Best mobo for 3570k

MiskyBoyy

Hello guys,

Going about building my first ever pc. Going to use it mainly for gaming & use it as my main pc when not using my laptop.

I have been researching for the past 2 weeks and have a pretty good idea of what components and what not I'm going to get.

My question to you is, seeing as the i5 3570k is the same price as 2500k on Amazon right now, what would be one of the best motherboards to get for it.

I was looking at the Asus Maximus V Gene Motherboard @ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-Motherboard-PCI-Express-CrossFireX-Intelligent/dp/B007KZQEGM/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1361310768&sr=1-1
which is currently going for about €160 including delivery.

Or for the definitely cheaper price would the Asrock Z77 Extreme4 be just as good?:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Z77-Extreme4-Motherboard-Supports-CrossFireX/dp/B007KTY4A6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361312391&sr=8-1


If there is a better one or a similar one that might be even cheaper that would be great. All help & suggestions are appreciated, thanks.

Serephucus

The ASRock, definitely. The Gene isn't worth it unless you really want an mATX board that has absolutely everything. The ASRock is a solid board, and a great overclocker.

MiskyBoyy

Serephucus wrote: »

The ASRock, definitely. The Gene isn't worth it unless you really want an mATX board that has absolutely everything. The ASRock is a solid board, and a great overclocker.

Wow I didn't even notice it was mATX. Thanks for pointing that out. Yeah the ASRock is looking like the definite choice after more research.

Which 1,600mhz ram would you think would be best for this mobo/cpu cross for gaming?

dwighet

DaLad wrote: »

Wow I didn't even notice it was mATX. Thanks for pointing that out. Yeah the ASRock is looking like the definite choice after more research.

Which 1,600mhz ram would you think would be best for this mobo/cpu cross for gaming?

corsair vengance low profile would be my recommendation..

Serephucus

That's what I went with, but it was purely a colour thing. Any 1600MHz RAM would be fine. Ivy Bridge processors benefit a little from faster RAM, but I wouldn't bother spending the extra on anything faster. It's very bad value unless you're doing some serious benching or something. 1600 is the sweet spot.

BloodBath

The Asrock Z77 pro4 is cheaper and has most of the features of the extreme -sli capabilities.

It's a great board if you aren't going sli down the line. It has crossfire though.

MiskyBoyy

BloodBath wrote: »

The Asrock Z77 pro4 is cheaper and has most of the features of the extreme -sli capabilities.

It's a great board if you aren't going sli down the line. It has crossfire though.

I was also looking at this especially for the cheaper price but if I'm wanting to get as much overclocking for my money without going to any extreme watercooling for the moment, wouldn't it be the safer/better option to go with the extreme board?

MiskyBoyy

dwighet wrote: »

corsair vengance low profile would be my recommendation..

Yeah I like the look of these and it's what I was looking at. Can someone tell me if there's any advantages as to getting 2 x 4gb or would 1 x 8gb give the same effect?

Serephucus

The Extreme4 is an excellent overclocker. I'm at 4.6GHz at the moment on a 3570K, and that's because of thermal limits. If you're on air you won't notice a difference. It'll most come down to how good of a chip you get, and what sort of voltage it needs. The motherboard would be the last thing I'd worry about for Ivy. I'd look at the chip and cooling first.

BloodBath

I think dual channel performs about 10% better than single. I'd go with the dual. It's unlikely you will need more than 16gb in the next 5 years. By that time you will need a full upgrade anyway.

I'm running at 4.5 on the pro 4. I can run at 4.6 but it's a little hotter than I like. I'm sure the extreme is capable of more but you won't run into those limit's on air or possibly even water.

MiskyBoyy

Thanks for your replies, appreciate any help.

Also, for the 'best bang for my buck' I've heard the 'Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO' is a decent CPU cooler to replace the stock cooler.

Would ye recommend this?

Serephucus

BloodBath will certainly recommend it (honorary CM employee, right there. :P). It's certainly leagues above the stock cooler, though I'd be more inclined to go for a watercooler for noise reasons. If you're thinking of going water anyway at some point, then it's certainly an excellent air solution.

BloodBath

Haha I am a fan

It's a great cooler for the money. I have 1 myself. Maxing at 60c load at 4.5ghz.

It's relatively quiet as well.

MiskyBoyy

Have you guys any idea where I can get the Xigmatek Asgard 382 with the orange bits on front like this from:


That's the exact case I want and nowhere has it in orange and only one place seems to have it in any colour, techdirect.ie, not even scan or hardwareversand have it.