Help me pick a z68 board for my new build! Have it narrowed down to a few

G

gregr

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 24, 2004
Messages
265
I'm upgrading from my q6600 to a 2500k or 2600k (not sure yet but leaning toward 2500k). I am totally lost on motherboards though. These all look like solid options to me:

GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD4-B3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=3#scrollFullInfo

MSI Z68A-GD65 (B3)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130602&Tpk=MSI Z68A-GD65

ASUS P8Z68-V PRO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...yMark=False&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo

And I was also looking at this new ASRock board

ASRock Z68 EXTREME4 GEN3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157264


Does anyone have any strong feelings toward any of these? I don't really know how to narrow it down at this point. Thanks in advance! :)
 
I can vouche for the ASUS P8Z68-V Pro. Solid board. I haven't tried the others though I've used similar boards from Gigabyte. The Z68X-UD4-B3 is probably a good bet too. Though ASUS seals the deal for me with UEFI and better firmware in general. I've had less trouble out of ASUS' Z68's than anyone else's.
 
I know the UEFI is a strength of the ASUS board, but it's also the most expensive :/ What makes you prefer the ASUS besides that?

I also like the VRD 12 of the Gigabyte...

Is going with the ASRock worth it since it has PCIE 3.0? Although the ASRock warranty isn't as good...

Also, would all of these boards support an upgrade to Ivy Bridge down the line?
 
Same boat but the new Asrock Extreme 7 board look sick, not sure if i can wait though!

PCIe 3 wont work with out an Ivy bridge CPU anyways so not sure if it is worth waiting or get the Ex4....
 
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Also I'll be running crossfire so I like that the MSI and Gigabyte boards are double spaced... ugh I don't know how to decide lol
 
I'd like to order soon so if anyone has any advice for me I'd greatly appreciate it!
 
@Dan_D, I am kind of in the same boat, I am leaning towards the P8Z68-V PRO or the p8p67 variant if I can find on sale locally. However, these new Asrock Gen3 boards looks mighty tempting. Are you planning on reviewing any one from the lineup in the near future?
 
a review would be great, for me since i have a windowed case i am going semi for looks... and the AsRock boards look dam nice, but if they lack....
 
gregr said:
I also like the VRD 12 of the Gigabyte...
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VRD 12?

gregr said:
Is going with the ASRock worth it since it has PCIE 3.0?
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No. Graphics cards don't support PCIe 3.0, and if they did, giving them 16 lanes would be a massive waste when they could give them 4 with no performance degradation.

gregr said:
Also, would all of these boards support an upgrade to Ivy Bridge down the line?
Click to expand...

Yes.
 
The PCie 3 boards need Ivy to support PCIe 3. and right now, no cards need it, but pending how long you plan to keep your rig... considering you got a Q6600 right now, may be a few years. PCIe 3 may be worth it in the long run...
 
I think I'm pretty much between the asus and the asrock right now. Asrock is a bit more of an unknown for me. It's a brand new board and a company I've never bought from. So I'm not sure if I should take the chance and go with the Asrock or go with the slightly older but probably more of a "sure thing" in the asus
 
Magnite said:
@Dan_D, I am kind of in the same boat, I am leaning towards the P8Z68-V PRO or the p8p67 variant if I can find on sale locally. However, these new Asrock Gen3 boards looks mighty tempting. Are you planning on reviewing any one from the lineup in the near future?
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I can't say for certain. I don't get to make that choice.

iconiK said:
VRD 12?



No. Graphics cards don't support PCIe 3.0, and if they did, giving them 16 lanes would be a massive waste when they could give them 4 with no performance degradation.



Yes.
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VRD specifications are made by Intel and motherboard makers have to follow them for CPU compatibility. All current motherboards I know of are being built to VRD 12 specifications. Gigabyte isn't doing anything special here.
 
Hi, if you can wait a little bit you can get the new MSI Z68A-GD65 (G3 ) ...
Notice the (G3) this board as the new Click Bios 2 , witch look similar to the one of Asus, but like the Gigabyte, you have the same interface in the UEFI and Windows. Also the board feature pcie gen 3 , so it will be a better choice if you want to upgrade your CPU to IVY latter.

http://www.msi.com/product/mb/Z68A-GD65--G3-.html
 
I dislike MSI, last board from them I had was pure garbage, replaced twice, died a third time. Gigabyte seems to have fewer features than Asus/Asrock. I picked Asrock out of the two because it's cheaper and it has PLX chip which allows to use all PCIe slots and not lose some of the on-board features - Asus doesn't and therefore can't allow to use the third PCIe slot and some things on-board. Of course it helps that it's futureproof with PCIe 3.0 but that's remains to be seen if it's gonna work with Ivy League. It also has a DP, if you need that.
 
Knuckle-Head said:
ASUS P8Z68-V PRO has an Intel NIC.
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It also has 16 digital VRM vs 12 on Asrock... but that's not as important, imho, as fully functional mobo where you don't have to pick and choose what you can and can't use at the same time ;) :D
 
TehQuick said:
It also has 16 digital VRM vs 12 on Asrock... but that's not as important, imho, as fully functional mobo where you don't have to pick and choose what you can and can't use at the same time ;) :D
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All the P8P67 and P8Z68 boards do. ASRock is ASUS' budget brand. You've got a lesser VRM implementation on the ASRock board in question and as I understand it, iffy BIOS support in comparison to ASUS.
 
Onboard Intel NIC is a feature that separates the wheat from the chaff, in my opinion. All things being equal, I would take the Asus over the other boards.
 
Knuckle-Head said:
Onboard Intel NIC is a feature that separates the wheat from the chaff, in my opinion. All things being equal, I would take the Asus over the other boards.
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EVGA x58 classified doesn't have Intel NIC. Does it mean it's the chaff? :rolleyes: I don't think so :D
 
+1 for the Gigabyte board. I've had no issues with mine, and very little with any of the Gigabyte boards I've used over the years.
 
TehQuick said:
EVGA x58 classified doesn't have Intel NIC. Does it mean it's the chaff? :rolleyes: I don't think so :D
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I think he means in context of these boards mentioned here. As far as the Intel NIC goes ASUS is really the only company embracing them at this point. When the EVGA X58 3X SLI Classified was designed, Realtek was the order of the day.
 
Dan_D said:
I think he means in context of these boards mentioned here. As far as the Intel NIC goes ASUS is really the only company embracing them at this point. When the EVGA X58 3X SLI Classified was designed, Realtek was the order of the day.
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well my point is that NIC brand matters not as much as he's purporting it to be. :)
 
TehQuick said:
well my point is that NIC brand matters not as much as he's purporting it to be. :)
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Depends on who you ask. I do a lot of transfers over my network. I have an EVGA 3X SLI Classified Edition based system, but every other board I've got has an Intel NIC. Guess which ones transfer faster? For small things or even internet browsing it's not a big deal. Move a DVD rip or half a terrabyte of videos to your server from the workstation where they were encoded and you might which you had the Intel NIC. I know I certainly did.
 
Intel NIC's are the best. I wish it was standard for all Intel Chipsets to have Intel native NICs.
 
Of choices posted in original post the Gigabyte or the Asrock board interest me most. Probably go with the Asrock just to try it out. Both MBs look good.
 
Dan_D said:
Depends on who you ask. I do a lot of transfers over my network. I have an EVGA 3X SLI Classified Edition based system, but every other board I've got has an Intel NIC. Guess which ones transfer faster? For small things or even internet browsing it's not a big deal. Move a DVD rip or half a terrabyte of videos to your server from the workstation where they were encoded and you might which you had the Intel NIC. I know I certainly did.
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I regularly move terabytes of data. I don't find my Classified lacking in that department :p
 
TheBlueChanell said:
Intel NIC's are the best. I wish it was standard for all Intel Chipsets to have Intel native NICs.
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They do. However most companies won't pay the licensing fee to get the Intel PHY (physical connection) to use it.
 
I vote for the Asus, I have recently used Asus in my wife's AMD Phenom 1055t build and the P8Z68-V Pro in mine. This is coming from a past fan of Abit, MSI and eVGA motherboards. In my experience Asus was overrated for years, but I think the have really showed their prowess in the motherboard market over the last 3 - 4 generations. This P8Z68-V Pro is one of the most solidly built motherboards I have ever seen in the last 12 years. The UEFI bios is amazing and the board is rock solid stable.
 
may as well get a gen 3 board now that there appearing...why buy a gen2 board and be outdated as soon as you hit the buy button....z68 gen 3 to have the latest greatest at least for the moment...
 
wesleys_dad said:
may as well get a gen 3 board now that there appearing...why buy a gen2 board and be outdated as soon as you hit the buy button....z68 gen 3 to have the latest greatest at least for the moment...
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By the time the hardware is here to actually use PCI-E 3.0 there will be better boards and likely new chipsets with more features available. Buy for what your going to use today and don't worry about what is releasing in a few months.
 
I just ordered the Gigabyte after much searching, so I'd recommend that one. If it arrives and I hate it, I'll change my tune, but it sure seems like a rock-solid choice; especially while it's $50 off at the Egg.
 
kevineugenius said:
I just ordered the Gigabyte after much searching, so I'd recommend that one. If it arrives and I hate it, I'll change my tune, but it sure seems like a rock-solid choice; especially while it's $50 off at the Egg.
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Dont think you can go wrong with that choice, that board has gotten stellar reviews.
 
I have the Asus P8z68V-Pro it was my 1st build and I love it. I went from a gateway I& 920 to the asus 2600K and there was a much bigger jump than i expected. I have only had this for 5 weeks but so far no prpblems 6 hard drives issd and a blu ray all hocked to mobo with no flaws up till now So my vote is Asus P8Z68v-Pro
 
If you wanna save a few $s and dont plan on sli/crossfire, take a look at a BIOSTAR TZ68A+. Light on features, but a decent overclocker.
 
These are pretty much exactly the motherboards I'm looking at at the moment so this thread is quite useful for me. Decided against the Gigabyte because that particular model doesn't have the onboard GPU (and my PCs usually get retired to server duty eventually which makes that sort of thing particularly useful).

I'm probably going to pick the Asus, but I do like the look of the MSI Z68-GD65 and the ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3, though sadly there seems to be a whole lot of f'all reviews on them out there.
 
What's the differece between the pro and non-pro version? because there is a 40 dollars difference here in Taiwan between the two.
 
Ironchef Chris Wok said:
What's the differece between the pro and non-pro version? because there is a 40 dollars difference here in Taiwan between the two.
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Two more SATA ports off a Marvell chipset, two FireWire 1394a headers and maybe DTS Surround license for the Realtek audio chip.
 
I went with the MSI Z68-GD65 B3 and the only problem i had was a bios error that was a easy fix by updating to 22.3 ver.

I got lazy and decided to use the OC genie button on the board to OC and ended up with 4.2ghz but some how i screwed up the 1st bios and it was booting up on the 2nd bios:confused:

After the bios update it runs fine even with the OC button on.

I liked the way the board looked is one of the main reasons i went with it.
 
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