CPU/Mobo Cheap MSI Z68 vs z77, & DDR3 @ 1600Mhz Query

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techie_007

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Thinking about buying this for an upgrade: Newegg.com - MSI Z68A-G43 (G3) LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Will be pretty cheap if I can get someone to carry it over :)

Did some searching around, and it seems there arent many major differences between z68 and z77 boards for me to be worried about. Will be running this with an ivy bridge i3 3320 setup and 1600Mhz DDR3 RAM.

Queries:
1. Anything major I miss by going with z68 instead of z77?
2. The specs for the z68 board says:
DDR3 1066 / 1333 / 1600* / 1866* / 2133*(OC)

Can someone who is using one of these boards explain what the "*(OC)" part means? Will I be able to run my RAM at 1600Mhz without any issues or will it need some fancy settings? :)


 
techie_007 said:
Did some searching around, and it seems there arent many major differences between z68 and z77 boards for me to be worried about. Will be running this with an ivy bridge i3 3320 setup and 1600Mhz DDR3 RAM.

Queries:
1. Anything major I miss by going with z68 instead of z77?
2. The specs for the z68 board says:
DDR3 1066 / 1333 / 1600* / 1866* / 2133*(OC)

Can someone who is using one of these boards explain what the "*(OC)" part means? Will I be able to run my RAM at 1600Mhz without any issues or will it need some fancy settings?
Click to expand...


Here are your answers, Sire --
  • Yes, the RAM will clock back to ~1333MHz because the Z68 motherboard does not support the Intel XMP for Ivy-Bridge processors. Nothing apart that but forward USB 3.0 port headers.
  • As I already told you that the motherboard needs XMP enabled in the BIOS and the Z68 (Sandy-Bridge) chipset is not compatible with Ivy-Bridge XM profiles. So RAM speed is stuck at ~1333MHz.
Here is what XMP means --> Intel and Overclocking DDR3 Memory / Intel XMP.

A cheap substitute motherboard for the MSi piece in my mind is this one --> GIGABYTE-B75M-D3H ~4500/- (from flipkart.com).

Hope this helps, Cheerio!
 
ALPHA17 said:
Here are your answers, Sire --
  • Yes, the RAM will clock back to ~1333MHz because the Z68 motherboard does not support the Intel XMP for Ivy-Bridge processors. Nothing apart that but forward USB 3.0 port headers.
  • As I already told you that the motherboard needs XMP enabled in the BIOS and the Z68 (Sandy-Bridge) chipset is not compatible with Ivy-Bridge XM profiles. So RAM speed is stuck at ~1333MHz.
Here is what XMP means --> Intel and Overclocking DDR3 Memory / Intel XMP.

A cheap substitute motherboard for the MSi piece in my mind is this one --> GIGABYTE-B75M-D3H ~4500/- (from flipkart.com).

Hope this helps, Cheerio!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification.

1. So does this mean that if I were to pick up a Sandy Bridge i3 I would be able to use the RAM at 1600 Mhz? Whats do you think would perform better? A SB i3 @ 1600Mhz RAM or an IB i3 with 1333 Mhz RAM?

2. Have checked out the B75. Looks like a great board, only problem being the SATA III Headers look like they might probably block installation of a long double slot GPU (will be a 7850). Thoughts? Alternately, might go and pick up a z77 from newegg, lots of models available in the $100 range. The MSI z68 is just a lot cheaper, hence the query. :ohyeah:
 
techie_007 said:
Thanks for the clarification.

1. So does this mean that if I were to pick up a Sandy Bridge i3 I would be able to use the RAM at 1600 Mhz? Whats do you think would perform better? A SB i3 @ 1600Mhz RAM or an IB i3 with 1333 Mhz RAM?

2. Have checked out the B75. Looks like a great board, only problem being the SATA III Headers look like they might probably block installation of a long double slot GPU (will be a 7850). Thoughts? Alternately, might go and pick up a z77 from newegg, lots of models available in the $100 range. The MSI z68 is just a lot cheaper, hence the query. :ohyeah:
Click to expand...

If I were you I would get the B75 based GIGABYTE offering plus the Ivy-Bridge processor but if you are a bit tight on options then a Core i3 2120 + Intel DH67-BL should be more than enough for you. The iGP is slightly improved on the Ivy-Bridge offering but that is about it, the TDP is also lesser.

I think @sunny27 has the same motherboard and has installed a HD7850 2GB / GTX660Ti on the board no issues. Tagged him to get inputs on the same. Cheerio!
 
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ALPHA17 said:
If I were you I would get the B75 based GIGABYTE offering plus the Ivy-Bridge processor but if you are a bit tight on options then a Core i3 2120 + Intel DH67-BL should be more than enough for you. The iGP is slightly improved on the Ivy-Bridge offering but that is about it, the TDP is also lesser.

I think sunny27 has the same motherboard and has installed a HD7850 2GB / GTX660Ti on the board no issues. Tagged him to get inputs on the same. Cheerio!
Click to expand...

The Gigabyte seems cheaper and better than the Intel actually :P + On the Intel I will lose the 5th SATA port with the double slot card for sure. :( Was interested in the MSI because of the killer pricing for a full ATX board ;) Looks like the Gigabyte may be the best bet instead with an IB i3 3220. Just need confirmation on the GPU though.

@sunny27 inbox is full, hope he replies here.
 
G43 is entry level good motherboard. But it will remain cheap only if any of your friend gets it for you and brings it to you in coming Christmas holiday. :P
 
^^ Meaning? :P
P.S. I mean to say that G43 isn't availible in India AFAIK, and importing from newegg isn't a good idea as the final price would be ~19K including shipping. So iff any of his friends/relatives carry the board with them, then only the deal would be good, specially price-performence ratio.
 
d6bmg said:
P.S. I mean to say that G43 isn't availible in India AFAIK, and importing from newegg isn't a good idea as the final price would be ~19K including shipping. So iff any of his friends/relatives carry the board with them, then only the deal would be good, specially price-performence ratio.
Click to expand...

OP mentions it explicitly in his post, that is why I was wondering what a great inference you have drawn from the same. Also, to be clear newegg.com does not ship to India, savvy.
techie_007 said:
Will be pretty cheap if I can get someone to carry it over :)
Click to expand...
 
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