I need a good z77 overclocking board.

[grimreaper1014]

Hi guys,

I am looking for a motherboard to pair with a i5 3570k that will provide amazing overclocks. I plan on going with a Swiftech water cooling kit aid with overclocking. I would like to stay in the $150 range for the motherboard. However, I will pay up to $200 if there is a board that provides way better overclocks. How good are the ASRock Extreme 6 and the Gigabyte UDH3? I defiantly want to go with a ATX board. I do not want a micro ATX etc. Also, I would like to have at least dual PCIE slots so I can add a second video card down the road if I need the extra performance.

Thanks,
Rocky

 

[EarthDog]

The board isnt the item holding things back for the most part. That said, Extreme 6 is a great choice, as well as the UDH3. Rocky, just going to have to pick one in that price range as they will all essentially be the same outside of feature sets.

 

[Ajay57]

+1 With the Extreme 6 good solid Motherboard high quality VRM Section will match your i5-3570k really well Rocky. AJ.

1, http://www.microcenter.com/product/395374/Z77_Extreme6_LGA_1155_ATX_Intel_Motherboard

2, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157295

As you can see Rocky no difference between the 2 shops!

3, http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=722124

The 3 post is a review done by a OCF Member please take note of the higher parts on the 6 motherboard!

 

[EarthDog]

And the only reason I am saying the Ex6 is because of his 'amazing overclocks' statement. I would gladly suggest the Ex4 to most members looking to overclock to 4.5Ghz, but it seems this guy is shooting for the stars.

 

[Luis_GT]

The Z77X-UD3H is an excellent overclocker... but ultimately it all comes down to how good your CPU is, I had a 3770K that wouldn't boot @ 4.5Ghz before I got my current one.

 

[Ajay57]

Correct to do Amazing OC's you really need a solid VRM Section that will carry that kind of Voltage and Current to the CPU and the rest of the Board! AJ.

 

[grimreaper1014]

Thanks for the suggestion guys. I think I will go with the Extreme 6 then. So when I read read reviews about people breaking records with boards like the Maximus V Gene etc the board doesn't have much to do with it? It is really that they are overclocking very good chips? So a person could produce the same outcome with a Extreme 6 and a good chip?

 

[Woomack]

Probably on any Z77 board you can make 6GHz+. What counts most is good CPU as most boards are almost the same. Main difference between them is memory overclocking and additional options like VRM frequency.
If you are not going to overclock on LN2 but on more standard air/water then anything cheaper will let you reach ~4.7GHz stable or some more what ( as it was already mentioned ) depends from CPU.

 

[Ajay57]

Are you near a Micro Center, if so sometimes they have great combo deals like i5-3570k + Asrock Extreme 6 could save some money!! AJ.

 

[grimreaper1014]

So I could go with a cheaper board like the ASRock Z77 Extreme3 which also has the dual PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots and still get similar overclocks to the extreme 6? That way I can use the extra money towards something that will matter like GPU?

@ AJ - I don't live real close to one. The closest one to me according to MapQuest is the Northeast Ohio/Mayfield Heights store. It is approx 1 hour 40 mins / 86.26 miles. I don't know if the savings would be worth it but I'm guessing not. I wish I knew someone that lived close to one that could ship one to me lol. The shipping would be a lot less than gas.

Holly sh*t! You can get a i7 3770k for $229 which is what Newegg charges for the i5 3570k! I think I'm going to go with an i7 3770k just to make it worth it lol. Maybe I can find some other savings there to make the trip even more worth it.

 

[Ajay57]

Please don't go for the 3 the VRM Section is not as good as the 6 and you could have lots of problems OCing that??? Just bear this in mind cheaper prices means they have to cut corners with the motherboard parts!! That's why me and EarthDog said the Extreme 6 was for you OK. AJ.

 

[EarthDog]

Agree. I wouldnt go for the 3 for overclocking, when the 4/6 is available... especially the 6 with your goals. Assuming you are talking like 4.8GHz+. The 4 would be fine around 4.5GHz however.

Woot! An ohioan?

 

[grimreaper1014]

Ok then I will stick with the E6. Microcenter doesn't have a combo deal on the E6 and a i5 3570k or a i7 3770k hmm. Anyone know of any other deals they have that could make a trip for me worth it?

Lol @ Earthdog. Sorta I live right on the boarder of Pa and Ohio =)

 

[Soljaa]

I would recommend any of the MSI Z77 Boards http://uk.msi.com/product/mb/#/?sk=Socket 1155 (Intel i3/i5/i7). I have mine for nearly a year now with no problems and also Using my 4.5GHz overclock since I bought the mobo. also to mention i reached 5GHz with 1.360 volts didnt want to push it any further because of the temps, i was trying it in summer time.

 

[SeanOMatic]

I am quite fond of my MSI Z77A-GD55. They are pretty inexpensive ($130) and have a very nice layout with solid BIOS and OC features.

 

[Knufire]

The 8+3 section on the Extreme3 is nearly the same as 8+4 section on the Extreme4....

That being said, Microcenter doesn't carry the Extreme3, so definitely go for the Extreme4 to get the combo deal.

 

[grimreaper1014]

Thanks but they told me to go with the ASRock Ex6 because of the better VRM. Which will help me achieve higher overclocks. However, MC doesn't have it like you said. They do have the Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H. In there catalog it says it is $109.99 when purchased with a i5 3570k. However, when I add them to the cart it is only dropping to like $144.99. I am contacting them now. It is suppose to be similar to the Ex6 so I'm going I'm doing live chat now to see if they can fix the price.

 

[EarthDog]

If the 3 is the same as the 4 like Knu said (for some reason I thought different), you can still be fine with the four. But for $10 more, the 6 is more robust and you dont seem like you want to settle on 4.5Ghz...Im sure the ex4 will work fine, but its a $10 difference and you are shooting for the stars it seems so.....

 

[grimreaper1014]

Blah well that ain't going to work either. They are out of the UDH3's at the store I need.

 

[Ajay57]

OP the way i see this is some times people get too much information and is blinded by all the EYE Candy! What myself and ED is trying our best to point out to you for 10 Bucks more you will have a great motherboard that will do anything you want to do. Overclocking everything etc, but what happens sometimes members buy a cheaper motherboard to save money and it turns out not to be able to do everything they want!
That said its always your choice your the guy the OP and this is your thread you have to make a decision and choose what you want? AJ.