU has onboard video as HD2000 HD3000 .. not mobo like other people think .. pay attention
2 year (used to be 1 year) vs 3 years
Flimsy PCB vs double layer PCB
the lack of heatsink is not to blame for but only 4+1+1 phases and BIOS.
Reported to fill PCie 3.0 ??? please .. PCI 2.0 is not even filled up right now
yes Bulldozer also was reported to be so much better .. and in the end it is crap
even Gigabyte z68xp-ud3h is better
 
striker410

striker410

Distinguished
Mar 10, 2011
3,292
0
21,160

Not gonna get into an argument and jack OP's thread. But I gotta defend myself.
http://www.techpowerup.com/149225/AMD-Radeon-HD-7000-Series-to-be-PCI-Express-3.0-Compliant.html
http://www.guru3d.com/news/radeon-hd-7000-series--pciexpress-30-compliant-/
http://www.tweaktown.com/news/20209/amd_radeon_hd_7000_series_will_use_pci_e_3_0_interface/index.html
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2011/07/29/amd-radeon-hd-7000-supports-pci-e-3/1
Just a rumor but I didn't make it up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom