Budget SLI capable board for i5-2500k

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Cbl12886

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 7, 2007
Messages
357
Just as the title says, I need a budget board for my i5-2500K. I would like something that is capable of SLI around or under $100. I was going to go with the Asrock Z68 extreme3 gen3 but I missed the superbiiz deal and I am not sure I need Z68.

Current Parts:
Antec NEO ECO 620C
Intel i5-2500k
Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3 1600
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
Crucial M464GB
MSI GTX 460 Hawk (Might do SLI in the future)
 
Anyone have an opinion on the previous two motherboards? I want to pull the trigger tonight.
 
I'll vouche for the Z68 by AsRock. Just because i've had great boards by them in the past and still do now. ( Love my P67 board by them. )

The reviews people left for the MSI board on NewEgg is quite horrifying, you could check that out too if you wanted some more convincing..

If you throw another $60-70 on top of that ben, you could get something you will be really satisfied with.
 
I grabbed the MSI P67A-G43. The MSI website does not show SLI for P67A-G43 or the P67A-G45 but Newegg and reviews say differently.
 
Cbl12886 said:
I grabbed the MSI P67A-G43. The MSI website does not show SLI for P67A-G43 or the P67A-G45 but Newegg and reviews say differently.
Click to expand...
Good choice, great motherboard. I use that board, it supports SLI and crossfire and overclocks nicely.
 
Looks like I made a good decision. Can't wait to get everything built next week!
 
I purchased a MSI P67A-G45 motherboard and was getting unwanted audible noises, hiss, and other sounds of electrical audio disturbances through my speakers/headphones when the hard drive was accessing and when launching a game (even worse in this case). I noticed the Realtek ALC892 IC is directly in line with the PCI-E slot which is probably why it gets worse when a game is launched as the video card fan ramps up and the card itself starts pulling amps.

I sent the board back, and want to know if anyone else had this problem. I know all on-board sound implementations have these symptoms to an extent, but this board had it to an extent way worse than the board I purchased in 2005 which it was going to replace.

Now I'm hesitant to buy any MSI P67A board.
 
MasterOne said:
I purchased a MSI P67A-G45 motherboard and was getting unwanted audible noises, hiss, and other sounds of electrical audio disturbances through my speakers/headphones when the hard drive was accessing and when launching a game (even worse in this case). I noticed the Realtek ALC892 IC is directly in line with the PCI-E slot which is probably why it gets worse when a game is launched as the video card fan ramps up and the card itself starts pulling amps.

I sent the board back, and want to know if anyone else had this problem. I know all on-board sound implementations have these symptoms to an extent, but this board had it to an extent way worse than the board I purchased in 2005 which it was going to replace.

Now I'm hesitant to buy any MSI P67A board.
Click to expand...

Mine was picking up some noise in my Lian Li full tower case. It was really annoying, I tracked it down to the case having poor ground isolation. My Cooler Master 690 II got rid of all of the noise.
 
ocellaris said:
Mine was picking up some noise in my Lian Li full tower case. It was really annoying, I tracked it down to the case having poor ground isolation. My Cooler Master 690 II got rid of all of the noise.
Click to expand...

I'm convinced the EMI is more due to a poor implementation by the board designer, rather than it being due to a case grounding issue. Maybe I got a board more susceptible to it, but I bet if I were to order another MSI P67A board that it'd have the same exact problem. Just as a reference, the Realtek ALC889 is the best on-board solution at this time, and has better specs than the ALC892. Maybe my hearing is better than most people's.
 
I'll let you know if I experience the same issue when I get everything together. Getting a cheap dedicated sound card might not be a bad idea though.
 
I have not had any EMI issues for any of my MSI boards (p67, h61, h67, and multiple z68's)

Sounds like a grounding issue to me.
 
1 thumbs down for the ASRock z68 ext3 gen3...

Just bought one from newegg and I think I have my first ever DOA. 2 of the Dimm sockets wont allow the mobo to post if there is ram in there and I cant get either video card to show a signal. Only way I can even see the bios is if I use the on board DVI output.

I am talking with AS Rock now to make sure its not user error but its not looking good.
 
Cbl12886 said:
I grabbed the MSI P67A-G43. The MSI website does not show SLI for P67A-G43 or the P67A-G45 but Newegg and reviews say differently.
Click to expand...


I looked at that board but decided against it because 2 of the sata ports would be blocked with a 2nd card that was 9 inches or longer. The two outer ports would probably need a L shapped sata connector as well with a 2nd card in there. Not a deal breaker if you don't run that many hard drives though I guess.
 
tosgamer said:
I looked at that board but decided against it because 2 of the sata ports would be blocked with a 2nd card that was 9 inches or longer. The two outer ports would probably need a L shapped sata connector as well with a 2nd card in there. Not a deal breaker if you don't run that many hard drives though I guess.
Click to expand...

It fits if you use the smaller sata cables, smaller meaning the part where the connector is. Running a Dirt3 6950 on that board (which is a long card).

like these
http://www.amazon.com/Xion-XON-SATA1818_BL-18-Inch-SATA-Cable/dp/B0029OMQL6
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
I'm on my second MSI P67A-G45 board and am having the same issue with EMI disturbances/unwanted noise when the video card is under a load and/or when the hard drive is accessing. Everything is grounded; all standoffs, all screws. My last motherboard which came out of the same case (not the RMA'd MSI board) did not do this to this extent. I think I'm done with this board. Right now, I hear a faint "tick tick tick". Talk about annoying. I've been playing songs all night just so I don't have to hear it.

I would like opinions on this Gigabyte board, considering quite a few people on Newegg say they had a boot loop problem. I may as well take the opportunity to go Z68. I may try a new case too, but I don't see how my 30 pound Antec boat anchor weight class TX1050B case would be the culprit of a grounding issue.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128506
 
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Do you get this noise from mobo itself or from integrrated sound card ?

If they are from sound card you could just get cheap Xonar or X-fi to solve the problem.
 
MasterOne said:
I'm on my second MSI P67A-G45 board and am having the same issue with EMI disturbances/unwanted noise when the video card is under a load and/or when the hard drive is accessing. Everything is grounded; all standoffs, all screws. My last motherboard which came out of the same case (not the RMA'd MSI board) did not do this to this extent. I think I'm done with this board. Right now, I hear a faint "tick tick tick". Talk about annoying. I've been playing songs all night just so I don't have to hear it.

I would like opinions on this Gigabyte board, considering quite a few people on Newegg say they had a boot loop problem. I may as well take the opportunity to go Z68. I may try a new case too, but I don't see how my 30 pound Antec boat anchor weight class TX1050B case would be the culprit of a grounding issue.

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

Unplug the front panel connector, see if the noise goes away.
 
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