MSI Z68A-GD65 G3 - The right choice?

strumpusplunket

strumpusplunket

strumpusplunket

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Ok... after a fair bit of research for my new pre-Xmas SB build, I WAS settled on the Asus P8Z68-V/Gen3 to go with a new 2500k.

However, I seem to be reading a few problems cropping up with this board, both here and elsewhere (dual/triple cold boots, USB power loss, early-life faults, etc.). I then had bad flashbacks to my terrible experiences with Asus skt775 boards (one DOA, one dead within a year to the same problem).

Bit of wavering, but I THINK I'm now strongly leaning towards the MSI Z68A-GD65 G3. It doesn't seem as feature-rich as the Asus (and I was intrigued by the onboard Bluetooth), but my understanding is that it generally beats the competition for stability and overclocking.

Is that fair to say? It seems people think more of it for clocking and stability than the ASRock Extreme4 Gen3 as well as the Asus P8Z68 Gen3s?

I'm probably only going to use a single gfx card, but I do want to keep my options open as much as possible with future upgrade paths. Will be looking to get my 2500k to around 4.8GHz if I can (with a Megahalems cooling it). Also planning to take advantage of Intel SRT with a 64GB caching SSD.

With 20% VAT off until tomorrow, it seems a great deal. But... is it the right choice for my needs? I don't think I've ever felt so uncertain going into selecting a key component for a new build (and the VAT offer ends tomorrow!!).
 
to be fair I think all the boards youve mentioned will suffice, more than, youll always hear reports about each board if you look hard enough
At end of day go with whichever brand youre most comfortable with or prefer the aesthetics of the board
 
strumpusplunket said:
Ok... after a fair bit of research for my new pre-Xmas SB build, I WAS settled on the Asus P8Z68-V/Gen3 to go with a new 2500k.

However, I seem to be reading a few problems cropping up with this board, both here and elsewhere (dual/triple cold boots, USB power loss, early-life faults, etc.). I then had bad flashbacks to my terrible experiences with Asus skt775 boards (one DOA, one dead within a year to the same problem).

Bit of wavering, but I THINK I'm now strongly leaning towards the MSI Z68A-GD65 G3. It doesn't seem as feature-rich as the Asus (and I was intrigued by the onboard Bluetooth), but my understanding is that it generally beats the competition for stability and overclocking.

Is that fair to say? It seems people think more of it for clocking and stability than the ASRock Extreme4 Gen3 as well as the Asus P8Z68 Gen3s?

I'm probably only going to use a single gfx card, but I do want to keep my options open as much as possible with future upgrade paths. Will be looking to get my 2500k to around 4.8GHz if I can (with a Megahalems cooling it). Also planning to take advantage of Intel SRT with a 64GB caching SSD.

With 20% VAT off until tomorrow, it seems a great deal. But... is it the right choice for my needs? I don't think I've ever felt so uncertain going into selecting a key component for a new build (and the VAT offer ends tomorrow!!).
Click to expand...

You hear reports of any brand,you got to remember only people with issues post problems,now ask yourself how many happy owners out there and we all know they far outnumber the very small minority with issues.
Also remember there are fans of certain brands out there and they will post anything to sway you.

My Asus P8Z68 V/Gen3 is running sweet and I think I was one of the first to get this board,its also my first Asus board so have no brand loyalty,honestly you can pick any brand ie MSI,Asus,Asrock etc..and be just as happy in most cases.

I would base my needs on price,features etc you need and go for what you want.
My track record is something like this Abit,MSI,DFI,ECS(to replace the dead MSI board after warranty)EPOX,EPOX,Asus to name a few ....I have only ever had one board with issues and go bad and that was after warranty.

I still have a 6 year old Epox and 8 year old DFI going strong and they don't even use solid caps.
 
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Yes, it is hard to judge. Particularly as a brand like Asus will shift so many more units than others so that a similar failure rate could be associated with many more Google results.

However, it's also true that particular models DO on occasion have inherent faults. I guess I have a minimal idea, usually, to what degree I am acting in response to genuine problems or to the effect of larger samples with certain brands. I recall there was one thread in this forum (or possibly another, I forget) that managed to collate actual failure rates for the most popular RAM and PSUs. That was really useful.

I think I just got to the stage of feeling there seemed too many Asus issues around to be really comfortable with.

Then again, it does look the most feature-packed board for its price range. Aesthetics I really don't care about in the slightest so that's not a consideration.

However, as I feel more at ease with the MSI now (do I?! :) ), I think, it would be useful to have confirmation that all I'd be missing out on compared to the Asus would be the BT Go Bluetooth feature and a couple of Asus proprietary BIOS features?
 
Based on what I've seen from people who use this forum alone, I wouldnt currently recommend an Asus Z68 over either the Asrock Gen 3 Extreme 4, or MSI GD65 G3 (OOS atm though).

Those two boards pack the most important features that Asus / Gigabyte seem to charge a bit extra for, and / or ommit - 4x Sata 6 Gb/s ports, and a perfect slot layout for using SLI or Crossfire giving 3 slot spacing per card along with room for a soundcard too.

Currently if you are looking for a new build, I wouldnt consider anything other than the GD65 G3 for the cashback offer, though its currently OOS.
 
I've got the GD65 g3 myself and its been perfect apart from the ability of not using a G510 keyboard, which seems standard with a lot of UEFI systems.
 
strumpusplunket: I think the MSI is a good choice infact my top 3 short list was Asus Z68 V/GEN3,MSi Z68 GD65 G3,Asrock Extreme4 Gen3,I went with Asus in the end due to having Intel Lan over the other models and great price ie £135 with free delivery.

Basically get what YOU want,MSI is a good board and I think you will be happy with it.
 
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