# Wondering what Motherboard to Choose (LGA 1155)



## Huddo93 (Nov 12, 2011)

Hi All,

I have decided to finally upgrade from my X38 board and CPU to the Z68/P67 board with a 2500k.

I have not been able to get a solid decision on a motherboard as I am a little confused by the marketing of some of the new boards from ASUS/asRock/MSI.

Basically I'm confused by all the PCI 3.0 jargon, (is it really PCI 3.0?) or is it just a gimmick? 

ALSO

Are all the LGA 1155 socket boards compatible with Ivy Bridge when its released (Or is it just Z68 or only the PCI 3.0 motherboards)?

So in essence once I know if PCI 3.0 support is worth while (I am looking to keep this mother board for 3 years) and if it is possible to upgrade on any LGA 1155 board to Ivy Bridge. Then I might finally get a solution 

These are a few boards I was looking at (Keep in mind I am in Australia)

Asus Z68 Deluxe Gen 3
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?
main_page=product_info&cPath=138_711_1183&products_id=18610

Asus Z68 Deluxe (NOT Gen 3)
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_711_1183&products_id=17497

asRock Z68 Extreme 7 Gen3
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_711_1183&products_id=18136

If there are any other good premium motherboards out there please let me know  I couldnt be bothered listing all of them! 

Basically I'm looking at premium products ($250-$400 AUD) but I'm trying to figure out if the PCI 3.0 branding is really worth the price jump? + Ivy Bridge support 

Thanks to Anyone who can help clear things up for me  plus if any of you have had experience with any of these boards please give any positive or negative feedback 

THANKS!


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## N-Gen (Nov 12, 2011)

AFAIK 1155 socket motherboards with UEFI bios will be compatible with Ivy Bridge. As of yet there are no GPUs using PCI-E 3.0, but they will in the future.


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## Huddo93 (Nov 12, 2011)

So the PCI 3.0 isnt a gimmick?


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## entropy13 (Nov 12, 2011)

Huddo93 said:


> So the PCI 3.0 isnt a gimmick?



It isn't, but it's still for the next-gen cards (i.e. next year).


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## smoothshooter (Nov 12, 2011)

asus p67 sabertooth.


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## Sinzia (Nov 12, 2011)

I have the P8Z68 Deluxe, and a P8P67 Deluxe, I wouldn't trade them in for another motherboard.

The PCI 3.0 is future proofing, from what I've read, none of the new cards coming out will use it, so its truly "next gen" stuff.


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## Chewers (Nov 12, 2011)

Loads of good boards are available. Such as Msi p67a-gd55 / p67a-gd65, Asus p8p67 pro, Asrock z68 extreme3 Gen3 / extreme4 Gen3. It's all just about brends, not so much about performance. If i would go for new M/B now, i would choose Asrock extreme4 Gen3 for one good reason called Xfast lan technology (similar to Killer2100 from bigfoot). Overall pci-ex 2.0 interface will be okey for couple years, coz its compatible to deliver 5Gbps.


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## Huddo93 (Nov 12, 2011)

Sinzia said:


> I have the P8Z68 Deluxe, and a P8P67 Deluxe, I wouldn't trade them in for another motherboard.
> 
> The PCI 3.0 is future proofing, from what I've read, none of the new cards coming out will use it, so its truly "next gen" stuff.



So considering I wish to keep this board for 3 years the PCI 3.0 is definitly something to invest in?


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## entropy13 (Nov 12, 2011)

"Gen3/G3" boards:
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_711_1183&products_id=18480

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_711_1183&products_id=18385

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_711_1183&products_id=18612

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_711_1183&products_id=18613


Although at that price the Z68A-GD65 is a GREAT choice.


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## Huddo93 (Nov 12, 2011)

Thanks for all your input guys.

The only thing I'm still unsure about is the Ivy Bridge compatibility? 

Will the 22nm chips work on any 1155 board?


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## Chewers (Nov 12, 2011)

yes they will, except some SB-E (Extreme series) will need LGA2011 socket. Otherwise all of Ivy bridge CPUs will be compatible with Cougar Point chipset (p67/z68 ect).


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## Huddo93 (Nov 12, 2011)

Aight thanks Chewers


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## JohnEric (Nov 12, 2011)

Can`t decide what Mother Board to buy?
If you ask me ?
That depends on the type of application you want it to use.

Try this site:
http://www.techyv.com/search/node/Motherboard


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## Achilles1600 (Nov 13, 2011)

Sorry, may i ask if the ivy brige cpu'z will work in my evga Z68 sli micro.?


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## Achilles1600 (Nov 13, 2011)

what about this mobo. 

ASUS MAXIMUS IV EXTREME (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P...


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## John Doe (Nov 13, 2011)

OP, no need for Sandy. The X38-DS4 is a solid mobo and the Q9650 is still a relavent chip that beats Phenom's clock-per-clock.

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/charts/index.php?pid=60,69,76&tid=3

I'd just OC and get a faster GPU. A faster GPU will suppress a faster CPU.


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## Huddo93 (Nov 13, 2011)

John Doe said:


> OP, no need for Sandy. The X38-DS4 is a solid mobo and the Q9650 is still a relavent chip that beats Phenom's clock-per-clock.
> 
> http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/charts/index.php?pid=60,69,76&tid=3
> 
> I'd just OC and get a faster GPU. A faster GPU will suppress a faster CPU.



Yeah, I am running my Q9650 at 3.6GHz currently, can probably push it higher.

The main reason I'm going for a upgrade is my second rig died and basically am going to transfer my current hardware into my second rig, and build a new rig from sandy bridge. So was looking for a decent upgrade in terms of Mobo, CPU and RAM.

Plus I'm picking up a mates old GTX 275 (he upgraded to a GTX 580) free, so having a second PCI 2.0 slot (which is only present for Crossfire on the DS4) for it would be nice so I can pick up a little bit of extra GPU performance while I wait for the next gen of GPU's from nVidia and AMD to be released.


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## John Doe (Nov 13, 2011)

You can try the Hyper SLi patch. Though, yeah, I see. Personally, I'd shoot for either the Extreme7 or this one, both of which are, IMO, the two best SB choices.

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_711_1183&products_id=17081

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/01/05/asus_p8p67_ws_revolution_motherboard_review/7

The WS Revo has an Intel NIC along with a better slot config, while the Extreme7 is more feature packed.


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## Huddo93 (Nov 13, 2011)

Achilles1600 said:


> what about this mobo.
> 
> ASUS MAXIMUS IV EXTREME (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P...



I gave it a thought, but I couldn't find a reason to justify the price compared to something like a ASrock Extreme 7 Gen 3 which is more feature packed.


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## Chewers (Nov 13, 2011)

Achilles1600 said:


> Sorry, may i ask if the ivy brige cpu'z will work in my evga Z68 sli micro.?




Yes as already noticed higher - it will work fine with all Ivy Bridge Cpu's except some Extreme series Sandy Bridge-E (22nm)


Achilles1600 said:


> what about this mobo.
> 
> ASUS MAXIMUS IV EXTREME (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P...



Im sure for 99% it's pointless to pay such a money for this motherboards coz even P8p67 pro does have same OC and expansion compatibility and it costs for >100$ less..


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## juliannecooper (Mar 7, 2012)

If you can't decide which motherboard to buy yet, why don't you check out http://www.techyv.com/search/node/motherboards I actually understand how hard it is to look for a good one, but I agree with JohnEric, depends what Apps you will use it for.


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## Huddo93 (Mar 15, 2012)

juliannecooper said:


> If you can't decide which motherboard to buy yet, why don't you check out http://www.techyv.com/search/node/motherboards I actually understand how hard it is to look for a good one, but I agree with JohnEric, depends what Apps you will use it for.



Will do in the future, I did end upgrading to a AsRock Z68 Extreme7 Gen.3 and its been amazing, great value for such a feature packed board and I haven't run into any troubles yet. Thanks for the help


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## Moatsim (Mar 26, 2012)

asrock really coming in with great motherboard lineup.. buy something like fatality edition


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