Best motherboard for gamer who doesn't overclock?

[AndarielHalo]

So I basically want a new motherboard and CPU. I've settled pretty much on this CPU:

Amazon.com: Intel Core i7 2600K Processor 3.4 Ghz 4 Core LGA 1155 - BX80623I72600K: Electronics


But that expense starts to limit me with regards to motherboard. I essentially want the best possible stuff I can get but I would never dare overclock my stuff.

I've looked at the ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z as supposedly being the best motherboard out there... for overclockers.


It being so highly rated all around draws me to it, but also hear very great things about various other ASUS types, like ASUS p8Z68 which are basically just as good as the Maximus IV Gene-Z, but without overclocking or some additional features I won't use.


So being that I basically want a computer twice as fast as my ass, what would be a good personalized recommendation for me with regards to motherboards?





For added information: I have a Corsair 620W PSU,
an AMD Radeon HD 6850 video card,
and currently have
Pegatron Corporation Violet 3.02 motherboard
AMD Athlon II x4 620 processor 2.60 GHz


And as an added question with regards to any motherboard suggested, do they (or the ones I posted here) come with a Windows 7 operating system OEM?

 

[kegobeer]

If you aren't overclocking, then just look for a stable motherboard that has great reviews and that is compatible with your CPU. I would buy RAM based on the tested/approved list provided by the motherboard manufacturer to ensure compatibility.

Motherboards do not come with operating systems. Sometimes you can find a bundle on sites like newegg, tigerdirect, etc.

 

[AndarielHalo]

I plan on getting this RAM for any I get, even though I hear around that it's colossal overkill

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Venge...=UTF8&coliid=I5YSHEE2W0T7W&colid=3RYLMY88V8PT



Question related to your suggestion: How much does a motherboard really matter with regards to computer speed?

And not just pure speed, but basically like, handling a bunch of crap, like being able to be left on 10 hours a day, running a video game and 3 IE windows and an MP3 and a youtube video all running at once on one monitor at all times for 4 years solidly?

 

[kegobeer]

Again, I highly recommend buying RAM based on the motherboard's tested RAM list. Just because it's cool looking/tested fast/etc, doesn't mean that the manufacturer hasn't identified compatibility issues with it. I've seen numerous stability issues when using RAM that hasn't been tested and approved. Just my 2 cents.

Overall speed has little to do with the motherboard, unless you are overclocking - and only because the motherboard provides tools to enable overclocking. Personally, I look for a well constructed motherboard that uses solid capacitors and that has been tested by multiple reviewers, with plenty of feedback given by the reviewers and actual owners. Barring manufacturing defects, any motherboard will last many years in a powered 24/7 capacity.

 

[AndarielHalo]

Could you recommend to me a specific brand or type I should look into, preferably under 150$?

 

[Layback Bear]

For a rock solid I'm not going to overclock and your cpu choice I would recommend investigating Intel motherboards and use the ram Intel has tested and recommended.

 

[gazz9496]

intel dp67bg, have one myself with my i7.

Amazon.com: Boxed Intel Desktop Board Extreme Series ATX Form Factor for Second Generation Intel Core Family Processors BOXDP67BGB3: Electronics

i'm just curious but is there a reason your not buying the new i7 ivybridge? aside from an i7 being utter overkill i might add, basicly mine snifs at me for just about everything and barely twitches when i play games.

i run the corsair vengence ram with no issues.

 

[kegobeer]

I prefer Intel boards for stability. When I venture away from Intel I always research before I buy, so I don't have any particular brands I can recommend (other than Intel).

 

[AndarielHalo]

The reason I'm not buying the new i7 ivybridge is because I don't know what the hell that is.

I did some basic research on the lettering system for boards, and came to the conclusion that "Z" is better than "H" and "P", but unsure if this only benefits overclockers and such.

 

[Kipper]

The P8Z68 mainstream boards will OC just as well as the Maximus IV Gene.

The thing you need to consider is the PCIe 3.0 capabilities. If you are buying a GPU which is 3.0 then you might as well get a MB that supports it. That's not really a big deal either since you will not OC the processor or the card and you will not notice any difference between the old school PCIe 2.0 anyways.

Now, the Maximus IV or the new V Gene boards will both support the 2600K so if you like the red and black theme go with one of them. The Digi+, capacitors, on the ROG (republic of gamer) boards are very high-end and will deliver a much cleaner supply of power to your components which will prolong their lifespan.

Back to the P8Z68 boards, the best of the bunch is the Deluxe which will run you about 50 bucks more than the ROG Gene boards but you will find the entire line of Z68 boards from ASUS to be quite capable.

Also, more than 8GB of memory is an overkill for gaming. Pick up a 1600MHz 8Gig kit from G-Skill and save the difference towards a nice gaming GPU.

 

[Zepher]

Get the board I have in system specs

 

[Kipper]

Get the board I have in system specs

Here in the US the board you are using is getting difficult to find anymore; I agree it was and is a dam nice board as long as it is a revision 3.

 

[Zepher]

Get the board I have in system specs

Here in the US the board you are using is getting difficult to find anymore; I agree it was and is a dam nice board as long as it is a revision 3.

Yep, just checked and they are scarce.

I'd get a Z77 board.
Newegg.com - ASUS P8Z77-V LK LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
Heres an example

 

[gazz9496]

can get the delux version of the p8p67 still but other versions seem difficult to find.

ivybridge is the successor to sandybridge, the i7 2600 is sandybridge and the i7 3770 is the ivybridge version.

 

[AndarielHalo]

Would the difference between the 2600k and 3770 (not k) be significant enough to warrant a 30-40$ higher price?


Also, I've passed over this motherboard over and over

Amazon.com: ASUS P8Z68-V LX Intel Motherboard LGA 1155 Z68 SATA 6 Gb/s and USB 3.0 ATX Intel Z68 ATX DDR3 2200: Computers & Accessories

Would this be good for me? I passed on it earlier as it says it has no PCI 3.0 slots, but then realized my Pegatron thingy now doesn't have PCI 3.0 slots, it seems... I tried searching for a comparison of this model with the Gene-Z, with the specific "LX" ending, but no forum threads had comparisons with that one, only with all the other sub-types, like "M" and "PRO" and "V"

 

[Zepher]

Would the difference between the 2600k and 3770 (not k) be significant enough to warrant a 30-40$ higher price?


Also, I've passed over this motherboard over and over

Amazon.com: ASUS P8Z68-V LX Intel Motherboard LGA 1155 Z68 SATA 6 Gb/s and USB 3.0 ATX Intel Z68 ATX DDR3 2200: Computers & Accessories

Would this be good for me? I passed on it earlier as it says it has no PCI 3.0 slots, but then realized my Pegatron thingy now doesn't have PCI 3.0 slots, it seems... I tried searching for a comparison of this model with the Gene-Z, with the specific "LX" ending, but no forum threads had comparisons with that one, only with all the other sub-types, like "M" and "PRO" and "V"

If you want PCIe 3.0, you need to have an Ivy Bridge Processor.

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

 

[Kipper]

I would not recommend an upgrade from the 2600K to the 3770K.

The board you are looking at there from Amazon will take the Ivy bridge processors but you will have to have a Sandy bridge on it to flash the BIOS to the newer 3000 series BIOS to support Ivy Bridge.

With that board I would just get the i5 2500K processor and then put the savings towards a nice GTX550 or GTX560Ti video card; then you will be sitting in the cat-birds seat with a darn nice system without breaking the bank.

 

[Kipper]

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.

 

[AndarielHalo]

My biggest concern isn't so much fast-ass gaming, able to play Battlefield 3 or Skyrim on max settings all day, but more sort of the playing a game in windowed mode while multiple IE windows are up and such. As it stands, my comp was quite good at that (and still is) but the amount of memory that gets used up along with another thread I started months ago involving my video card constantly crashing and recovering, there'd seem to be some hardware problem or inadequacy at fault. I don't so much want a fast graphics machine so much as a fast processing machine

 

[Kipper]

My biggest concern isn't so much fast-ass gaming, able to play Battlefield 3 or Skyrim on max settings all day, but more sort of the playing a game in windowed mode while multiple IE windows are up and such. As it stands, my comp was quite good at that (and still is) but the amount of memory that gets used up along with another thread I started months ago involving my video card constantly crashing and recovering, there'd seem to be some hardware problem or inadequacy at fault. I don't so much want a fast graphics machine so much as a fast processing machine

OK, then go with the suggestions I offered in the above post. The 2500K is a great gaming processor and a 100bucks cheaper than the 2600K and with that you can pick up a new GTX550 card.