# New help picking out a mobo..



## Gairovald (Sep 6, 2010)

Hello,

So I am building a computer sometime soon and I need help picking out a motherboard. I have looked at a few but they all had a lot bad reviews, so I thought I would come here because you guys give the best advise!

Intel Core i5-2500K

SAPPHIRE 100312-3SR Radeon HD 6950 Dirt3 Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
Newegg.ca - SAPPHIRE 100312-3SR Radeon HD 6950 Dirt3 Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Newegg.ca - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

CORSAIR Professional Series HX750 (CMPSU-750HX) 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
Newegg.ca - CORSAIR Professional Series HX750 (CMPSU-750HX) 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C8
Newegg.ca - CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C8

Of course other suggestions/criticism is welcome! Thanks


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## cl0udedth0ught (Sep 29, 2004)

ASUS and GIGABYTE, are good boards. I've also had decent luck with FOXCONN and MSI boards. Whatever you do, don't cheap out on the motherboard. Cheap boards tend to have more issues and are generally not as upgradable.

The rest of your build looks pretty good.


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## Gairovald (Sep 6, 2010)

Yeah I looked at a few ASUS and GIGABYTE boards on newegg, somewhere in the 180-300 bracket, but like I said a lot of the boards seem to have mixed reviews.

What do you think of this gigabyte board?Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD4-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard


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## Gairovald (Sep 6, 2010)

Gairovald said:


> Yeah I looked at a few ASUS and GIGABYTE boards on newegg, somewhere in the 180-300 bracket, but like I said a lot of the boards seem to have mixed reviews.
> 
> What do you think of this gigabyte board?Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD4-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard


or 

Newegg.ca - ASRock Z68 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard


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## cl0udedth0ught (Sep 29, 2004)

I've never used an ASROCK board so I would probably go with the Gigabyte board if it were between the two.


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## Gairovald (Sep 6, 2010)

Well this has helped my narrow my decision.

Thanks for your help!


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Asus & Gigabyte are the better quality Mobo's out there at this time and both offer good support.
You can save $30 with the 750W XFX PSU. Same SeaSonic built quality and warranty. XFX Core Edition PRO750W 2.2 $124.98: Newegg.ca - XFX Core Edition PRO750W (P1-750S-NLB9) 750W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply


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## Gairovald (Sep 6, 2010)

Thanks for your suggestion Tyree, sounds like a great idea!
I decided to pick this mobo.
Newegg.ca - ASUS P8Z68-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS


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## Gairovald (Sep 6, 2010)

Any other suggestions about other parts Tyree? 

Thanks


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

The rest of your build list looks good. Do you have a case and optical drive?


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## Gairovald (Sep 6, 2010)

Case - Not 100% sure on which case I want, I am still looking around at them.
Newegg.ca - LOGISYS Computer CS1200BK ATX Mid Tower Optimus All Black Gaming Case

Newegg.ca - Rosewill ARMOR Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ,Full mesh design front bezel, comes with Six Fans-1x Front 120mm Fan, 2x Top 120mm Fan, 1x Rear 120mm Fan, 1x 80mm Fan on motherboard tray, 1x Side 200mm Fan, option Fan-1x Bottom 120mm F

Blu ray drive
Newegg.ca - LITE-ON Black 4X BD-ROM 8X DVD-ROM 32X CD-ROM SATA Internal 4X Blu-ray Reader Model iHOS104-06 - Blu-Ray Drives


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

not sure on what the rpice is in dollars but look at the asus maximus 4 extreme. If you have a good cooler and are into overclocking I can guarantee you that you can clock that cpu to 4.7 without any trouble at all.

Dont buy any power supply made by Rosewill as they are junk Go fo tthe psu tyree suggests.

That case isn't very good either Antec, coolermaster and corsair make great cases


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## Gairovald (Sep 6, 2010)

well on newegg the asus maximus 4 extreme is about $350 , the psu I originally picked was corsair, tyree just suggested a similar psu but it was $30 cheaper, and in the end I decided to take his advice and am going to get the psu he suggested.

For the case, I have never had a Logisys, but I have had rosewill and never had problems with them. 

Thanks for the advice green, I will look at some cases from antec, coolermaster and corsair and see what i can find.

Other thoughts - before picking my mobo I read the reviews, a number of people where able to OC their cpu to 4.2+ using 
Newegg.ca - ASUS P8Z68-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

Of course I wouldnt mind the mobo you suggested  but sadly its $350! lol
Thanks though!


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

that is also a good motherboard. Before overclocking though you do need a good cooler you cant do it with the standard cooler that comes with the cpu.

Normal aftremarket cpu coolers are very big so you need to make sure the case has room.


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## Gairovald (Sep 6, 2010)

Asus VE228H 21.5" Full HD HDMI LED BackLight LCD Monitor w/Speakers
Newegg.ca - Asus VE228H 21.5" Full HD HDMI LED BackLight LCD Monitor w/Speakers ASCR 10,000,000:1

Intel Core i5-2500K

LOGISYS Computer CS1200BK ATX Mid Tower Optimus All Black Gaming Case
Newegg.ca - LOGISYS Computer CS1200BK ATX Mid Tower Optimus All Black Gaming Case

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Newegg.ca - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
Newegg.ca - ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - CD / DVD Burners

SAPPHIRE 100312-3SR Radeon HD 6950 Dirt3 Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
Newegg.ca - SAPPHIRE 100312-3SR Radeon HD 6950 Dirt3 Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C8
Newegg.ca - CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C8

BIOSTAR TZ68A+RCH LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Newegg.ca - BIOSTAR TZ68A+RCH LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

total build cost(after tax and shipping) 1,427.62

Other thoughts - I decided to go with a biostar board because of the bad reviews of ASUS on pretty much all of their boards. ( seems like they have slipped a bit over the years) 

I am open for suggestions regarding the gpu, is there a gpu that you might recommend that is cheaper? I want to be able to game on my machine( BF3, skyrim, diablo3 and more)

I really appreciate all your help, great website!


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## hhnq04 (Mar 19, 2008)

Looks like a good build, but not a fan of Biostar anything.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

where have you seen these bad reviews of Asus? Asus and gigabyte make the best motherboards out and have done for a very long time. Biostar have not.

Antec and coolermaster make better cases.


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## Gairovald (Sep 6, 2010)

On newegg most asus boards i looked at have like 20% 1 egg rating because of board failure (except the ones that cost like $300) while almost all 1155 socket biostar boards are like 4-5 star ratings. I was also thinking of this mobo: 
Newegg.ca - GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3P LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard


I agree on the case, I wasn't 100% while picking this brand name, I will prob still shop around a bit for a different case before I buy everything.


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## hhnq04 (Mar 19, 2008)

Reiterating what others have stated, ASUS and Gigabyte make great boards, and both have _top notch_ customer service which is worth it if something does unfortunately go wrong arrive defective.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

that gigabyte board is great. I have always used Asus for my boards and have never ever had an issue. Would not use a biostar board.

If your into gaming and overclocking you want an asus republic of games board or a good gigabyte board.


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## Gairovald (Sep 6, 2010)

what do you think of the mobo I linked above then? 
Newegg.ca - GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3P LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

I already said its a good board.


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## Gairovald (Sep 6, 2010)

Alright then I think I will go with that gigabyte board. What about the gpu? should I just stick with Newegg.ca - SAPPHIRE 100312-3SR Radeon HD 6950 Dirt3 Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

if you want. Just make sure you get a good psu to handle it.


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## Gairovald (Sep 6, 2010)

Newegg.ca - XFX Core Edition PRO750W (P1-750S-NLB9) 750W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

that is a great psu.


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## Gairovald (Sep 6, 2010)

might pick this one instead Newegg.ca - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply

but anyways thanks for all your help!


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

that is also a great psu they are both made by seasonic and any psu made by them means your getting the best.


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## hhnq04 (Mar 19, 2008)

Better board choice, great PSU / GPU choices.


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