Good i7/5/3 mATX board?

Edward78 · 26 Sep 2011 at 15:59

Any picks from you guys? No need for eSATA, bluetooth, onboard wireless or firewire. I do want onboard audio though (Realtek would be good), oh & onboard lan, realtek for that also.

Orcvader · 26 Sep 2011 at 16:07

I have the GA-Z68MX-UD2H-B3 and it's doing a very good job so far. It uses Realtek onboard audio and LAN, so fits your list perfectly. I've seen people getting past 4.8ghz with the board too. There seems to be a rev 1.3 with PCI-E 3.0 support too... I have rev 1.0

.

Product page: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3974#ov

stulid · 26 Sep 2011 at 16:08

No overclocking - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-172-MS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1907

Overclocking (with a K CPU) and Z68 features - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-343-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1990

marc1024 · 26 Sep 2011 at 19:25

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-476-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1990

got the 1156 version. doing me very good!

Edward78 · 27 Sep 2011 at 16:24

I think I will get Gigabyte DDR3 2133 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - GA-Z68M-D2H, Intel Core i3-2100 Processor 3.1GHz 3 MB Cache Socket LGA1155 & Corsair XMS3 4 GB 1333MHz PC3-10666 240-pin DDR3 Memory Kit for Intel Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD CMX4GX3M1A1333C9 (hmmm that is 1.6v& the MB only does 1.5v). Linux has no prob. with the MB right?

stulid · 27 Sep 2011 at 16:30

No issues with Linux.

Edward78 · 27 Sep 2011 at 17:06

stulid said:
No issues with Linux.

The Ram is 1.65v & the board says it takes 1.5v, so maybe this rams would be better Crucial CT2CP25664BA1339 4GB 2GBx2 240-pin PC3-10600 DIMM DDR3 Memory KIT?? I found this board for $30 cheaper, if there are no probs. with it it looks like it will do ASUS LGA 1155 - H61 - EPU, UEFI BIOS and Anti-Surge Protection - mATX Intel H61(B3) Micro ATX DDR3 1333 LGA 1156 Motherboards (P8H61-M LX).

stulid · 27 Sep 2011 at 17:12

1.65V RAM works ok on sandybridge boards also. Just set the RAM timings and settings manually in the BIOS to what is printed on the side of the RAM sticks.

Edward78 · 27 Sep 2011 at 17:34

stulid said:
1.65V RAM works ok on sandybridge boards also. Just set the RAM timings and settings manually in the BIOS to what is printed on the side of the RAM sticks.

The board tech details said 1.5v so I was just wanting to make sure, oh & the ASUS LGA 1155 - H61 - EPU, UEFI BIOS and Anti-Surge Protection - mATX Intel H61(B3) Micro ATX DDR3 1333 LGA 1156 Motherboards (P8H61-M LX). Is that prob. free? $30 cheaper is a good reason to go with it if it is.

stulid · 27 Sep 2011 at 17:37

Try and find the MSI listed near the top posts, it has SATA and USB 3.0 versions.

But I use a Gigabyte Z68 board and set my Corsair Dominator RAM to 1.65V and the timings to manual to ensure they are correct, I have even let the RAM run at 1333MHz instead of the normal 1600MHz and with the voltage at 1.5V (default BIOS settings) and not had any issues.

Edward78 · 27 Sep 2011 at 19:22

Is the Asus board only compatible with certain hardware, in this it has a list of devices http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1155/P8H61_M_LX/P8H61-M_LX_Device_Report.zip I mean a why would 1 HDD not work & the other would?

stulid · 27 Sep 2011 at 19:33

Edward78 said:
Is the Asus board only compatible with certain hardware, in this it has a list of devices http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1155/P8H61_M_LX/P8H61-M_LX_Device_Report.zip I mean a why would 1 HDD not work & the other would?

Dude, they cant possibly test every single piece of hardware on the market.

Edward78 · 28 Sep 2011 at 16:25

Is LGA1156 or LGA1155 better?

stulid · 28 Sep 2011 at 16:26

LGA1155 is better.

The CPU's are faster.
The socket is newer and more future proof for Ivybridge etc.

Compare a similar priced i3 540 vs a i3-2100 - http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/289?vs=143

Edward78 · 28 Sep 2011 at 17:00

stulid said:
LGA1155 is better.

The CPU's are faster.
The socket is newer and more future proof for Ivybridge etc.

Compare a similar priced i3 540 vs a i3-2100 - http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/289?vs=143

Well the MB name has LGA1156, but the tech details have LGA1155 & on the Asus site it is under LGA1155??? So I guess the it is a LGA1155. It is a P8H61-M LX.

cmndr_andi · 28 Sep 2011 at 17:02

It must be a typo - all H61 motherboards are LGA1155, none are LGA1156.

Reality Bites · 23 Oct 2011 at 16:39

stulid said:
No overclocking - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-172-MS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1907

Overclocking (with a K CPU) and Z68 features - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-343-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1990

have gigabyte updated their boards now as when I have been doing some searching on MATX choices, you slated them in August saying

'A lot of the Gigabyte Z68 boards are just P67 boards with the pin compatible Z68 chipset stuck on then they just rename them and charge more money, so they don't have two of the three features that make a Z68 board what it its'

I haven't bought a MB in about 3 years so need pointers