# Z77 or P67 Chipset for i5 CPU?



## monoles (Sep 23, 2012)

I have an Intel Core i5 2400 3.3GHz CPU and i am looking for a new motherboard as my old motherboard (Gigabyte P67A-UD3R) broke. 
The shop i am buying from stock a very large range of Z77 chipset motherboards and a very limited range of P67 motherboards.

I am asking which chipset motherboard i should get because my original Mobo was a P67 and it worked fine i guess, but after research i found the Z77 was a better motherboard, although everyone kept saying it was better for "Ivory Bridge", although my CPU is sandy bridge, not Ivory.

I use my computer for gaming (Crysis 2, COD MW2/3, etc.) and i always play with the setting cranked right up. I also use my computer for program developing (Visual Studio 2010) and use it for CAD work (Autodesk Revit/Inventor).

Which motherboard chipset; P67 or Z77, would be a better option for me?

Also, if you would like to post some motherboards that you think would be a good option and is below $250, that would be great. 

Thank you!

Computer Specs:

4 x 4GB Kingston RAM (16 GB RAM)
Intel core i5 2400 3.30 GHz
1 GB ATI Radeon HD 5850
120 gb OCZ Vertex SSD
2 x 500 gb Western Digital Green HDD's (RAID 0)
Thermaltake Lightpower 700 W PSU
Motherboard - Deciding


----------



## Held213 (Jul 4, 2012)

The P67 is an already outdated chipset.

The Z77 is newer, offers better support for Ivy Bridge CPUs (interesting for later upgrades) allows overclocking and the use of the integrated GPU (P67 only allows OC). Even though you do not have a "K" CPU you can do slightly overclocking with the 4 turbo steps.

If you do not plan any overclocking you pick an H77 or B75 board as well. Might be cheaper. Take a look at the equipment of the boards and decide by your needs of SATA, USB ports and so on.


----------



## monoles (Sep 23, 2012)

Held213 said:


> The P67 is an already outdated chipset.
> 
> The Z77 is newer, offers better support for Ivy Bridge CPUs (interesting for later upgrades) allows overclocking and the use of the integrated GPU (P67 only allows OC). Even though you do not have a "K" CPU you can do slightly overclocking with the 4 turbo steps.


Oh, ok. So even though i may not overclock and the fact that i do not have an Ivory bridge CPU, the Z77 chipset is a better option?


----------



## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

Overclocking aside, the Z77 being newer, offers a longer upgrade path. Besides support for the latest i-core processors, it also offers full support for PCI-E 3.0 graphics cards


----------



## Held213 (Jul 4, 2012)

If you dont go for OC and your dealer offers H77 boards you can save some money by taking a board with this chipset.

Otherwise I would prefer the Z77 to the P67.



> ... it also offers full support for PCI-E 3.0 graphics cards.


But only in combination with a an Ivy B. CPU.


----------



## monoles (Sep 23, 2012)

Ok, thanks for your input, i will go for the Z77 chipset, as the site im buying from has a limited range of H77's and none of them have the SATA 3 ports i wish they had.

If you don't mind, could i get your guys opinion on two boards. Im wondering which one is better value for money, i cant see a major difference in them yet there is a $20 difference. See the two links below.

GIGABYTE - Motherboard - Socket 1155 - GA-Z77X-UD3H (rev. 1.0) ($170)

***************************** Or **********************

GIGABYTE - Motherboard - Socket 1155 - GA-Z77X-D3H (rev. 1.0) ($150)

Thank you so much.


----------



## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

Study the config of internal and rear panel ports and connectors; though slight, any one of the differences could be a deal breaker (for instance, the D3H has an internal serial port header while the UD3H has an mSATA port and an extra system fan header.) To me the real difference is the on-board power, reset, CLR_CMOS, and BIOS switches, and the voltage test points available on the UD3H. If you find yourself regularly tweaking your system and testing new setups, those could be invaluable.

Here is a link to a side-by-side look at the two boards using Newegg's compare tool. Note that Newegg's descriptions are not always 100% accurate.


----------



## Held213 (Jul 4, 2012)

As both have the same chipset you do not have any speed differences, so just take a look at the ports/connections. If I look at gcavan's compare, the UD3H for example has 2x PCI Express 3.0 x16 ports but less SATA ports.

When you dont want to build a SLI/CF system you can save money by taking the D3H model.


----------



## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

> If I look at gcavan's compare, the UD3H for example has 2x PCI Express 3.0 x16 ports but less SATA ports.





> Note that Newegg's descriptions are not always 100% accurate.


This may be one of those cases. See the Gigabyte product pages.


----------



## Held213 (Jul 4, 2012)

Ah, I see I took the wrong example  But the point with the SATA ports seems to be true. Here is a comparison of a german site, but I think it might work because the designations are international  Produktvergleich Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H, Z77 (dual PC3-12800U DDR3), Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H, Z77 (dual PC3-12800U DDR3) | Geizhals Deutschland

Their data are right in most cases. And you have got a link to Gigabyte at the bottom ("Herstellerlink").


----------

