£100 - Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z..?!

[jumeeno]

Hey guys - real quickie. For this board, brand new, is £100 good value?

Been out of the 'mobo' scene for a while, and not sure if there's subtley different versions of the Gene that has me confused

Thanks!

 

[jumeeno]

Ahah - not 'Gen3'.

Does that mean no PCI-e 3.0, and no Ivy Bridge support?

 

[cmndr_andi]

If it come with the full 3 year warranty then £100 is a really good deal on that board - so long as you need a micro-ATX board (for a small gaming PC for example). However, if you can fit a full size board then I would personally go for one - as you will have more expansion ports and more room between graphics cards if you are running SLI/CF. Something like this board is a good option for similar money.

As you say, the Gene Z isn't PCIE gen3, but if you look here it will support the Ivy Bridge CPUs.

 

[jumeeno]

Thanks Andi, good news about the 22nm chips. I could get the board now, and wait for a IB processor I guess - they can't be too long now

Is PCIe 3.0 worth another ~£40? I am presuming not?

 

[cmndr_andi]

I think the release of IB is expected to be at the end of April now, so if you are happy to wait then fair enough.

That said, If you are going to wait I would personally just hold off on buying the board and get one at the same time as the CPU. The Z77 and Z75 boards with native USB3 support, native PCIE gen3 (and possibly performance/overclocking benefits as well) will be available to buy then, and it is possible Z68 board prices will go down, since they would be last-gen at that time.

 

[jumeeno]

Thanks for your advice Andi, much appreciated

 

[jumeeno]

Quick update - £101 inc P&P brand new, went for it

 

[cmndr_andi]

Sweet. Are you going to wait for the new CPUs or bite the bullet and pop in a sandy bridge?

 

[jumeeno]

Sweet. Are you going to wait for the new CPUs or bite the bullet and pop in a sandy bridge?

Gonna wait a month I think, current system is FOR SALE!