Budget z68 Board + Tri Slot Gfx + PCI-E 1x Sound Card =?

new boy · 2 Apr 2012 at 21:07

Hi

Ive got a Asus xonar DX sound card that i will carry over to my new build. This uses a PCI-E 1x slot

Am i likely to run into problems with the very cheapest Z68 boards if i use a massive (Asus cuII size) non reference gfx card cooler? what about a more normal dual slot cooler?

board choices will probably be something like;

MSI Z68A-G43 Gen 3 Intel Z68
Gigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3
Asus P8Z68-V LX
Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3-B3

I know they all suck but hey I'm on on a tight budget

Thoughts? Any one got one of these boards and got a dual / tri slot cooler with a 1x slot filled as well?

Thanks

The Halk · 2 Apr 2012 at 21:31

You should be fine. You'll be able to visually see if you're ok though. You just want to make sure that there's a PCIe x1 slot in the right place.

Asus P8Z68-V LX would work - the sound card would be above the graphics card. Same for the Gigabyte Z68X-UD3P (difficult to see though, so double check).
EVGA Intel Z68 SLI looks ok too - it's mATX.
Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 Intel Z68 isn't ideal as you want a bit of a gap between the sound card and the fans on the DirectCU but it'd do, same goes for Asrock Z68 PRO3 Gen3.

If you're looking at a board and you can see an x1 x4 or x16 slots tehy'll all be fine for the sound card.

You may want to wait on Z77 boards, they won't be much different in price, but I think they'll have less legacy ports, which means more chance of the best positioning.

Nightglow · 2 Apr 2012 at 21:36

Z77 boards are launching 8th April, so worth waiting for, & Z68 might also come down in price.

If I was buying a new board, then a Z77 board, would be my choice, as it will have several advantages over the Z68 chipset.

new boy · 2 Apr 2012 at 21:37

The Halk said:
You should be fine. You'll be able to visually see if you're ok though. You just want to make sure that there's a PCIe x1 slot in the right place.

Asus P8Z68-V LX would work - the sound card would be above the graphics card. Same for the Gigabyte Z68X-UD3P (difficult to see though, so double check).
EVGA Intel Z68 SLI looks ok too - it's mATX.
Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 Intel Z68 isn't ideal as you want a bit of a gap between the sound card and the fans on the DirectCU but it'd do, same goes for Asrock Z68 PRO3 Gen3.

If you're looking at a board and you can see an x1 x4 or x16 slots tehy'll all be fine for the sound card.

You may want to wait on Z77 boards, they won't be much different in price, but I think they'll have less legacy ports, which means more chance of the best positioning.

hmmm I though these £70-£80 Z68 boards were quite a new thing. You think there will be Z77 boards @£80ish at by end of april? obviously no one knows i suppose lol. only a week or so till release.....

Edit oh and thanks by the way lol.

The Halk · 2 Apr 2012 at 21:45

I don't know if they'll be £80, but I'd certainly expect to see them under a hundred. Certainly the Z68s won't go up in price, so there's no harm in waiting.

new boy · 2 Apr 2012 at 21:49

The Halk said:
I don't know if they'll be £80, but I'd certainly expect to see them under a hundred. Certainly the Z68s won't go up in price, so there's no harm in waiting.

very true

varkanoid · 3 Apr 2012 at 13:27

new boy said:
Hi

board choices will probably be something like;

MSI Z68A-G43 Gen 3 Intel Z68
Gigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3
Asus P8Z68-V LX
Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3-B3

Thanks

Highlighted board does not suck !!!! Very popular board.

Took offense ! :rolleyes:

Z68AP-D3 forget putting the DX in the slot below the graphics card it will block airflow somewhat. You can sit it in the PCI-E slot behind the graphics card but I found it raised my temp by about 1-2c on the GPU.