CPU/Mobo What to look for in a mobo?

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Orija

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So, I've decided to get the 2500k and am looking for a suitable, budget P67/Z68 motherboard. There are some options but I don't know on what criteria I should base my decision on.

This are the mobos that I have locked in on:



Intel DZ68DB



ASUS P8P67-M



Gigabyte P67A-UD3R-B3



Gigabyte Z68X-UD3R-B3



Gigabyte Z68X-UD4-B3



Gigabyte P67A-UD4-B3

Asus P8P67



Asus P8Z68-V

Which amongst them would be the better choice?

A dumb query, do all mobos have integrated audio or are discrete sound cards needed for some? What the ones I posted?

These are the rest of the parts I'll be getting.

HDD Seagate 1TB

psu corsair 650 txv2

ram 2x2gb drr3 ripjaws/vengeance

gpu msi 6950 twin frozr III power/oc edition

cpu 2500k

monitor dell u2311h
 
First decide whether you require a P67/Z68 mobo. P67 offers similar connectivity and over clocking ability at lower cost than z68.

Look primarily for connectivity i.e how many Sata/USB ports will you require. If you are overclocking, get a board with Digi VRM for nice stable overclock.

All latest mobos have integrated sound and many of the recent sandy bridge mobos even offer you an optical output for excellent sound quality. Post your budget so that best options for that budget can be suggested.
 
Right, my budget is below 11k, I can push it to 13k for something exceptional.

I'll be overclocking only the cpu, that too not more than 0.5/0.6GHz. Maximum ram I'll use would be 8GB and won't be needing any extra SATA ports, gpu ports or a humongous amount of USB ports. Hmm, other than that, good integrated sound be good because I don't plan on getting a discrete sound card. Also, I'd prefer something solid that doesn't bust because of power outtages.

About the sound, I went to a pc dealer yesterday who told me that P67 mobos come without integrated audio and video and so I'd need to get a discrete gpu as well as an audio card.
 
Orija said:
Right, my budget is below 11k, I can push it to 13k for something exceptional.

I'll be overclocking only the cpu, that too not more than 0.5/0.6GHz. Maximum ram I'll use would be 8GB and won't be needing any extra SATA ports, gpu ports or a humongous amount of USB ports. Hmm, other than that, good integrated sound be good because I don't plan on getting a discrete sound card. Also, I'd prefer something solid that doesn't bust because of power outtages.

About the sound, I went to a pc dealer yesterday who told me that P67 mobos come without integrated audio and video and so I'd need to get a discrete gpu as well as an audio card.
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Since you won't be needing a lot of SATA ports, USB ports and no plans of crossfire/SLI in the future, you can save money and go for the Asus P8P67 for 10.5k.
The Asus P8P67 Pro costs 11.4k and P8Z68-V costs 11.8k (Prices taken from Prime ABGB's website). Unless you have plans to utilize Quicksync or SSD caching in Z68, there's no need to spend for a Z68 motherboard. The P8P67 Pro has a couple of eSATA ports at the back which the P8P67 does not. Also, the Pro version supports dual GPU in 8x while the non Pro version supports 1 GPU in 16x and the other in 4x. But I suppose that doesn't matter to you since you mentioned you don't need multi GPU support.

All these 3 motherboards have the Realtek ALC 892 onboard sound controllers. The ALC 892 are the best onboard sound you can get. For better sound, you will need a good sound card, which does have quite a difference if you have a good setup. ;)

What your dealer told you was partly incorrect. Although all P67 motherboards don't have integrated graphic support, they do come with integrated audio. The Z68 have both graphics and audio integrated.
 
The Z68 have both graphics and audio integrated.
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incorrect... the Z68 chipset has support for ondie IGP of SB CPUs... The Z68 chipset neither have IGP nor Audio Controller integrated...
 
Technically yes. What I meant was they have support for graphics without the need of a discrete GPU. Also though the chipset itself doesn't have an audio controller, but all manufacturers include an audio controller on the motherboard.
 
If you need overclocking, you are limited to mobo's with P67 and Z68.

If you plan to use the onboard IGP of your CPU, especially for quick sync, go with Z68. else P67 chipset is enough for your needs.

Plus to use both IGP and GPU, your mobo should support Virtu. (check supported mobos below).

Also, if you are planning to use a SSD to speed up your system using SSD caching, you will need Z68+Intel SSD(pref.)

All mobo's come with onboard sound, the expensive ones come with a separate PCIe-1X sound card too.

Also AFAIK, Gigabyte boards are good enough for your requirements.

Supported list of mobo from Virtu release notes (http://www.lucidlogix.com/download/Virtu Release notes 1-2-106 Aug 9 2011.pdf).

MOTHERBOARDS
ASUS P8H67-M
ASUS P8H67-M Pro
ASUS P8Z68-V Pro
GIGABYTE H67M-D2
GIGABYTE H67M-D2H
GIGABYTE H67M-UD2H
GIGABYTE H67A-UD3
GIGABYTE H67A-UD3H
GIGABYTE Z68-UD3H
MSI H67MA-ED55
MSI H67MA-ED65
MSI Z68A-GD80
MSI Z68MA-ED55
INTEL DH67BL
INTEL DH67CL
 
I don't really require the features that z68 (ssd caching would've been nice if it wasn't restricted to intel's ssds) offers. I'll take whichever board is better, p67 or z68 doesn't matter.
 
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