2500K, cant decide either Z77 or Z68, also cant decide good cooling.

[chaosgs]

So I gave up on Ivy Bridge, I doubt It can be bought for less than $220 on launch (what id be willing to spend). The benefits it possess of even 15% faster per clock (being generous), doesn't sound all that tempting for more money. If any thinks or has found anything about it being cheaper, or its MSRP, please share.

So im looking at a 2500K or 2550K depending on what ever deal is most attractive.

Now first question. Is the Z77 going to cost more than a Z68? I know they come out soon, I dont want a high end board, but not a budget either 3 pci-e is a must and 1 pci-e x1 is a must.

I want a good ocing board, im hoping to get my cpu to a minimal of 4.2 GHZ stable 24/7.

Im looking but cant find a good board for $200-$250. Intel boards cost WAY to much.

Is this site legit? I think this is the best deal out there, but how can a Z77 board be out this early?

http://www.costcaptain.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=C&Product_Code=TDX_9453B1

Also is the virtumvp any good? Does it work with crossfire, 5850's in particular.

 

[amuffin]

i5-2500k
Asrock z68 extreme 3 gen3. There you go!

 

[Pedrovsky]

you cant get a good z68 motherboard for less the 200$? where you are you searching? p8z68vpro from asus should be about everything you need and costed around 170$ last time i checked...If that ain't a good motherboard i dunno which one is

 

[Pedrovsky]

Z77 is only justifiable due having pci 3.0 which is natively supported by IB chips...but the gains in performance are hardly 1% when you compare to pci2.0 in some cases and they usually cost 20/30$ dollars more so theres no need for it...

 

[vitornob]

Z77 is only justifiable due having pci 3.0 which is natively supported by IB chips...but the gains in performance are hardly 1% when you compare to pci2.0 in some cases and they usually cost 20/30$ dollars more so theres no need for it...

I agree, but remember that there's some Z68 mobos that supports PCI-E 3.0 too !!!

 

[Pedrovsky]

I agree, but remember that there's some Z68 mobos that supports PCI-E 3.0 too

what he said! =D

 

[cbrunnem]

No z68 board supports pcie 3.0 without a ivy bridge chip. Pcie 3 will be faster when you start running out of lanes. So when you get to x4 and x8 speeds the pcie 3 will be better so if ivy bridge has only 24 lanes like sandy bridge then in dual gpu set ups pcie 3 will be better

 

[Pedrovsky]

I agree, but remember that there's some Z68 mobos that supports PCI-E 3.0 too

yes you'll have to stick in a IB CPU to take advantage of the pci 3.0 yet if you dont plan on going for IB just forget about it.

Now i have a question, I was aware of the gains when you run out of lanes but as i've been reading for a 2xsli or CF config in real life scenario it wont offer more then 1% to 2% gains, will it? If so then it wouldn't be worth it for 30$ more

 

[evongugg]

Is this site legit? I think this is the best deal out there, but how can a Z77 board be out this early?

http://www.costcaptain.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=C&Product_Code=TDX_9453B1

Site is legit. Has a good rating.

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/CostCaptain

 

[cbrunnem]

Pcie 3 will only really help with dual setups with big cards like the 680-690 or 7970-7990. We can say that now but what about future gen gpus?

 

[Pedrovsky]

well judging by the gains of pci 3.0 over pci2.0 I wouldn't worry to much about the future as pci is concerned. How old is pci 2.0? 8 years? Well they have managed to improve performance in top high end card 2x+ sli/CF configs by 2 % in 8 years...for single slot config theres realy no advantage...8 years and very old tech still up to date.
I'm not concerned at all with the future.

 

[Pedrovsky]

Sorry for going a bit off topic...

 

[RetiredChief]

My be wrong, but even thoug the Z77 has more lanes, if two GPUs are used in SLI/Xfire are they not still x8, x8. As some have pointed out the diff in performance between x8/x8 and x16/x16 are small.

Extract (quote):
That isn’t to say Z77 brings nothing to the table. Far from it; it is full of incremental upgrades and a few new features that are really quite valuable. But they are, by and large, quality of life improvements that are not a radical leap over existing chipsets. Like the Z68, Z77 supports the use of Intel’s processor graphics as well as overclocking of CPU, GPU and RAM. It also supports Intel Smart Response technology, enabling SSD caching – although with Z77 we expect to see much more usage of mSATA support to enable this caching.

For a more info on Z77: http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/Review/295511,intel-z77-chipset-preview.aspx

My self, when buying a new MB, I always go with the newest breed - That said, I also wait (typically 3 -> 6 Months) for other "suckers" to iron out, and or verify - NO Bugs.
Suckers - Used loosely for New product releases. NO BUGS, they are smart. However if problems then term applies. Other word would have been "Ginny Pig"

 

[RetiredChief]

^ Wait till you retire and get a "2nd" job LOL

 

[sanirudh]

Z68 has been around for almost a year now. Go with Z68, its quirks are ironed out.

ASRock Z68 Extreme4 is a good choice if you want PCIe x4 slot. If you want 12 phases power for CPU, go for ASUS P8Z68-V PRO. Both are less than $200.

 

[Anonymous_26]

Now first question. Is the Z77 going to cost more than a Z68? I know they come out soon, I dont want a high end board, but not a budget either 3 pci-e is a must and 1 pci-e x1 is a must.

This I can't answer because I'm really not sure. The boards still aren't out yet so we'll see what the price looks like once they are oficially released.

I want a good ocing board, im hoping to get my cpu to a minimal of 4.2 GHZ stable 24/7

You should be able to pretty easily overclock to 4.5 GHz with good air cooling.

Im looking but cant find a good board for $200-$250. Intel boards cost WAY to much.

Where are you looking? Z68 boards can be found for anywhere from $75-300. The X79 are pretty much all over $200 but Z68's can be found in just about any price range.

Is this site legit? I think this is the best deal out there, but how can a Z77 board be out this early?

http://www.costcaptain.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=C&Product_Code=TDX_9453B1

I don't know I've never heard of that website. I usually stick with the big name places like Newegg and Tigerdirect.

 

[Pedrovsky]

Now first question. Is the Z77 going to cost more than a Z68? I know they come out soon, I dont want a high end board, but not a budget either 3 pci-e is a must and 1 pci-e x1 is a must


This I can't answer because I'm really not sure. The boards still aren't out yet so we'll see what the price looks like once they are oficially released.

they have been out for almost two weeks now... they can cost the same to 30$ more.

Do you expect to upgrade to 3770k l8r in time? or even a i7 because lga 1155 is gona die next year anyway so i think you'd be better of with a z68 if you dont intend to upgrade anytime soon... as we discussed z77 is not gona give you any advantages unless you go for IB or you use srt technology, and even so it wouldn't be noticeable.

It comes down to will you use IB chips on a lga 1155 socket now or in the near future? If not z68 is good enough, yet if it makes you feel better z77 should bring some new stuff you won't use and perform the same.

 

[voodooking]

Thanks chief..

 

[chaosgs]

Best answer selected by chaosgs.