I recently damaged my AMD Phenom so I'm taking the opportunity to upgrade to IvyBridge, probably I5 3570k.
Can you suggest any Z77 motherboard? I use the system mainly for gaming, movies and music playback.
What I'm looking for in particular:
- a full-size ATX board (i.e. exactly 12 × 9.6" so boards like ASRock Extreme 4 wouldn't do)
- handy to install/work with (i.e. no need to $%^$$%££$ if you drop a screw; I read the Sabertooth suffers in this department)
- space around the processor and memory slots in case I install bulky heatsinks
- at least 2 PCIEX16 and a PCI slot for a sound card that doesn't get blocked with the installation of a second GPU
- reliable fan control/customisation
Other cool features (e.g. fan overtime in Sabertooth) are welcome provided that they actually work properly. I find most boards are blighted with features that don't work properly (automatic OCing for example).
I don't want to restrict you with a budget but I don't want to spend unnecessarily either.
Also, would you change anything else from these components? Is the PSU alright? Any better cooler?
Case: NZXT Phantom Enthusiast
PSU: Corsair TX 750W
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 4x4GB
SSD: Corsair Force Series 3 120GB
HDD: Samsung SpinPoint F4 EcoGreen 2TB
CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro H50-1
GPU: HIS ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB
Monitor: Samsung P2450H 24" Widescreen
I know the GPU is quite old but I will probably wait for the GTX 660, unless there other recommendations.
Can you suggest any Z77 motherboard? I use the system mainly for gaming, movies and music playback.
What I'm looking for in particular:
- a full-size ATX board (i.e. exactly 12 × 9.6" so boards like ASRock Extreme 4 wouldn't do)
- handy to install/work with (i.e. no need to $%^$$%££$ if you drop a screw; I read the Sabertooth suffers in this department)
- space around the processor and memory slots in case I install bulky heatsinks
- at least 2 PCIEX16 and a PCI slot for a sound card that doesn't get blocked with the installation of a second GPU
- reliable fan control/customisation
Other cool features (e.g. fan overtime in Sabertooth) are welcome provided that they actually work properly. I find most boards are blighted with features that don't work properly (automatic OCing for example).
I don't want to restrict you with a budget but I don't want to spend unnecessarily either.
Also, would you change anything else from these components? Is the PSU alright? Any better cooler?
Case: NZXT Phantom Enthusiast
PSU: Corsair TX 750W
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 4x4GB
SSD: Corsair Force Series 3 120GB
HDD: Samsung SpinPoint F4 EcoGreen 2TB
CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro H50-1
GPU: HIS ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB
Monitor: Samsung P2450H 24" Widescreen
I know the GPU is quite old but I will probably wait for the GTX 660, unless there other recommendations.
