spec me a board please

doggystyle · 6 Apr 2012 at 23:03

ok so im going to buy an i5 2500. so i need a board to suit. i normally buy asus but i like the gigabyte range due to the warranty.
im confused about the chipsets, its been a while since i put a pc together.

anyway i have a 6870 to fit in it.

so what board do you recommend for about £1oo?

thanks.

cmndr_andi · 6 Apr 2012 at 23:54

Hi there,

First thing make sure you get the i5 2500K instead of the 2500, as the K series costs around the same, allows overclocking and has a much faster inboard graphics core.

As for a motherboard, I would recommend going for a Z77 board. The £110'gigabye z77x d3h looks to be a very nice board and would be the one I would go for. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-390-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2261

doggystyle · 7 Apr 2012 at 09:47

thanks. i was reading up on the chipsets lastnight after posting. i was going for a z68. i'll look again.

doggystyle · 7 Apr 2012 at 21:44

thanks again. can i ask what the difference between the z77 and z68 is?
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5666/a-brief-look-at-some-upcoming-7series-motherboards/1
i was looking here but its in chinese i think.

cmndr_andi · 7 Apr 2012 at 22:19

The Z77 is the replacement to the Z68 - and it just came out last week (in readiness for the new ivy bridge CPUs which are coming at the end of this month).

These Z77 boards (like the Z68) support LGA1155 CPUs like the sandy bridge and ivy bridge, however the Z77 boards have the benefit of a native USB3 controller and native PCIE gen3 slots (so long as you are using an Ivy Bridge [del]motherboard[/del] CPU).

Since the prices of Z77 and Z68 boards are roughly the same then you may as well go for a Z77, as it is newer and offers more features.

Surveyor · 7 Apr 2012 at 22:58

Edited for clarity:

cmndr_andi said:
The Z77 is the replacement to the Z68 - and it just came out last week (in readiness for the new ivy bridge CPUs which are coming at the end of this month).

These Z77 boards (like the Z68) support LGA1155 CPUs like the sandy bridge and ivy bridge, however the Z77 boards have the benefit of a native USB3 controller and native PCIE gen3 slots (so long as you are using an Ivy Bridge CPU).

Since the prices of Z77 and Z68 boards are roughly the same then you may as well go for a Z77, as it is newer and offers more features.

cmndr_andi · 8 Apr 2012 at 00:09

Yes indeed, Ivy Bridge CPU - my mistake.

doggystyle · 8 Apr 2012 at 20:53

well, i acidently bought a i52500k from ebay. i didnt think i would win it, but i did. so now i need a board and ram.
any suggestions?

doggystyle · 8 Apr 2012 at 21:41

sorry. i mean spec the ram. i was going to go with the recommended gigabyte board.

ram question- 4 or 8 gb?

RJC · 8 Apr 2012 at 21:54

Go with 8gb

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-094-KS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

doggystyle · 8 Apr 2012 at 22:06

thanks. can i ask when you buy ram what are you looking for?
is amd tri channel and intel dual?

doggystyle · 8 Apr 2012 at 22:11

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-114-KS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

seen these too. any good?

ichigotowar · 8 Apr 2012 at 23:21

with z77 you would want dual channel. Its not dependent on amd or intel it depends on what the mother board supports. The ram you posted doddystyle is the exact same as RJC's the only difference being the color(special edition) specs are the same