Good general and overclocking budget Z68 mobo

alexs2602

alexs2602

alexs2602

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I'll preface this by saying I'm not looking to game(so no SLI/Xfire needed), I would however like a mobo that will help overclock well(I believe stulid mentioned that VRMs help with this) and has the potential for a future single GPU + sound card(all of them will be fine for this as far as I can tell, should I decide to go down this route).

I've been looking for a while and at the moment I'm considering the Gigabyte Z68AP-D3, the Z68XP-UD3 and the Asus P8Z68-V LX. While I'm looking to get 4.5GHz out of an i5-2500K and all of these would prob do this a little more couldn't hurt.

If anyone could offer some input I'd appreciate it. Ideally I want to get the cheapest possible mobo but if I find the money to stretch to the Z68XP-UD3 and it's worth it I'll get it. £100 would prob be about the absolute max.
 
alexs2602 said:
I'll preface this by saying I'm not looking to game(so no SLI/Xfire needed), I would however like a mobo that will help overclock well(I believe stulid mentioned that VRMs help with this) and has the potential for a future single GPU + sound card(all of them will be fine for this as far as I can tell, should I decide to go down this route).
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Are you going to be using the integrated GPU for a while then?

The Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 only has a HDMI output and if that's all you need then fine.

If you need more than that then the Asus P8Z68-V LX Intel Z68 has DVI, HDMI and VGA.
 
Surveyor said:
Are you going to be using the integrated GPU for a while then?

The Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 only has a HDMI output and if that's all you need then fine.

If you need more than that then the Asus P8Z68-V LX Intel Z68 has DVI, HDMI and VGA.
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You make a good point there. I currently have an old VGA monitor but I'll probably be ordering a LG IPS225V and an extra HDMI cable(as it doesn't seem to be included with the monitor) at the same time as the rest of the build so it shouldn't be a problem. May be a silly question but I take it HDMI offers the best quality visuals out of the three connection types?
 
alexs2602 said:
You make a good point there.
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I thought it best to ask.

I didn't want you buying a motherboard and then not being able to connect your monitor to its video output.


alexs2602 said:
May be a silly question but I take it HDMI offers the best quality visuals out of the three connection types?
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HDMI and DVI would give you same quality image and both would generally be regarded as "better" than VGA.
 
Both boards are PCi-3 ready with Ivybridge.
You can get an Hdmi to vga cable for about the price difference of the two boards.
The Gigabyte has better "UK" support.
The Asus has a flashy UEFI bios.

Personally I don't follow brand loyalty, my last 3 boards have been DFI, Abit and Asrock and all have been excellent.

Out of those two I'd probably pick the Gigabyte ;)
Nah on second thoughts I'd spend the lttle bit extra and get the Z68XP-UD3 :D
 
Davefran said:
You can get an Hdmi to vga cable for about the price difference of the two boards.
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It's not relevant if the OP is getting a new monitor at the same time as the motherboard but for clarification, and not wishing to start a debate on the issue, those only seem to work with a VGA output to a HDMI input and then only if the VGA output supports digital signal output.
 
Having had a quick look at the back i/o of the two cheapest mobos I'm still considering the asus. There are several things I'm not so keen on for the z68ap d3 - the serial and parallel ports instead of vga and dvi(just in case), less back i/o audio jacks, and the colour of the pcb. While these shouldn't really affect things now it could leave me limited in the future when it comes to getting a good set of speakers etc.

Don't think I've left anything out.
 
alexs2602 said:
I've had a shortfall in 'funding' so it looks like it's going to be the Asus P8Z68-V LX - for the VGA since I can't afford a new monitor.
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Sorry to hear that.

At least you'll be able to run your current monitor from the Asus which you wouldn't have been able to do if you bought the Gigabyte.
 
Surveyor said:
Sorry to hear that.

At least you'll be able to run your current monitor from the Asus which you wouldn't have been able to do if you bought the Gigabyte.
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Thanks for the help. After a bunch of jiggling about I ended up buying;

Asus P8Z68-V LX
i5-2500K
CM690 ii adv
CM GX 650W(it was part of an offer, if there's a chance of exchanging it I'll try to. Or I might sell it and buy a 500W~ modular)
Sony Optiarc(thingy) DVD drive
Corsair Vengeance 8GB low profile 1600MHz(better price than most stuff I could find)
Gelid Tranquillo rev 2
Arctic mx-4

All for £428~

I might build this and post it in projects if there's no rules against short term builds like this.
 
alexs2602 said:
I might build this and post it in projects if there's no rules against short term builds like this.
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Glad you chose that board as i'm a bit of an asus fanboy when it comes to motherboards.

Sounds good, hope you post some pics as i would love to see them. ;)
 
Ohlawll said:
Glad you chose that board as i'm a bit of an asus fanboy when it comes to motherboards.

Sounds good, hope you post some pics as i would love to see them. ;)
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Should do, got to receive them first. Should be here fairly soon, just need to be patient now... (Like that's gonna happen ;) )
 
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