From $100 To $160: Five Z68-Based Boards, Compared

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Value-oriented system builders celebrate new-found performance and features as Intel continues pushing its mainstream platform towards the high-end. Today, we draw a line in the sand and consider five motherboards priced between $100 and $160.

Overclocking

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BIOS Frequency and Voltage settings (for overclocking)
Row 0 - Cell 0 ASRock Z68 Pro3 Biostar TZ68A+ Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 Intel DZ68DB MSI Z68A-GD55
CPU Base Clock 95-110 MHz (0.1 MHz) 100-300 MHz (1 MHz) 80-200 MHz (0.1 MHz) 100-300 MHz (1 MHz) 38-282 MHz (0.1 MHz)
CPU Multiplier Up to 60x Up to 100x Up to 59x Up to 255x Up to 60x
DRAM Data Rates 1066-2133 (266.6 MHz) 1066-2133 (266.6 MHz) 800-2400 (266.6 MHz) 1066-2133 (266.6 MHz) 800-2133 (266.6 MHz)
CPU Vcore 0.723-1.52 V (5 mV) 1.00-1.79 V (10 mV) 0.75-1.70 V (5 mV) 1.00-1.35 V (12.5 mV) 0.80-1.80 V (5 mV)
VTT Voltage 0.77-1.63 V (9 mV) 1.05-1.70 V (12.5 mV) 0.86-1.53 V (5 mV) Not Adjustable 0.95-1.55 V (20 mV)
PCH Voltage 0.78-1.65 V (9 mV) 1.05-1.20 V (50 mV) Not Adjustable Not Adjustable 0.78-1.72 V (5 mV)
DRAM Voltage 1.20-1.80 V (14 mV) 1.30-2.20 V (12.5 mV) 0.89-2.14 V (5 mV) 1.20-1.80 V (50 mV) 1.11-2.46 V (7.25 mV)
CAS Latency 5-15 Cycles 3-15 Cycles 5-15 Cycles 5-12 Cycles 5-15 Cycles
tRCD 4-15 Cycles 3-15 Cycles 1-15 Cycles 5-16 Cycles 4-15 Cycles
tRP 4-15 Cycles 3-15 Cycles 1-15 Cycles 5-16 Cycles 4-15 Cycles
tRAS 10-40 Cycles 9-63 Cycles 1-40 Cycles 15-75 Cycles 10-40 Cycles
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Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.