Motherboard for custom build

[tygasp]

I’m working on building a gaming computer right now. I am going to get a i3-2120 so I need the LGA 1155 socket. Also I was thinking of doing some kind of crossfire, but it isn’t totally necessary, but I plan on using this board for a couple of years and upgrading to Ivy Bridge in a few years if the board is good enough. So my budget for the motherboard is around $100, but I could go under or even over to about $125. So take a look at these boards for me and please tell me which one would be the best for what I’m doing, and if you know of any board around that price that fit the bill please tell me. Thanks.

Also, how much ram would be necessary for gaming (would 16 gb do it) and how much would be overkill, because I read that 8gb would probably be good enough unless you do picture or video editing. Also is it better to get one big card, or two smaller ones, like instead of getting one 4gb ram, or getting two 2gb ram sticks, or doesn't it make a difference?


MSI P67A-GD53 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130572

$109


MSI P67A-G45 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130582

$133


ASRock Z68 PRO3 GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157279

$104


EVGA Z68 SLI 130-SB-E685-KR LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188097

$109

(This motherboard says that the memory standard is DDR3 2133+, does that mean that only overclocked ram would run good on this board and it wouldn’t like lower speed ram like 1600 or 1800?)


MSI P67A-G45 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130582

$103


ASUS P8Z68-V LX LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131781

$109
ASRock Z68 PRO3 GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157279

$105


MSI H67A-G43 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel H67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130616

$70


ASUS P8Z68-V LE LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131773R

$100

 

[aznshinobi]

Interesting that you didn't even consider the Asrock Extreme3 GEn3 Z68
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271
Currently $122 gives you the best capabilites of all these boards. PCI 3.0 support if you have Ivy Bridge, has 3 PCI 2.0/3.0 slots that are capable of running SLI/CF @ 8x/8x/4x which is better than all boards @ this price point.

8GB or 4GB of ram is fine for almost any average user. 16GB is just overkill. Choose an 8GB DDR3 1600 (2x4GB) kit. They're very cheap now so it shouldn't be too expensive.

 

[tygasp]

What about the EVGA board that I mentioned, that's a $200 board for $110, or isn't it as good as the Asrock? It seems to be about the same as the asrock just cheaper.

 

[aznshinobi]

That's after rebate but no I wouldn't suggest it. The Asrock has more features for less @ price before rebate. I also looked at the EVGA but for the price point before rebates there are boards that are much better. The Asrock has PCI 3.0 support if you use an Ivy bridge chip and the EVGA board doesn't.

That's the main difference and probably the only key thing, it keeps your options open for future upgrades and cards.

 

[tygasp]

What about the quad SLI/crossfire vs the dual, would any normal person ever use more than one or two graphics cards, and thanks. Also just wondering with the EVGA board, does that memory standard 2133+ mean that you have to use overclocked memory for the board to use it effectively?

 

[aznshinobi]

Not really, no one really uses more than SLI/CF. Not all cards support a tri-SLI or Tri-CF but that's limited. I honestly think the Asrock board is more than enough. As for the memory standard, no the standard should be 1600 or 1333. On EVGA's product web page it says it has a max of 2133.

 

[tygasp]

Best answer selected by tygasp.