Looking for recommendations on a MoBo/CPU

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OG_DeX

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Im thinking i can get a good price on an i7 2600k in a few months when ivybridge comes out but im having a hard time getting figuring out what board to get. I've sort of narrowed down to at least Asus and MSI but they offer very similar products.

I want to be able to add later , so features im looking for are USB 3.0 , PCIe 3.0 , at least SLI capable , UEFI would be nice but not a must. Can anybody recommend and ATX board for under $300 with these features? I've seen plenty for sale , i'd like a recommendation from somebody with actual experience with it

Thanks
 
Yeah its kind of a toss-up between Asus and MSI, both make great hardware.

If it were me with a <$300 budget it'd come down to the MSI Z68A-GD80 (G3) and Asus P8Z68-V Pro/Gen3.
Both have all the features you're looking for; USB 3.0, PCIe 3.0, 8x/8x SLi, UEFI BIOS.

Considering they have almost the exact same features, I'd go with the MSI and save $15 with the rebate.
 
Im liking that MSI board too , its actually the one i was looking at from them. Im seeing boards z67 and 68 , whats the difference? Both are LGA 1155 but i cant find any info on the difference when i google it

@mindovermaster , i was looking at the 2500k also and im not clear (other than cache) what the difference would be from i5 -i7. The price isnt that big a difference for me but i dont want to just throw money away either. What i want most is to not be looking for a new mobo/cpu in a couple years or regretting what i bought. If i could get a solid 5 yrs id be happy

BTW i only use my pc to play games on the weekends
 
the only difference between a 2500k and 2600k is the 2600k has more cache and hyper threading which gives you 8 virtual cores over 4 cores of the 2500k. It's helpful if you're using programs that can use all those cores, but otherwise it's bragging rights only. The z68 boards allegedly allow for SSD caching which would allow for faster SSD speeds I suppose. If there's a price difference I don't think it's worth it unless you have a SSD. I have a MSI gd65-p67 (and i've had MSI boards in the past) and I really dig them. It's lacking some features in the bios for overclocking and the layout isn't great but in terms of compatibility and how it's held up I would definitely recommend a MSI board.
 
I'm not sure how many P67 boards are Gen3, which is what is going to give you the PCIe 3.0 you're looking for.

Peter.Cort said:
The z68 boards allegedly allow for SSD caching which would allow for faster SSD speeds I suppose.
Increases hard drive speed by caching frequently accessed programs on the SSD, seems like a waste to me.
Z68 also has on-board graphics, if you're into that sort of thing.
 
Thanks guys , you've been a great help! Im gonna get the MSI board and hope i dont mess it up , i got this HAF 932 case and there are wires off the front panel i cant find where to put lol im kinda new to this
 
I don't know 100% if it's included in that board, but my MSI board had a nice little front panel adapter that had each connection labeled and it was better labeled in the manual and so you could put all the panel connections into that where you can see everything and then plug it into the motherboard. Otherwise the manual will list everything and there should be labels on the connectors from the pc and on the board.
 
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