Best motherboard for gamer who doesn't overclock?

Kipper · 09 Jul 2012

[QUOTE=Zepher;1997552]

Kipper said:

Personally, if I was just building a gaming machine,
I'd get a 3570K, Z77 Mobo, HD7950, 8GB of ram.[/QUOTE said:

Yes, that would be a really nice gaming machine but it looks like the OP is trying to keep the price down the best way possible and still have a decent gamer.

The processor is $10 more than a 2500k. Z77 boards are similarly priced to the others.
The video card is the most expensive part, which is up to the op to choose from.

The OP said she was looking at the 2600K and that my friend is a 100 bucks more than the 2500K. I can understand why there is some confusion in the thread now with so many recommendations flying around. LOL

smarteyeball · 09 Jul 2012

Kipper said:

Wooops, sorry smarty

I meant the P8Z77 Deluxe, that's what I just received from ASUS and finished setting except for the new cards.

I figured that might have been the one - all these different chipsets are enough to make your head spin after a while

But you are so right on about the P8Z68 Deluxe Gen 3; one hell of a performer for sure.

It's been a stellar board for me that's for sure. It'd be interesting to see what the Z77 version brings to the table by comparison.

To Andarie

If you go with the 3770K then I suggest you go with the Z77 board; several worthwhile goodies that come with the Z77 chipset.

+ 1

Zepher · 09 Jul 2012

Kipper said:

Zepher said:

Kipper said:

Yes, that would be a really nice gaming machine but it looks like the OP is trying to keep the price down the best way possible and still have a decent gamer.

The processor is $10 more than a 2500k. Z77 boards are similarly priced to the others.
The video card is the most expensive part, which is up to the op to choose from.

The OP said she was looking at the 2600K and that my friend is a 100 bucks more than the 2500K. I can understand why there is some confusion in the thread now with so many recommendations flying around. LOL

Seems the 2600k is down to $290 at newegg, so it's only $70 more than the 2500k.
Prices are so close, I'd go with the 2600k.
The non-k 2600 costs more for some reason.

AndarielHalo · 09 Jul 2012

I already have a AMD Radeon HD 6850. It's been fast running and smooth and great, though as I posted in another thread, it kept doing the "Display driver has stopped responding and has recovered" minor nuisance. Given that I sent the first one back and the second one did the same, it's obviously a problem with my other hardware, incompatibility with my Peggy-tron or poor amateur installation without having first removed all Nvidia elements first.

Still, I'm wary towards AMD products despite this largely being my own problem. As such, I'd prefer a motherboard that supports NVIDIA as well as AMD video cards.

Unless the driver does the same thing on my new motherboard, cpu, and ram, I won't bother upgrading that yet, so I can afford to splurge on the CPU, so long as it's not a pointless affectation like 3% increase in speed for an extra $50.

Also, something about a board running like a scalded rat made me hesitate. Surely scalded rats don't run very well... if they're scalded enough, they might be fully dead. You meant it as a good thing?

The P8Z77 deluxes I see on Amazon are all quite expensive, more than $100 more than the regular V and LX ones, and more than the Maximus IV Gene-Z

Layback Bear · 09 Jul 2012

Are we still on the same thoughts. The OP stipulated (No Overclocking). Boards and chip that are great overclocker in my thought was not needed or to be considered. Functionality and reliability of a motherboard for chosen Intel chip to my understanding is what was requested by AndarielHalo.

AndarielHalo · 09 Jul 2012

I think for motherboard I'm down to settling on one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/ASRock-DDR3-24...I3OJ2290SNRMSW

Amazon.com: ASUS P8Z77-V LX Intel Z77 ATX DDR3 2400 LGA 1155 Motherboard: Computers & Accessories

Which would be best?