the Intel LGA 1155 motherboard thread

[ico]

Too many "motherboard for my i5-2500k" threads lately. Now ask all your motherboard advice questions in this thread.

LGA 1155 is the socket of Intel's second generation Core processors also referred as "Sandy Bridge." It is incompatible with LGA 1156 used in first generation of core processors.

I'll start off with the basics (in simple language) about the various chipsets first. (I'll add a list of motherboards and prices later.)




H61: 4 SATA 2.0 3gbps ports, on-chip GPU will work, no USB 3.0 except aberrations, no support for Quick Sync (some may have, so better to check), no support for overclocking

Budget motherboards only fit enough for i3-2100 according to me. yes, you can put in an i5-2320, i5-2400 or above processor but why put a Rs. 10,000 processor in a Rs. 3,000 motherboard? A computer should be balanced.

H67: 2 SATA 3.0 6gbps ports, 4 SATA 2.0 3gbps ports, on-chip GPU will work, *usually* will have USB 3.0 and in many cases not, Quick Sync supported (via Lucid Virtu while using discrete GPU), no support for overclocking

This is the chipset to get if you are buying a non-K series processor like i3-2100, i5-2400 et cetera. Motherboards will usually have USB 3.0, but it is your duty to check out whether they have or not. Quick Sync is supported for H.264 video transcoding. It is not advisable to put K series processors in these as it doesn't make any sense to put an "overclockable" processor in a "non-overclockable" chipset motherboard. Lucid Virtu support needs to be checked manually for a motherboard if you are using a discrete Graphics Card.

H77: Basically H67 with native USB 3.0.

P67: 2 SATA 3.0 6gbps ports, 4 SATA 2.0 3gbps ports, on-chip GPU not supported, will have USB 3.0 except aberrations, no support for Quick Sync, support for overclocking

Chipset for overclocking and you should only put multiplier unlocked K series processors like i5-2500k, i7-2600k and i7-2700k in these. P67 motherboards don't support the on-chip GPU and hence will lack the display outputs. There are people who have done the mistake of pairing these motherboards up with non-K series processors. DON'T DO THIS AS IT MAKES NO SENSE. After the launch of Z68 chipset, it is making more sense to go for a Z68 motherboard. Explained below.

Z68: 2 SATA 3.0 6gbps ports, 4 SATA 2.0 3gbps ports, on-chip GPU supported, will have USB 3.0 except aberrations, Quick Sync supported via Lucid Virtu, support for overclocking

Intel's Z68 chipset. The fusion of H67 and Z68. Now you may be wondering, "why did Intel release P67 when they had to release Z68?" Intel are morons and they love confusion to get 2x money, that's why. Z68 chipset supports on-board GPU. There are Z68 motherboards which lack display ports, so you will not be able to connect monitor to those. Quick Sync is supported via Lucid Virtu. Kindly verify Virtu support for a particular motherboard on the manufacturer's website. Z68 motherboards also support Intel Smart Response Technology which is also called SSD Caching. But this is a gimmick without any real world significance as you are better off using a SSD as your boot drive for real boost rather than using it as a cache for your Hard Disk.


Z77: Basically Z68 with native USB 3.0.


Why are you saying motherboards "usually will have USB 3.0" and "will have USB 3.0 except aberrations"? Every H67/P67/Z68 motherboard I have seen has USB 3.0?

See, USB 3.0 controller is not integrated into these chipsets. AMD A75 chipset is the only one to do so as of yet. (Now H77 and Z77 also have integrated USB 3.0. i.e. they also don't rely on an external chip.) It is down the to the motherboard manufacturers to give USB 3.0 in a motherboard model or not. It's their choice. In high-end motherboards like P67 and Z68, they will always include it to justify the price. In low-end motherboards like H61, they don't see any reason to include it as it will cost them money and hence decrease their margins. In H67 motherboards, some motherboards will have and some won't. Also note, USB 3.0 ports will share lanes with a PCIe slot depending on the motherboard.

So, which chipset motherboard should I buy?
For non-K series processors, H67 or H77. For K series processors, P67, Z68 or Z77.

Can you tell me about the on-chip GPU which Intel Sandy Bridge processors have? Also tell me about their performance.

non-K series processors have Intel HD 2000 (Sandy Bridge) and Intel HD 2500 (Ivy Bridge) graphics. K series processors have Intel HD 3000 (Sandy Bridge) and Intel HD 4000 (Ivy Bridge) graphics. yes, K series processors have a faster GPU but still it doesn't make sense to buy an "overclockable" K series processors after spending Rs. 2500 more and then putting in a "non-overclockable" H67/H77 chipset motherboard.

The performance of Intel HD 3000 is roughly around the level of nVidia GT 520 and AMD HD 4350/5450. These cards cost around ~Rs. 2200. There have been a few dumb people who are buying cards like nVidia 8400 GS, 8500 GT, 9400 GT and pairing these with Sandy Bridge processors. Idiotic and waste of money. These cards are barely faster than Intel HD 2000 and 3000.

The "performance" in low-end cards only starts from AMD HD 5570 GDDR5 which costs Rs. 3500. This should be the minimum card which everyone should buy if they are spending money on a graphic card.

As far as on-chip GPUs are concerned, Radeon HD 6530D and 6550D in AMD A6-3650 and A8-3850 processors are roughly two times or more faster than Intel HD 3000. So, in budget "home" configurations, AMD A6-3650 and A8-3850 tend to get my recommendation over i3-2100 (Intel HD 2000).

Is the H67 chipset + non-K combo really non-overclockable?

To say the truth, you can increase the base clock (bclk) slightly and that would give you a little bit of boost, but it's nothing to talk about. Overclocking Sandy Bridge processors is (easy and) through the multiplier and for that you need an "unlocked" "K" series processor in a P67/Z68 chipset motherboard.

[krishnandu.sarkar]

Hey great..!! Many of my confusion has now been answered

[avinandan012]

thanks for the info

+1

[thetechfreak]

Another awesome thread Ico

[clmlbx]

really nice, all confusion has been clear at least for me..

Now sticky this thread. Name suggestion for this thread

i3-i5 ( Intel Sandy Bridge LGA 1155 ) Motherboard Thread..

so it is easy for every member

[Skud]

@clmlbx: you forget about i7.

@ico: also add mobos with nf200 chipset to make this complete.

[ico]

@ico: also add mobos with nf200 chipset to make this complete.

yup, I'm on it. Should happen by next week.

Currently, there is a lot of activity in the moderator zone as we are on a sticky revision parade. Lot of threads about basic stuff are in the pipeline.

really nice, all confusion has been clear at least for me..

Now sticky this thread. Name suggestion for this thread

i3-i5 ( Intel Sandy Bridge LGA 1155 ) Motherboard Thread..

so it is easy for every member

well, we won't sticky this thread. A similar thread regarding AMD motherboards is in the pipeline and we can't sticky everything. Most probably when everything is up, we'll create an Index thread and sticky it. It would contain links to all these threads like the Bulldozer thread, etc.

[clmlbx]

gr8,to hear it everything in one place. all basic info in one page, everyone will get kick start to what one wants and even new users can join in discussion

[Vyom]

Nice thread.

Although AMD configurations are easier than Intel, still a similar thread for the same would be highly praised.

Keep it up ico!

[dibya_kol]

really nice effort ..

[Vishnupg45]

Ok the thread cleared 100% of my doubts.

[Mr.V]

+1!
Great thread!

[Vamsisd]

I'm Planing to get an i5-2500K--::Certainly Fixed on that!
But the Problem:Mobo--Is P67 the only one out there that supports overclocking...or ...or...are they any other good ones...??
If im compelled to get the p67--i think I'l have to--but having to spend around 15k(if i'm right o.O) for a mobo---What do you all think?And is it goin to be worth the cash?
I already have a Gpu to get...Maybe the Hd 7970(if it is available in Hyd ) or the 7950..Have a 1920x1080 Dell LED.I game hardcore--Crysis,Assassons Creed Series---I wanna play them all at 1080p with everything (Aa etc.) Enabled!

Eagerly Waiting...

Vamsi.

btw....What's the price difference between p67 nd z68 ones

[topgear]

^^ for a budget of 15k get either Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3** or Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD4

@ ico - nice article but this article is about SB LGA 1155 based mobos a little mention of Q67 chipset would b great

[ico]

btw....What's the price difference between p67 nd z68 ones

Read the first post.

As far as GPU is concerned, go with HD 7950 3GB.

@ ico - nice article but this article is about SB LGA 1155 based mobos a little mention of Q67 chipset would b great

ok. Will mention it.

[Vamsisd]

^^ for a budget of 15k get either Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3** or Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD4

Nouh!I implied if there's no other alternative than the p67 ud5 b 3----which sells at 9-12k in hyderabad...i am ready to go to 15k....
I'l Oc 2500k to around 4.6ghZ not even around 5.0.....Gunning for stability....also suggest me a good cooler......I decided not to go for z68 as it's priced more and also about the extra Intel hd graphics support....i dont think it'l be adding anything to the performance interms of gaming..
Gpu--7950 selling at 32k here...ny lower price best card than that?---1080p gaming

[ico]

^^ wait for a while then. HD 7950 should be around 28K.

HD 7970 is for 37K @ Flipkart.

[ArjunKiller]

Great thread Got all my answers.

[harshatiyya]

Great Post. cleared my confusion on lga 1155 based chipsets.

[rakesh_ic]

Hi All,

I was searching for some mobos for i5 2500K and came accross this MSI board MSI Z68A-G45 (B3) fitting onto my budget <10K shipped.

Also how about the Biostar Z68K board. looks like its the cheapest option. Do we have good after sales service for Biostar?? is this mobo good or prone to issues?

please let me know if this is a good board for a medium overcloack of 4.4/4.5GHz and is it worth a board for gaming??

I will be investing on 7850 once released.

I am open to suggestions of other Z68 boards as well within 10K (VFM) which has decent after sales in India (in hyderabad if possible

I am not gonna SLI or crossfire, so any board with 1 PCI 16x is fine with me.

The site for online purchase with price details will be highly aprreciated

[dibya_kol]

As a owener of biostar TZ68K+ mobo, i can tell u this mobo is great at it's price. Biostar offers 3 years of worrenty. Mid oc won't be any issue at all. But u need to buy an after market cooler before oc. Cooler like CM hyper 212 evo would be great.

[rakesh_ic]

how about the after sales and RMA on biostar. My concern is about the probability of a defective piece and if any what could be the RMA time.. and did u face any space crunch while mounting 212 evo with the ripjaw X and the GC on this board?? how good is the board space??

[dibya_kol]

this may be helpfull, but mind u they used bigger cooler than evo and older bios too. i updated to new bios and it is going nicely. no issue for g.skill ram.

Biostar TZ68K+ - Energy-Efficient LGA1155 Mainboard for Thrifty Users - X-bit labs

[Tenida]

@Op- Biostar is decent board you can go with it.
Btw check this thread

[the_conqueror]

I want to buy a mobo which supports all the 2nd generation core i5 and core i7 processor. It should have solid build quality and should have enough overclocking potential for RAM, CPU, and GPU. It would be good if it supports ivy bridge processors. My budget is 5k to 9k. Linking a review of the mobo in reply would be appreciated.

[sumonpathak]

only a P67 will come in that budget..
only two Z68's i can see...
Flipkart: Intel DZ68DB Motherboard: Motherboard
Flipkart: Biostar TZ68K+ Motherboard: Motherboard

although i would tell you to increase your budget and get this
Flipkart: ASUS P8Z68-M PRO Motherboard: Motherboard

[whitestar_999]

http://www.thinkdigit.com/forum/cpu-...-i5-2500k.html

[the_conqueror]

only a P67 will come in that budget..
only two Z68's i can see...
Flipkart: Intel DZ68DB Motherboard: Motherboard
Flipkart: Biostar TZ68K+ Motherboard: Motherboard

although i would tell you to increase your budget and get this
Flipkart: ASUS P8Z68-M PRO Motherboard: Motherboard

but asus p8z68 m pro is a micro atx card. Is it suitable for overclocking ram, cpu and gpu(with an after market cooler for cpu). Are there any disadvantages of the micro atx boards ?

[ico]

Are there any disadvantages of the micro atx boards ?

ATX and Micro ATX are just form factors.

ATX is big. Micro ATX is small and hence has less expansion slots.

[sumonpathak]

but asus p8z68 m pro is a micro atx card. Is it suitable for overclocking ram, cpu and gpu(with an after market cooler for cpu). Are there any disadvantages of the micro atx boards ?

no...the rog GENE-Z is a micro ATX board...still it can clock nicely....