Can this system OC?

I've decided on a new build with a ASUS P8Z68-M Pro ($155), i7-2600k and Corsair AX850. I've never overclocked and plan to do it with this system. Will it be able to? Or should I upgrade to one of the following?

ASUS P8Z68-V-LE ($159)
ASUS P8Z68-V ($198)
ASUS P8Z68-V Pro ($223)

I'd rather not spend much more on the mobo then I already am but if I can't overclock much with it, I might as well. Would I be better off with a Gigabyte mobo as well?

Note that I won't be overclocking much. Just for 20min or so to boost my WEI and to take a couple of screenies. Nothing major.

It look's fine to me Jaidyn, I had a quick look on the web and the board appears to be ok for some overclocking.

It's very easy to overclock the new generation intel's, do a little reading on it and you can't go far wrong with it.

Any reason you want a Matx board? Small case?

Cheers

Paul.

Asus boards O/C pretty well for the most part..however most of the guys I know run Gigabyte boards. It's a personal choice imo..
I've been happy with my Asus board but will probably switch back to gigabyte next build when Intel release the X79? or whatever boards sometime later this year.
I guess it depends on how high you wish to push your O/C tho the 2500/2600 series CPU's seem to be able to hit 5ghz easily on stock cooling/voltages...very CPU dependent as different CPU's will "unlock" differently but 5ghz seems to be pretty standard.
cheers.

The mobo you have picked out is the same model as mine, though with the newer chipset. Should OC just fine as long as you know what you are doing.

~Lordbob

paulpicks21 said:

It look's fine to me Jaidyn, I had a quick look on the web and the board appears to be ok for some overclocking.

It's very easy to overclock the new generation intel's, do a little reading on it and you can't go far wrong with it.

Any reason you want a Matx board? Small case?

Cheers

Paul.

A full tower actually. I just wasn't sure whether to go with the M Pro or the V-LE. Perhaps I should just go for the normal V? The M Pro seems to be the only one that is mATX with the others being the standard size. Though is there any real performance difference between mATX and ATX? I'm not very experienced when it comes to motherboards so any help would be appreciated.

simmo said:

Asus boards O/C pretty well for the most part..however most of the guys I know run Gigabyte boards. It's a personal choice imo..
I've been happy with my Asus board but will probably switch back to gigabyte next build when Intel release the X79? or whatever boards sometime later this year.
I guess it depends on how high you wish to push your O/C tho the 2500/2600 series CPU's seem to be able to hit 5ghz easily on stock cooling/voltages...very CPU dependent as different CPU's will "unlock" differently but 5ghz seems to be pretty standard.
cheers.

I'm just more of an ASUS guy, but as you said, it is a personal opinion.

Lordbob75 said:

The mobo you have picked out is the same model as mine, though with the newer chipset. Should OC just fine as long as you know what you are doing.

~Lordbob

I was going to go with the P67 as the Z68 doesn't have many more features apart from SSD Caching. I don't even use an SSD so it doesn't give me much of a performance boost. Anyway, Australia has a fairly limited supply of computer components so unfortunately, I'll be going with the Z68.

I've been running ASUS for a long time, and decided to branch out on this last board to MSI, since they've been putting out some good product, and the price was right (less than 50 bucks) for the features I wanted.

There is no performance difference, but when things are cramped, cooling suffers for sure.

Fair enough. The full build is here, if you want to see. Seeing as the Z68 seems to be good for nothing, I've decided to chip in a bit more and go for the P67 Sabertooth. I won't be building for a while yet so if the new Intel Chipset comes out soon, I could get that. The X79 perhaps? Thank you all. :)

Why exactly do you think the 68 chipset is good for nothing?

LiquidSnak said:

Why exactly do you think the 68 chipset is good for nothing?

DeaconFrost said:

The Z68 is pretty much the recommended chipset for anyone going Intel right now, unless you already have a P67. The reason behind that is your increase in performance isn't enough to justify the cost.

If my memory serves me correctly, the Z68 has only SSD Caching and something to do with video over the P67. As I don't have an SSD I find it unnecessary to buy a Z68.

If it is better, which of the following motherboards would serve me more efficiently?
ASUS P8Z68-V Pro
ASUS Maximus IV Gene Z
ASUS Sabertooth P67

The Maximus seems to be mATX unfortunately...

Please correct me if I'm wrong; I'm only speaking from what I know. After all, I'm here to learn. :)