Can this system OC?

JaidynM said:

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. :)

I very well may be misunderstanding you here but ..
You do not always need a SSD to take advantage of SSD caching.

It uses a small SSD to speed up a mechanical Hard Drive. Sort of like the Hybrid Hard Drives Seagate has.


But, you do not always need a SSD to take advantage of this.
Some motherboads have small integrated SSDs.
I believe it was a Gigabyte Z68 I seen over at NewEgg that had a 20GB integrated.

From my understanding you can only do it for one drive though.

So you could use it for the main drive only if using a single or multiple mechanical drive.
OR, put the OS on a SSD (since it really wouldnt benefit a SSD) and use the integrated SSD for one of the mechanical drives.


Please correct me if Im wrong here, but this was my understanding of it.


--EDIT Heres one of them I was refering to...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128505

DeaconFrost said:

Based on a recent review of the Z68 chipset in Maximum PC, if you are building a new system now, go with Z68. If you already have a P67 system, like me, then there's little to no reason to spend the money or the time upgrading to Z68. If I was building a new system now, I'd go Z68 without question, as it is a newer chipset than P67.

Your comments suggest there is a problem with it and it should be avoided, which isn't true. There's no reason to skip Z68 now, unless you already have a P67 board.

Fair point. The Z68 is is then.

Wishmaster said:

JaidynM said:

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. :)

I very well may be misunderstanding you here but ..
You do not always need a SSD to take advantage of SSD caching.

It uses a small SSD to speed up a mechanical Hard Drive. Sort of like the Hybrid Hard Drives Seagate has.


But, you do not always need a SSD to take advantage of this.
Some motherboads have small integrated SSDs.
I believe it was a Gigabyte Z68 I seen over at NewEgg that had a 20GB integrated.

From my understanding you can only do it for one drive though.

So you could use it for the main drive only if using a single or multiple mechanical drive.
OR, put the OS on a SSD (since it really wouldnt benefit a SSD) and use the integrated SSD for one of the mechanical drives.


Please correct me if Im wrong here, but this was my understanding of it.


--EDIT Heres one of them I was refering to...
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3-iSSD LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

No, no. You probably are correct. I only found snippets of this information on forums such as Whirlpool. Obviously, I was at a misunderstanding.

If the Z68 is better then, which of the following mobos from PCCG or MSY would be better.
ASUS P8Z68-V Pro
ASUS Maximus IV Gene Z

Take note that the Maximus is mATX.

I would recommend either the P8Z68-V Pro, or this :

MSY Online

Never used an AsRock before so I was hoping to have gone with an ASUS. In your experiences, which brand would be 'better'?

Brand wise, I would stick with ASUS, Gigabyte, although there are other good choices.
Such as maybe even eVGA (though these are higher priced usually) or MSI.

I've never dealt with AsROCK before either, so I can not fairly comment on them.
But have had experience with Biostar, a couple of them.
Now, I wouldnt reccomend a Biostar for a highend system you want to overclock, but for a basic system you want to run at default speeds, they do quite well.
They just do not have very good features for OCing, although they are capable. That is, at least the couple Ive had the experience working with.


Still, ASUS or Gigabyte would be my top 2 recommendations.

DeaconFrost said:

I'm a Gigabyte or Intel guy, but if I had to venture outside those two, it would be Asus, no question.

As for the mATX board, generally you wouldn't have any issues or performance loss, so don't be afraid of them. The only thing you need to really consider is if going to 2 memory slots instead of 4 will impact you down the road with future upgrades. Most people would rather go full ATX so you can keep your current memory and just pop two more sticks of it in later on.

Yes, that's what I was worried about. If I wanted to Quad SLI, could an mATX board fit it? Most likely not. Down the track, I might also do a RAM upgrade. So, I might go with the P8Z68 Pro.

Wishmaster said:

Brand wise, I would stick with ASUS, Gigabyte, although there are other good choices.
Such as maybe even eVGA (though these are higher priced usually) or MSI.

I've never dealt with AsROCK before either, so I can not fairly comment on them.
But have had experience with Biostar, a couple of them.
Now, I wouldnt reccomend a Biostar for a highend system you want to overclock, but for a basic system you want to run at default speeds, they do quite well.
They just do not have very good features for OCing, although they are capable. That is, at least the couple Ive had the experience working with.


Still, ASUS or Gigabyte would be my top 2 recommendations.

ASUS it is then. :)

AsROCK is ASUS' sister company. They make solid stuff too, but for a bit less cash. They simply use slightly cheaper materials, but their high end stuff is still great.

LiquidSnak said:

AsROCK is ASUS' sister company. They make solid stuff too, but for a bit less cash. They simply use slightly cheaper materials, but their high end stuff is still great.

I suppose the P8Z68 would be better then.

Thanks you all; thread solved.