5 Asus motherboards, your thoughts? What's the difference between them?

[techiemon]

Other than the price, what is the difference between these five boards? I have compared them via the ASUS website, but two of them are missing some informaiton. I am getting ready to buy a new machine, and I am looking for some suggestions what to get. My main purpose is email, doucments, web, some minor photo stuff. But the biggest issue for me is that I am a RAM hog. I like to have zillions of applications and browsers open all at the same time. I usually have like 500 urls open in opera, it gets exciting for RAM use. I am considering one of the cheaper i5 chips from Intel to go with one of these boards. But one of things I am noticing is that none of these have front side usb ports anymore. I see three of them have front audio, but no usb. I like having the front size usb.

This is the link for the comparisons, but not sure it will work or not from here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...31-792^13-131-792-TS,13-131-729^13-131-729-TS

Here are the 5 boards I am intrested in:

UEFI w/ EZ mode, Lucid Virtu, USB 3.0, ISRT, HDMIASUS P8Z68-V LX ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS


ASUS P8Z68-V LE ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS


UEFI BIOS w/ EZ mode, Lucid Virtu, HDMI, BT GO, IRSTASUS P8Z68-V ATX Intel Motherboard


ASUS P8Z68-V ATX Intel Motherboard


ASUS P8Z68-V/GEN3 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

 

[Eldonko]

I would go with the ASUS P8Z68-V/GEN3. It is the newer version that supports PCI-E gen 3.

 

[techiemon]

That's the most expensive board out of the list at about US$180. Not sure how much it will be here, but it will be close to the same price. Why would you choose the PCI-E gen 3 boards anyway? The only thing I probably need is a video card and that should be just a PCI slot no?

Edit: Ahhh, I just checked, it seems PCI-E gen 3 is the newest version of the PCI express shots. no wonder. But.. am I really going to get that much more proformance out of a newer slot and a newer card? I don't do much with graphics... I play one game. Sim city 3000 and 4000 and even on the machine I am using now it still cannot load it properly... So...

 

[johan851]

You won't get a lot of performance out of it now. It's more about future proofing. It'll probably be useful 2-3 years from now. Even then it probably won't have a huge impact. If you're not a big gamer, I wouldn't worry about it.

The -V board has the same high-end power circuitry and the -V Pro and the other higher end boards. The LE and LX skimp a bit there to keep costs down. After the -V board, the more expensive ones just have a few extra features.

If you don't need the Gen3 board, the -V is probably the nicest balance. Great OC potential and not too much more $$ than the others.

 

[techiemon]

Well, I usually try to upgrade my pc every 2-4 years, so I am not sure I need a more advanced vga card for the time being.

Basicaly I don't really need a high end board, the one I have now is overkill and it cost me over 200. I will not do that again, though I will say it has served it's purpose now for almost four years.

I am curious, what does one need to do with the old IDE CD roms and DVD players? Do we need to trash these or...? I was hoping not to have to buy new devices, but I am noticing there are no boards now that come with an IDE slot at all. I wouldn't mind doing a permanent OC like I had with this board, I stopped it and now with the new memory in it, I can't get it to OC properly so I gave up, I dont want to bother with it now.

How much RAM do you think I am going to need and which one would you choose for this board? In addition which chipset will go nice with it for the best OC, including OC of the RAM?

I suspect I will only need a 430W PS, it is what I have now and is more than enough for what I need. Unless these boards need more power.

 

[johan851]

I just went through the same deal. I got an Asus DVD-RW for $20. Not the worst thing in the world.

I would grab an inexpensive CAS 9 DDR 1600 kit. You can get an 2x4GB kit for around $45, and that should last you for a good long while.

You'd probably be fine with a P8Z68-V LE if you're not doing anything extreme. I got an ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 (it has PCI-E 3.0) for around $120. Haven't had time to play with it yet but it seems like a pretty inexpensive way to go as well.

Overclocking RAM doesn't get you real far with SandyBridge. ~2% increases in a few benchmarks at best.

430w is probably fine if you're not using a real high end video card.

 

[techiemon]

Hiya, well, hopefully I can pick up something cheat for a DVD solution. But how many slots do I have for different optical devices? Are we limited to one now? It appears for this board we only have one slot for one device.

I think I might need more memory than that. I am using 8GB now, but I am thinking this memory is not good, I feel my machine is slower with this 8 than when I was using 4 from 3 years ago, the quality of the RAM is just different. No OC RAm for the sandbridge eh? hmmm, but if decide to OC the CPU is the RAM going to have issues with that? I was thinking of getting 4x4GB chips, I think that would handle the multitasking issues better than 8, no? But I am worried about the cost.

The P8Z68-V LE does it have front panel usb? I cannot see this info in their specs. I am not sure I need the extreme at this moment though, no high graphics related stuff really. But I will need a decent VGA card, willing to spend about 100-120 only.

My current P5B cost me about 225, and I am using that 430W PS. Maybe I can up it to 450 if they make one. Like I said, 100 bucks for a video card is about what I am willing to spend. I don't really consider that high end at all. Because I don't or can't really see any significant difference using a high end video card for what I use the PC for...

What about for a CPU with this board? Would you recommend one of hte i5s? Someone recommended I use an Intel 2500K or AMD X6, of course the latter I need a different motherboard. the 2500k I need to look it up, I don't know what kind of chip this is.

 

[techiemon]

In addition to my post above, I just found this.

Internal I/O Connectors
Onboard USB2 x USB 3.0 + 8 x USB 2.0 I have to wonder why so many are needed? someone going to install 10 CD players? or perhaps use these for fans? I dont see the need.

Other Connectors1 x COM port(s) connector(s)
1 x CPU Fan connector(s) (4 -pin)
2 x Chassis Fan connector(s) (4 -pin)
1 x Power Fan connector(s) (3 -pin)
1 x S/PDIF out header(s)
1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector(s)
1 x 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector(s)
1 x Front panel audio connector(s) (AAFP)
1 x System panel(s)
1 x MemOK! button(s)
1 x TPU switch(es)

What is a memok button and a tpu switch?

 

[Theocnoob]

I would go with the ASUS P8Z68-V/GEN3. It is the newer version that supports PCI-E gen 3.

That's the one you want. I'l explain in the morning if I can remember . In short, it has good power delivery, decent expansion options, and is Z68 and likely to be able to take 22nm CPUS along with their gen 3 pcie adressing capabilities, and is a solid board. You should get it. It is a quality board. You can go for it and bank on having made a wise decision. Sadly it is a terrible color. Otherwise I think that board, and the -PRO version are fantastic boards!!

As for your other stuff, its mostly things you don't need.

Pressing MEMOK is for when, say, you buy 2133 RAM, and your PC wont BOOT. MEMOK will force it to boot at 1066 and then you tweak from there.

TPU auto overclocks to about 4.4Ghz.

EPU runs the system in super energy saving mode.

IMO, it's all gimmicky things you dont NEED (though MEMOK and clear CMOS buttons are fantastic).. Things like TPU are good ideas. It's just so easy, and you learn so much getting the overclock done, why just press a button? On the upshot, that may be a selling feature for you. I've tried it and it does indeed produce a stable overclock at 4.4. I used a 2600K on a V-PRO board. It did so at a very reasonable voltage as well. Good feature. Do you need it? No.

The system simply has so much USB and so many fan headers because many people super over clock and have 20 fans or many case fans for their 3 GPUS. Also sometimes you have 3 of them blocked by other components. Having many spread around is helpful.

Also, say you have your mouse, your keyboard, 4 xbox controllers, a printer, 3 external hard drives, a USB key... You cant have too much USB

 

[techiemon]

Hi Theocnoob. I will await your reply again in the morning, hope you can remember the reason I should spend extra money for the ASUS P8Z68-V/GEN3 board, would really like to know.

Although I do understand the need for a lot of USB's externally, thethe mouse and keyboard and printer are external, not internal. They have 10 USB's internal on this board. I guess people need these for internal fans and stuff. Just wondering about the 3.0 usb vs. the 2.0 usb. most devices now are still 2.0 right? Am I going to need to worry about this 3.0 stuff anytime soon? I am hoping they will in the future integrate them so that one slot can use 1.0-3.0 usb devices, because I have many I dont want to buy again.

Sounds to me like the TPU would be nice to have, no messing with the bios, just push a button and you have stable overclocking, sounds useful. EPU maybe only used for night time when no one is using the computer, or doing Seti type stuff... I dont know...

 

[Theocnoob]

Techie sorry I forgot about this thread I PMd you. Folks yes, The V, V pro, and Deluxe both original and GEN3 are SOLID boards from Asus and anybody should be proud to own one of these stable flexible well priced units.

My experience with the V-Pro was that it was stable, non fussy (more than an average Z68 which is already non fussy), well made, and great for the price.

 

[techiemon]

Hi guy, yep I got your PM just now. Thank you.

What would you recommend for a cpu and vga card then, what kind of ram would you recommend? I am limtied here.. adata, apacer, etc? I would like to let you know I wan to play Cities XL, so I think i am going to need a more powerful vga card than originally expected.

I am just concerned this board is actually going to be more than I need and for the price it seems quite high. I am not a big gammer, but I do have loads of applications opened all the time and it bogs down easily.
I am even running 8gb on it now, and I feel it is horribly sluggist, I think I just need a reinstall of the OS as it has been a year, but I figure it is time for a new machine anyway.

 

[Theocnoob]

What would you recommend for a cpu and vga card then, what kind of ram would you recommend? I am limtied here.. adata, apacer, etc? I would like to let you know I wan to play Cities XL, so I think i am going to need a more powerful vga card than originally expected.

You are not RAM limited. Corsair XMS3 is an example of a quality RAM at a decent price. Gskill RIPJAWS are reasonably priced. Really, all you need is 1600Mhz Cas9. Aim for 2 sticks not 4. If you want 8GB get 2x4GB kit.


I am just concerned this board is actually going to be more than I need and for the price it seems quite high. I am not a big gammer, but I do have loads of applications opened all the time and it bogs down easily.
I am even running 8gb on it now, and I feel it is horribly sluggist, I think I just need a reinstall of the OS as it has been a year, but I figure it is time for a new machine anyway


You may wish to get 16GB with your new machine if your needs for RAM are truly so high.

Again if you truly feel the board is overkill (it isn't. It is just a quality unit IMO) get an ASROCK Xtreme 3/4 or one of the Gigabyte boards that was mentioned.

(Note: Some boards do not include the bios as standard to run 8GB sticks. They need the new bios installed. If you want 16GB to play it safe make sure the board says it takes 8GB sticks out of the box or go to 4x4GB sticks. Very few people NEED 16GB though)

Do you mind MATX

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131759

This 170 dollar board from ASUS is also top notch.

For a moderate gamer 6870 is my recommendation. This one includes Dirt3 which I have and love
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161396

 

[techiemon]

Well I can't get Corsair here. Gskill is expensive here. I would have to opt for something cheaper. I think I may need 16GB also. And it seems I am limited to 2-4-8-16-32 aren't I?

What CPU do you recommend for this board? I was considering a 2500K, but still wondering what is hte difference between the 25 and the 25k.

I am using 8GB now and It is not enough, or it's just bad ram.

 

[techiemon]

In addition to the above, do you guys know if there is any difference? The item numbers are different and one is cheaper, but the name is the same. I am confused...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&Description=ASUS+P8Z68-V/GEN3+ATX+&x=21&y=10

 

[johan851]

One is the 'PRO' version, the other is not.

 

[techiemon]

Yep I figured it out a month ago or so, thanks Johan, sorry for the late reply.

A further question though, on these boards they seem to have vga integrated, how good is it? I am wondeirng because I have plans to buy a video card and feel a little bit waste to buy a board with vga integration already on it, though I suspect a lot of users probably do this as they like the board but need a better GPU. My plans were to buy a 6850 until I found out how overkill it was, I am now considering the 6770 and feel that even that is a big overkill, though I want something at least 128 bits with a gig of memory on it. The 800Mhz frequency on these cards also is quite appealing, I don't want to limit myself...

 

[LZ_Xray]

My plans were to buy a 6850 until I found out how overkill it was, I am now considering the 6770 and feel that even that is a big overkill, though I want something at least 128 bits with a gig of memory on it.

The HD2000 in a 2500k in Z68 board would probably do anything you'd need based on your OP.

Other than that, a 6570 or 6670 are about the cheapest options that jump through the hoops you mentioned. There are GDDR3 and GDDR5 versions of the 6670. Either DDR3 version can be had for around $50-60

 

[Knufire]

2500K has HD3000.

It's not integrated on the motherboard, it's actually on the CPU itself now. And it's surprisingly adequate.

Looking at this whole thread, and seeing as you don't game, I really think that the high end AMD APUs are a better route to go then a 2500K. You don't really need the horsepower that it has to offer. Also, the intergrated in those chips hybrid crossfire with a 6670 and should easily handle sim games.

 

[LZ_Xray]

You're right, 2500k has a 3000. I never use mine so didn't remember.

I know its not on the board - some may not know you can't use it on some boards so I specify the board when talking iGPU.

My wife used the 2000 on her i3 for a while, and could actually play wow decently at low settings with it