Is there really $160 difference? What can I expect to see from this, if I don't know much about OCing (to start)?
Which would you go with, if you were me?
Oh man, the P8Z68-V. It's a no-brainer. The more expensive board, along with some overclocking utilities, offers two lan ports, more USB, more SATA, and more PCI Express X16 slots. The pricier board is really only for the few people out there looking to build the best of the best. The P8Z68-V is more than enough.
For the graphics cards, I plan on getting two 570s.
I know a couple people who might be able to come to my place and work on OCing things for me, although I'm not sure how much effort it requires and how quickly/easily they would be able to do it. The possibility is out there. But then, maybe I don't need to OC?
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Playing a Wizard. Looking for Demon Hunters to play with.
For the graphics cards, I plan on getting two 570s.
I know a couple people who might be able to come to my place and work on OCing things for me, although I'm not sure how much effort it requires and how quickly/easily they would be able to do it. The possibility is out there. But then, maybe I don't need to OC?
Trust me, that 2500k runs fast enough to handle anything you throw at it yet, even without overclocking it.
Though, I consider it safe to get the k version. Its nice to have the option to overclock if you eventually need the extra power.
Also, the GA-Z68X motherboard is a better choice, at least, thats what I was recommended for my 2500k with 560 GTX, and its 40$ cheaper than that one still.
Generally, I figure when one doesn't really know what to pick, then he doesn't need anything better by default
If you really want to go for mGPU (which I would advise you not to do), take a look at the ASRock Z68 Extreme3. It got plenty of features and is one of the most successful Z68 boards. And if you decide to not use two graphics cards then there's the ASRock Z68 Pro3 which I personally use (and I pused my 2500k to 4.2 GHz with only moderate voltage increase).
There's no need in spending houndreds of dollars for expensive motherboards. Just look at your desired interfaces and features and go for the cheapest one.
overclocking wise, both motherboard are great for oc-ing
the difference are how they react with how you cool them.
if you plan to overclock with liquid nitrogen, ie subzero cooling, then you need to get that maximus.
otherwise, just go with the p8z68-v
Out of the two you have listed there I would probably go with the P8Z68. I don't know why you need to spend that much really on an 1155 mobo anyway. Anyone you get will be ivybridge compatible. I generally go with P67 chipsets though since I usually just get a dedicated card and the ssd caching I hear isn't that great in the Z68's. Especially since you can just do RAID anyway on any of them.
Neither of these appear to have PCI 3.0. Am I just not seeing it? ASRock makes a nice P67 1155 mobo with the PCI 3.0 and it's also got four SATA III ports and it's only about 150 dollars. It doesn't have the bluetooth though that the Asus does. Though I'm not sure personally what I might do with a bluetooth on my desktop. But I'm sure people with smart phones can think of all kinds of things to do with them. And the RAM speeds that any of those mobos can achieve I don't think will make much of a difference with your i5.
I mean, if you're looking to future proof a bit, I'd just go with any 1155 mobo that's got PCI 3.0. The rest of the features such as SATA III and RAID and all that are gonna be pretty standard on 1155 mobos. You just gotta decide if you wanna get the P67 chipset or the Z68. But the difference in price between those two chipsets aren't really being affected by the chipsets themselves but by other features such as the presence of extra SATA III's, PCI 3.0, bluetooth, etc.
Pretty sure that Asus though should have the PCI 3.0 as well. And the Asus also have different models of the P8Z68 so you can go down in price for a less flashier model if you want.
I actually agree with siaynoq, I was going to recommend that mobo too (coz i've been eyeing that mobo for awhile too :D).
but since OP asks to choose between the 2, and didn't ask for other board recommendation, then I'll say go for p8z68...
I think ASRock deserves a better chance than some people are willing to give it. That's all. Asus are solid mobos, for sure. But when you come this late into the market you better make sure you make some quality mobos. And the price on the Asrock for have the PCI 3.0 and 4 Sata 3 ports is pretty awesome I think.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=440723&CatId=7212
vs.
Pricey:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7343076&CatId=6978
Is there really $160 difference? What can I expect to see from this, if I don't know much about OCing (to start)?
Which would you go with, if you were me?
Oh man, the P8Z68-V. It's a no-brainer. The more expensive board, along with some overclocking utilities, offers two lan ports, more USB, more SATA, and more PCI Express X16 slots. The pricier board is really only for the few people out there looking to build the best of the best. The P8Z68-V is more than enough.
Which would you go with, if you were me?/quote]
If you dont plan on overclocking, buy the i5 2500 non-k version. It is also cheaper but it doesnt have an unlocked multiplier.
The K version is designed for people that want to overclock.
save the 160 for the board and 20 from the cpu and get a better Graphics card if you not overclocking imo
I know a couple people who might be able to come to my place and work on OCing things for me, although I'm not sure how much effort it requires and how quickly/easily they would be able to do it. The possibility is out there. But then, maybe I don't need to OC?
As for overclocking, it's pretty easy once you get the concept down. Plus the new mouse driven UEFI is 100x better than what we had in the past.
Though, I consider it safe to get the k version. Its nice to have the option to overclock if you eventually need the extra power.
Also, the GA-Z68X motherboard is a better choice, at least, thats what I was recommended for my 2500k with 560 GTX, and its 40$ cheaper than that one still.
Generally, I figure when one doesn't really know what to pick, then he doesn't need anything better by default
There's no need in spending houndreds of dollars for expensive motherboards. Just look at your desired interfaces and features and go for the cheapest one.
the difference are how they react with how you cool them.
if you plan to overclock with liquid nitrogen, ie subzero cooling, then you need to get that maximus.
otherwise, just go with the p8z68-v
Out of the two you have listed there I would probably go with the P8Z68. I don't know why you need to spend that much really on an 1155 mobo anyway. Anyone you get will be ivybridge compatible. I generally go with P67 chipsets though since I usually just get a dedicated card and the ssd caching I hear isn't that great in the Z68's. Especially since you can just do RAID anyway on any of them.
Neither of these appear to have PCI 3.0. Am I just not seeing it? ASRock makes a nice P67 1155 mobo with the PCI 3.0 and it's also got four SATA III ports and it's only about 150 dollars. It doesn't have the bluetooth though that the Asus does. Though I'm not sure personally what I might do with a bluetooth on my desktop. But I'm sure people with smart phones can think of all kinds of things to do with them. And the RAM speeds that any of those mobos can achieve I don't think will make much of a difference with your i5.
I mean, if you're looking to future proof a bit, I'd just go with any 1155 mobo that's got PCI 3.0. The rest of the features such as SATA III and RAID and all that are gonna be pretty standard on 1155 mobos. You just gotta decide if you wanna get the P67 chipset or the Z68. But the difference in price between those two chipsets aren't really being affected by the chipsets themselves but by other features such as the presence of extra SATA III's, PCI 3.0, bluetooth, etc.
Here is the ASRock I was debating on between it and the P8Z68.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813157265
Pretty sure that Asus though should have the PCI 3.0 as well. And the Asus also have different models of the P8Z68 so you can go down in price for a less flashier model if you want.
Siaynoq's Playthroughs
but since OP asks to choose between the 2, and didn't ask for other board recommendation, then I'll say go for p8z68...
Siaynoq's Playthroughs