ASUS P8Z68-V PRO vs ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3

[KamalS]

My system bit are going to be:

CPU: i5-2500k
RAM: Vengeance™ Low Profile — 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 Memory Kit (CML8GX3M2A1600C9)
PSU: OCZ Z Series 1000 W Power Supply Review
GPU: IGP on the i5-2500k for now, SLI 560TI 2GB later
HSF: cooler master Hyper 212+
MB: ?
CASE: ?
LCD: ?

Want an opinion on how the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO differs from the ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3:

1. Reliability of IGP support on the i5-2500k on any OS (not only Win 7 for example)
2. USB3 support
3. Dual monitor support without GPU
4. CPU fan speed control via PWM (I think the HSF uses PWM?)
5. Tethered internet (say dual + backup ethernet)
6. Strong (Fast & Reliable) SLI support to enable me to play BF3 or DOOM4. Definitely Rage, AA, Crysis 2
I would like to run 2GB nVidia GPUs

 

[ko888]

Shouldn't you be comparing the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 to the ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3?

1. Reliability of IGP support on the i5-2500k on any OS (not only Win 7 for example)

What other OS' are you intending to use? There are Linux drivers available.

Drivers for the Intel HD2000 and HD3000 iGPU are also available for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows XP.

2. USB3 support

Both support a total of four USB 3.0 ports. Two ports on the back I/O panel and a header on the motherboard that supports computer cases that have two front panel USB 3.0 ports.

3. Dual monitor support without GPU

Without a GPU you can't support any monitors.

Using the iGPU you can use two monitors.

4. CPU fan speed control via PWM (I think the HSF uses PWM?)

The CPU Fan Connector on both motherboards are 4-pin PWM controlled.

5. Tethered internet (say dual + backup ethernet)

Both motherboards have only one RJ-45 LAN Port.

6. Strong (Fast & Reliable) SLI support to enable me to play BF3 or DOOM4. Definitely Rage, AA, Crysis 2. I would like to run 2GB nVidia GPUs

Both motherboards will support two discrete NVIDIA SLI capable graphics cards in 2-way SLI mode with the PCIe x16 slots running at x8/x8 mode.

 

[KamalS]

Shouldn't you be comparing the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 to the ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3?

The GEN3 version of the ASUS board is not available in the combo from MC.

I am curious, what's the diff between the two ASUS? Simply PCI Express 3 support in the GEN3 version and no support in the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO?

What other OS' are you intending to use? There are Linux drivers available.

Drivers for the Intel HD2000 and HD3000 iGPU are also available for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows XP.

I should clarify - there seem to be unstability issues when using the IGP under WIn7 for the ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3.

Without a GPU you can't support any monitors.

Using the iGPU you can use two monitors.

By GPU I meant external GPUs.

I can see the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO has a single DVI and VGA port. How can I make it run two monitors?

Both motherboards will support two discrete NVIDIA SLI capable graphics cards in 2-way SLI mode with the PCIe x16 slots running at x8/x8 mode.

Would x8/x8 be enough for external GPUs to run these games?

 

[ko888]

I am curious, what's the diff between the two ASUS? Simply PCI Express 3 support in the GEN3 version and no support in the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO?

The P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 has PCIe 3.0 support with Ivy bridge CPUs right out of the box.

I should clarify - there seem to be unstability issues when using the IGP under WIn7 for the ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3.

I can see instability arising when the CPU is overclocked or due to poor quality drivers.

I can see the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO has a single DVI and VGA port. How can I make it run two monitors?

You can connect two monitors to any two of the onboard VGA, DVI-D and HDMI ports. When using both the DVI-D and HDMI outputs this works in the OS environment only and that during POST or BIOS setup, only the DVI-D output is active and the HDMI output will have no output signal.

Would x8/x8 be enough for external GPUs to run these games?

It is currently more than enough to handle any discrete graphics cards currently on the market. The PCI Express bus doesn't even come close to being saturated when running at x8/x8 using any of the current highest end graphics cards on the market.

 

[KamalS]

I am curious, what's the diff between the two ASUS? Simply PCI Express 3 support in the GEN3 version and no support in the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO?

The P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 has PCIe 3.0 support with Ivy bridge CPUs right out of the box.

It is currently more than enough to handle any discrete graphics cards currently on the market. The PCI Express bus doesn't even come close to being saturated when running at x8/x8 using any of the current highest end graphics cards on the market.

If the PCI 2.0 Express bus doesn't even come close to being saturated when running at x8/x8 using any of the current highest end graphics cards on the market, then thinking of even using a PCI Express 3 bus is a wash - what do you think?

In other words, if I were to compare the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO with the ASRock Z68 Extreme4 version (leaving out the Gen3 PCI Express 3 feature), which one would come out first?

I should clarify - there seem to be unstability issues when using the IGP under WIn7 for the ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3.

I can see instability arising when the CPU is overclocked or due to poor quality drivers.

That's the issue - no one is clear on that, but it seems the issue appears only on Win7 for the ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 implying software problems rather than hardware.

 

[ko888]

KamalS wrote: If the PCI 2.0 Express bus doesn't even come close to being saturated when running at x8/x8 using any of the current highest end graphics cards on the market, then thinking of even using a PCI Express 3 bus is a wash - what do you think?

Since you'll be using a Sandy Bridge i5-2500K you wouldn't be able to support PCIe 3.0 anyway. PCIe 3.0 support will require an Ivy Bridge CPU that Intel has not been released to the market yet. You will also need to use a PCIe 3.0 graphics card that also aren't available yet.

At this point in time PCIe 3.0 irrelevant until the market deems it relevant (i.e. when PCIe 3.0 devices appear on the market in sufficient quantity and the extra bandwidth afforded by PCIe 3.0 can be utilized).

KamalS wrote: In other words, if I were to compare the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO with the ASRock Z68 Extreme4 version (leaving out the Gen3 PCI Express 3 feature), which one would come out first?

With the CPU running at the same clock speed on both motherboards the ASRock Z68 Extreme4 is slightly ahead from the review comparisons I've seen.

KamalS wrote: That's the issue - no one is clear on that, but it seems the issue appears only on Win7 for the ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 implying software problems rather than hardware.

That's not necessarily the case. There are motherboards that have a poor power VRM design don't supply enough clean stable power to the iGPU and run into stability problems when the CPU is overclocked.

The ASUS P8Z68-V PRO has a 16 Phase Power Design (12-phase for CPU, 4-phase for iGPU).

The ASRock Z68 Extreme4 has a 12 Phase Power Design (8-phase for CPU, 4-phase for iGPU).

The ASUS P8Z68-V PRO's 12-phase for CPU also explains why you can achieve a higher CPU overclock than with the ASRock Z68 Extreme4.

 

[KamalS]

Best answer selected by KamalS.