I'm not gifted with a lot of system building experience, but am in the process of building one for home theater and transcoding functions. I have purchased an Intel Core i7 2600k, and I prefer the Z68 chipset.
I purchased the Gigabyte micro-atx GA-Z68MX-UD2H-B3 Rev. 1.0 motherboard at a local store, and after trying 3 different enclosures, finally put everything together using a Corsair Obsidian 650D case. I installed Windows 7 Pro x64, and all seemed okay at first. The first hint of badness was when wired network functions (using the integrated NIC) were flaky; my attempts to download any relatively large files would freeze consistently. I found that I also couldn't even transfer large fires from a NAS box on my local LAN. Then, as I continued using the system in its limited state for a couple of days, other things began to degrade (blue screens, sudden system resets, etc.) Now, it won't even boot any longer - I tried booting from the Win7 disk, and running recovery, but that also failed.
I could get ABSOLUTELY NO support from Gigabyte, and before the system disintegrated, I was unable to use their Download Center (driver scan/adviser) utility with either IE8 or Firefox browsers - again, no support from Gigabyte. I'm now dead in the water, and completely on my own
So I'm shopping for a replacement motherboard. Since I ended up with a much larger case than originally planned, I can accommodate a full ATX motherboard. The two I'm considering are relatively new boards from ASUS (P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3) and Intel (BOXDZ68BC), both LGA 1155 / Z68.
I may choose to purchase a discrete high-end graphics card in the near future, but my needs are focused more on using it to accelerate video transcoding, and producing good HDMI graphics than on gaming.
My main concerns are: 1) Board quality / reliability / flexibility, 2) Ability to easily get driver / BIOS updates as they become available, and 3) Good tech support when needed.
I would greatly appreciate advice from any savvy system builder(s) who have enough experience with ASUS and Intel products to offer a recommendation to help me decide. Any recommendation for a different motherboard model would also be welcome (as long as it is NOT Gigabyte!)
Big thanks in advance, for any help!
Sincerely,
Bruce Reid
I purchased the Gigabyte micro-atx GA-Z68MX-UD2H-B3 Rev. 1.0 motherboard at a local store, and after trying 3 different enclosures, finally put everything together using a Corsair Obsidian 650D case. I installed Windows 7 Pro x64, and all seemed okay at first. The first hint of badness was when wired network functions (using the integrated NIC) were flaky; my attempts to download any relatively large files would freeze consistently. I found that I also couldn't even transfer large fires from a NAS box on my local LAN. Then, as I continued using the system in its limited state for a couple of days, other things began to degrade (blue screens, sudden system resets, etc.) Now, it won't even boot any longer - I tried booting from the Win7 disk, and running recovery, but that also failed.
I could get ABSOLUTELY NO support from Gigabyte, and before the system disintegrated, I was unable to use their Download Center (driver scan/adviser) utility with either IE8 or Firefox browsers - again, no support from Gigabyte. I'm now dead in the water, and completely on my own
So I'm shopping for a replacement motherboard. Since I ended up with a much larger case than originally planned, I can accommodate a full ATX motherboard. The two I'm considering are relatively new boards from ASUS (P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3) and Intel (BOXDZ68BC), both LGA 1155 / Z68.
I may choose to purchase a discrete high-end graphics card in the near future, but my needs are focused more on using it to accelerate video transcoding, and producing good HDMI graphics than on gaming.
My main concerns are: 1) Board quality / reliability / flexibility, 2) Ability to easily get driver / BIOS updates as they become available, and 3) Good tech support when needed.
I would greatly appreciate advice from any savvy system builder(s) who have enough experience with ASUS and Intel products to offer a recommendation to help me decide. Any recommendation for a different motherboard model would also be welcome (as long as it is NOT Gigabyte!)
Big thanks in advance, for any help!
Sincerely,
Bruce Reid
My Computer
At a glance
Windows 7 Pro x64Intel Core i7 2600kCorsair XMS3 8 GB (2 x 4GB) 1333 MHz PC3-1066...Integrated
- Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
- Custom build
- OS
- Windows 7 Pro x64
- CPU
- Intel Core i7 2600k
- Motherboard
- ASUS P8Z68-V Pro/Gen3
- Memory
- Corsair XMS3 8 GB (2 x 4GB) 1333 MHz PC3-10666 DDR3
- Graphics Card(s)
- Integrated
- Sound Card
- Integrated
- Monitor(s) Displays
- LG Infinia 42" LED / Sharp Aquos 37" LCD
- Hard Drives
- WD Caviar Green 2TB x2 internal
WD MyBook Live 2TB NAS
- PSU
- Cooler Master Extreme Power Plus 600W
- Case
- Corsair Obsidian 650D
- Cooling
- Standard supplied with Intel Core i7
- Internet Speed
- Gigabit LAN, Cox cable modem
