Best budget lga 1155 motherboard

[lazyboy947]

My friend is looking to build his now 3rd pc as he keeps selling them going from an phenom x4 to x6, now wants to get an i3 3225 with the 4000 graphics just to get by with wow for now and then later get a gpu and possibly an i5. I know 1155 is dead with IB, but hes set on going intel. So at the moment he cant decide on a good motherboard, i said go with a z77 asrock extreme 4, but hes looking for something under $100 so $70-100 not above. He wont be overclocking and knowing him he might attempt it, but looking for a good quality budget motherboard that gives option to OC and to last, 2 pci-e ports is nice but not required, usb 3.0, and sata 6gb/s. I know most new boards have usb 3.0, and most intel have at least some sata 6, but havent look through many so not sure if there are some that dont have it

 

[scottiemedic]

Start here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007627+600093976+4027&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&IsNodeId=1&Subcategory=280&description=&hisInDesc=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&AdvancedSearch=1&srchInDesc=

LGA 1155 sorted by $75-$100. Have him/you go in and see what features he needs to narrow it down (form factor, USB, COM, PS2, etc etc). After that there will be one or two clear choices, always is

 

[lazyboy947]

Well i can go thru the features, but i know what to look for in an amd board for overclocking with power phases/vrms, and heatsinks on the board itself after the features. Just not to knowledgeable in intel boards

 

[Flakkattack]

Here is another good one. Its what I use for my i5-2500k and its one of the best in my opinion. Its about 50$ more than your budget, but that little extra in saving time will benifit a lot more in the future.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128498&Tpk=gigabyte%20z68x-ud3h

 

[lazyboy947]

not bad, but for that cost would just go asrock extreme4 z77, but seems like hes just going to have to go over budget lol

 

[Flakkattack]

not bad, but for that cost would just go asrock extreme4 z77, but seems like hes just going to have to go over budget lol

Agreed, that is another really good board for that chip. Hope he gets a good deal! Check for bonus' wherever hes buying this stuff. I recieved discounts on items when purchasing other item (like half off my mobo when i buy a chip). Its a good way to maximize saving.

 

[lazyboy947]

Will do, read some reviews of a board he found the asrock z75 pro3, got decent reviews and oc a i7 to over 4ghz, so for future upgrades at $78 doesnt seem to bad

 

[scottiemedic]

I have a Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3P for my 2500k, and though I haven't tried OCing yet, it has extra power phases for OCing (UD3 was the base, then they made UD3P). I don't know what it runs, as the price fluctuates, but might be worth looking at...