Best Intel LGA 1155 Z68 Mobo

[ame1011]

Hi,

I'm trying to decide on which mobo to use for my system.

My choices so far are:
* ASRock Z68 PROFESSIONAL GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
- http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157263
* ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Extended ATX Intel Motherboard
- http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131760
* ASRock Z68 Extreme7 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
- http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157269

The rest of my system will be as follows:

1x COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 Black Steel/ Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case
2x MSI N580GTX Lightning Xtreme Edition GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 3072MB
1x Antec High Current Pro HCP-1200 1200W ATX12V / EPS12V
1x Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K
1x Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
2x G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model
2x Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

P.S.
==
If you see anything else I can improve on, please let me know. Note: I need the 3gb video cards as I have a 3 monitor setup.
==

Thanks for your help.

 

[Emperus]

All of your above mentioned choices are excellent. You can safely go for the one which looks best to you. I would personally go with the Asus model as I trust its overclocking ability more compared to any other brand.

I'd also suggest you to get a CPU cooler in case you haven't thought about it already. The Corsair H80 should be awesome. Also, go for the Crucial M4 SSD. Its a tad better (refined) compared to the old C300 series. I'd recommend you to think about dropping down to the i5 2500k and think about getting the 256GB M4 model.

www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148443&cm_sp=Pers_StoreTopSellerMore-_-20-148-443_4_TS_-_-1_119___

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

I recently built a new system for a cousin of mine with the Asus P8Z68-M Pro and I was very happy with how easy it went together and easy the set up was with the RAID. So I guess I would second Werner123 about the P8Z68-v Pro if you want an ATX board.

Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

 

[ame1011]

Thanks a lot for the advice.

@werner - Within reason, I don't mind unnecessary price tags.

@Emperus - Thanks for the SSD advice. I kept the 2700k and went with the 256GB M4 Model. When I thought about it, I may have 'wasted' a slot and some money by only going for 128gb (of an older version too).

As for my cooler, I currently have:

*COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm
- http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

I also purchased an extra fan for this.


Please note that everything I'm talking about hasn't actually been purchased, it's currently on a wish list on Newegg.

If anyone is thinking of buying a new system, I highly recommend doing what I did. Make a wishlist about 1 month prior to purchasing. About twice a week I focus on one part and do research / ask around to find out if the part in question is the right choice.

Since I started I've made 5/6 VERY positive changes.