P67 MB advice please

Ferax

Ferax

Ferax

Associate
Joined
25 Jun 2008
Posts
219
Hi all,

Looking for a mother board to pair with an i5 2500k, probably alongside the 4GB Corsair RAM on this week only. Been looking at these 2 (Gigavyte vs MSI):

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-324-GI&tool=5

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-169-MS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1906

Apart form the firewire and USB I can't see much difference between the specs. Does anyone have an opinion on which might be the better option?

Budget is a consideration, but am open to recommendations if anyone has a better idea, especially if it's a cheaper one! Planning to overclock the i5, and not using crossfire atm (6950 2GB), but was thinking that it would be nice to have the option of CF for the future.

Many thanks :)
 
I would go with the MSI P67A G45 - since it supports crossfire in the proper x8/x8 PCIE v2.0 arrangement (the UD3's second main PCIE slot only runs at x4 speed), also if you want the flexibility of having SLI support too then this board is only £5 more.
 
Good spot on the crossfire, cheers :)

If I decided to forego the crossfire possibility, do any of the cheaper H67 boards allow for overclocking, or do you need the P67 for that?
 
EDIT: Just seen andi's link - for the extra £5 i would choose choose the MSI P67A G45 as you at least keep your options open for crossfire in the future.

I've left the below unedited for info purposes and to confirm that you 'do' need the P67 chipset to OC and that cheaper quality branded P67A motherboards are more than capable of overclocking.

Ferax said:
If I decided to forego the crossfire possibility, do any of the cheaper H67 boards allow for overclocking, or do you need the P67 for that?
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You will need the P67 chipset if you're going to clock.

If you want cheaper options, and you don't have the need of crossfire, then the MSI P67A -C45 has an excellent overclocking credentials for single GPU needs - only £99. (But as mentioned in my edit for the extra £5 you may as well keep future options open with the G45)

I own one (see sig) and it will happily clock my chip past 4.8GHz+ my limitation is a modest cooler. My original intention, though, was to get a respectable clock using minimal volts which is why i'm only at 4.4GHz but i'm now prime stable under 1.18V.

Obviously, not all hardware is equal - but the P67A-C45 is perfectly capable of getting a very respectable clock (as is gigabytes equivalent the UD3.)
 
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It definitely seems worth the fiver for crossfire support, even if I don't end up using it, it's nice to have the option. I did consider a pair of 5850s as a graphics solution, but decided on a 6950 for the cf upgrade solution in teh future.

andi - the G45 board I originally linked says that it has sli support. The only difference I can see between it and the G53 board you linked is that the G53 has Hi-C capacitors. I'm afraid that I have no idea how much difference that makes.

Plec, that seems like a nice overclock there, I think I'd be happy with 4.2GHz. Mind if I ask what cooler you're using? I have a tuniq tower on my q6600 right now, but think I would need a new back plate to make that fit a socket 1155 (which I am struggling to find for sale in the UK), so am considering getting a new cooler.
 
Ferax said:
Plec, that seems like a nice overclock there, I think I'd be happy with 4.2GHz. Mind if I ask what cooler you're using? I have a tuniq tower on my q6600 right now, but think I would need a new back plate to make that fit a socket 1155 (which I am struggling to find for sale in the UK), so am considering getting a new cooler.
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Thanks, but my clock/volts is due mostly to luck - i seem to have a little gem of a CPU (for my requirements)

I'm using a Akasa AK-CC017V2 Freedom Tower CPU Cooler i've fitted a couple now but I hesitate at recommending it outright - without mentioning other coolers for choice...

The first one I fitted gave excellent results – I mean superb – idle average 30 and load temps not much over 55 with a clock of 4.6GHz at ~1.3V.

Mine however isn’t so impressive – this is possibly partly down to the CPU running hotter (as mentioned previously not all CPU’s are equal) – but I have a niggling doubt that it’s mainly due to a slightly uneven HS surface. This wouldn’t ordinarily be a problem as I would lap the HS but the Freedom Tower has exposed heatpipes at the base – making lapping a slightly risky business. Hence my hesitation in recommending it…

If the Gelid had been in stock I would have bought that – and would also recommend the same cooler if your budget is only ~£25. (or the Corsair A50 or A70 if closer to ~£30)

If it’s around the £50 mark I, personally, would be looking at either the Corsair H60 (if water doen't worry you) or the Thermalright Silver Arrow – the latter being a monster in size but has very impressive results and almost silent operation.
 
Water doesn't worry me, though I'm not quite feeling confident (or wealthy) enough for a custom set-up! I had been considering the A50 for air cooling, as it seems a popular choice. The Corsair H50 or the Antec Kuhler 620 had been my water options rather than the H60 though, as I don't want to be spending more than £50. One of the reasons I'm considering moving away form air is that the tower in the Antec 300 case is huge - it involves massive amounts of swearing when trying to do anything else in the case, and getting the motherboard in or out is a nightmare as it's a pain to get past the cooler to some of the mounting screws - so the silver arrow is probably one to avoid for the moment.

Just need to decide if the convenience and space are worth the extra money.
 
Ferax said:
Just need to decide if the convenience and space are worth the extra money.
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A50 is a sound choice - it will certainly get you 4.4GHz+ with cool running.

If you're digging around the inside of your rig all the time, and you're not averse to water, then corsair H50 makes a lot of sense - as it will free up a lot of space (esp in your case).

OcUK were running a promotion on the H50 for £39 - if you entered a code in the payment window but i can't find it anymore so it may have ended (someone correct me if i'm worng.)
 
Thanks for the advice again, I'll have a quick look round for the promo, if not, then the ECO would seem worth a go. I've decided that I'd rather go for convenience, and the case is tight enough as it is :)
 
Ferax said:
Thanks for the advice again, I'll have a quick look round for the promo, if not, then the ECO would seem worth a go. I've decided that I'd rather go for convenience, and the case is tight enough as it is :)
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NP, and you'll certainly notice a huge difference in space compared to your present monolith of a cooler.

Let me know how you get on - just bump the thread - i would be interested to know how the ECO performs in a standard(?) 300 case.
 
Will do, ordering the parts this evening, and hoping to build on Wednesday, so I'll post a couple of pics and temps to let you know how it goes :)
 
Ferax said:
Will do, ordering the parts this evening, and hoping to build on Wednesday, so I'll post a couple of pics and temps to let you know how it goes :)
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Thanks, i know cmndr_andi will probably be just as interested in your results when you have any.

Good luck with the build and if you run into any probs either bump the thread again or do a separate post in the GH forum.
 
Plec said:
Thanks, i know cmndr_andi will probably be just as interested in your results when you have any.
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Yes, absolutely. I'm looking forward to seeing it come together.

It makes sense what you said about the cooler - the Antec 300 isn't the biggest case in the world and installing a large air cooler can be a pain, while installing a closed watercooler (I did one build with the 300 and a H50) is a piece of cake.

Best of luck with the build.
 
Plec said:
OcUK were running a promotion on the H50 for £39 - if you entered a code in the payment window but i can't find it anymore so it may have ended (someone correct me if i'm worng.)
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I found the promotional code for the H50 for £39 if you're still interested.

It's advertised in the top right of the forum - it's on a rotation so you may need to refresh the page a few times. The code is h50promo and i think you enter it when you're in checkout.
 
Plec said:
I found the promotional code for the H50 for £39 if you're still interested.

It's advertised in the top right of the forum - it's on a rotation so you may need to refresh the page a few times. The code is h50promo and i think you enter it when you're in checkout.
Click to expand...

Thanks very much for your work on finding that, but I have unfortunately already placed the order and gone for the CoolIT... In the end price became too much of a factor, I have already decided that I need ot delay on getting an SSD boot drive for a month or 2. If the CoolIT turns out to be crap though I'll return it and get the H50 using the promo code.

I was tempted by the Kuhler 620 as well, but it is a 20% price difference, and I'm not sure form what I have seen that this is reflected in terms of performance.

I'll let you know how I get on though, especially regarding the CoolIT :)

Edit: 12% difference form CoolIt, 20% from h50 with promo code
 
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Got all the parts yesterday and did the build :)

I took loads of pics, so will do a proper build post when I have some more time, including more details of the CoolIT. In the meantime though, idle temps were just over 30 degrees, and it went up to about 48 under load (prime95). cpu was at 1.82 volts though, and all this is at stock. Have to see how it does with a bit more to work on. Overall though it seems like a nice unit, bit fiddly to fit, but nothing like a tuniq tower. Would have been much easier with a spare pair of hands for 5 mins. Main issue was that I wanted to set it up with the fan pulling cool air into the case over the rad, but had to install it venting as I don't have a screwdriver with a narrow enough shaft to be able to remove the fan form the rad and turn it round. This may be making my temps a couple of degrees higher. As I say, more to come, but just a quick update.

Got distracted from temps etc though by playing crysis :D
 
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