Ivy Bridge & Z77, which ones?

Michael172

Michael172

Michael172

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I know neither are released yet.

Currently have an i5 750 running 4GHz, along with a P55 UD5 mainboard.

I want to upgrade the cpu and mainboard soon, i know both are released within the next 2-3 weeks (I think) then follow that up with the ram. I only want i5, doesnt have to be the top of the range cpu, but id like to achieve good overclocking speeds. I read somewhere 6GHz is achieveable but maybe that was BS.

Any idea what I should choose?
 
Ive been really pleased with Gigabyte this time round, had an evga before this, asus was my loyal brand for years prior to that too. So id like to stay loyal to the brand again unless they dont overclock as well.


Thanks for the input, ive read about the 3570k so ill go for that unless its stupidly priced.

Any idea what that will clock to properly, not just on turbo mode?
 
No idea on overclocking, it varies from chip to chip and your cooling etc, also how brave you are with sticking Vcore up its backside.
 
The Asus V gene is a great Z77 board mate I am testing one currently and have started a thread about it. Does great with Ivy and the previous gen CPU's.
 
Gigabyte for a good UK based support and returns, if needed. They just so happen to make pretty good boards as well.!
 
I don't understand why all the people with Sandy Bridge setups are getting Z77, Intel's USB 3 isn't actually that much faster than the add on chips that are currently in use and most existing Sandy Bridge boards support Ivy Bridge just fine.
 
Broken Hope said:
I don't understand why all the people with Sandy Bridge setups are getting Z77, Intel's USB 3 isn't actually that much faster than the add on chips that are currently in use and most existing Sandy Bridge boards support Ivy Bridge just fine.
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there are other features you get with the Z77 boards than just usb 3 :rolleyes:
 
I've been looking at boards, for so much as I can.

I'd like to get the 'same' board picked out from each manufacturer. By the 'same' I mean the price point, high end mainstream... before it goes to Fatal1ty, or Sniper, or the like.

I'm not looking for any sound from the board at all, or a second LAN port, or Wifi. USB3 doesn't matter to me at all. I need a single 3rd gen SATA port... so the features on the boards matter little.

I am however looking for suitable heatsinks on the motherboard and VRM - bad cooling of that area can lead to instability. I'm looking for very good power delivery - for stability, for overclocking and also for energy efficiency. I'm looking for solid capacitors, preferably from a recognised company.

To get what I'm looking I tend to find I have to go to the top of the mainstream boards from each of the companies.

So far I like the
ASUS P8Z77-V Pro
ASRock Z77 Pro4
MSI Z77A-GD55
Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H

I'm looking at the Asus so far because it seems to play to what I want the most... I'll see nearer release time.

I'd also happily take a Z75 board, I think, but they seem to be like hen's teeth at the moment, which I suspect means that the Z75 chipset will be used as a way to cut the cost down at the bottom of the Z77 range - i.e. Z75 boards will be very budget.
 
Since yesterday I've been able to see prices on some of these boards as retailers put them up early. It seems I've not selected the same tier across all 4 manufacturers...

ASUS P8Z77-V Pro (£177, only one for sale so it may be wrong)
ASRock Z77 Pro4 (£89)
MSI Z77A-GD55 (£125)
Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H (£164)

I can understand the ASRock being a chunk cheaper, I think they tend to me. Likewise I think Asus is a touch more expensive usually.

So a thought has struck me... these are more or less all typically upgrades on existing Z68 models, so I'll come back and post here once I've found OcUK's prices on equivalent models, to see if that sheds any light.
 
Asus P8Z68-V PRO GEN3 £170
Asrock Z68 PRO3 Gen3 £100 (Not quite the same board really)
MSI Z68A-GD55 (G3) £125 (A competitors price... OcUK look to be running down on Z68 boards?)
Gigabyte Z68X-UD5 Intel Z68 £135

So from that I'm thinking that I've picked an Asus too high, but the rest are about right... trying to gauge pre-release prices is difficult, and I suspect the Gigabyte price is a bit off from what it will be.
 
Broken Hope said:
I don't understand why all the people with Sandy Bridge setups are getting Z77, Intel's USB 3 isn't actually that much faster than the add on chips that are currently in use and most existing Sandy Bridge boards support Ivy Bridge just fine.
Click to expand...

im not on sandy, so the upgrade for me from an i5 750 will hopefully be a good one.
 
Also im suprised at 4.6 GHz from the 3570k, considering the 2600's supposedly did 5.2GHz.

Maybe I should go with a Gygabyte Z77 board and then see if the sandy's drop in price a little and get one of those over the ivy bridge?
 
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the processors are hit and miss, you could get a 2600k that will only do 4.6GHz, you could get one that does 5GHz+. I assume it will be the same with IB, its pot luck. the Z77 mobos appear to be around the same price, if not cheaper than the Z68, so makes that a no brainer. if you are in a rush, then a Z77 mobo with a 2500k/2600k and then sell it on when IB comes out. if you can wait, then see for IB to come out, get tested by a large amount of people and decide from there. but I would say they will both have similar chances of getting to 4.8GHz+ stable.
 
Michael172 said:
Ill wait, sooner have the best clocks I can get.
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but just because someone gets 5.2GHz doesn't mean your chip will. most people will get 4.6GHz without problems, after that its pot luck. I would just see how the pricing comes out and go from there. but don't rely on what other people get, as im sure there are a lot more people with 2500k/2600k chips that cant hit 5GHz than can.
 
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