Gigabyte VS Biostar

[inerstrength]

Hello Computer Community,

I am currently building a computer and would like to have some advice on motherboards. Right now I am thinking of getting a Biostar H61 or a Gigabyte Z68. I look up the specs for each of them and the Gigabyte beats the Biostar by alot but I would like to have an expert's opinion.

Also if there are any gamers out there I would like to know if there is any of a difference between the Geforce GTX 520 and the GTX 550.
I mainly play Games like:
Vindictus
Combat Arms
StarCraft 2

Thanks!
Current Specs for new computer:
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 Mid_Tower Gaming Case with Side Panel
Processor: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30 GHz 6M cache LGA 1155
Cooling Fan: Intel LGA 1156 CPU Fan + Heatsink
Mother board:?????????? (see above)
Ram: 4GB (2X2GB) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel
Graphics: Geforce GTZ 520 or 550
Power: 700 Watt - XtremeGear SLI/CrossfireX ready power supply
Hard Drive: 500GB or 1TB

 

[suteck]

I'm not an expert by any means but I don't doubt you found quite a few differences in those two boards. The biostar board is a bit older in it's manufacturing specs and date compared to the Z68 version of any manufacturer's boards. I'm not trying to rebuild your computer for you but which gigabyte Z68 board are you looking at? Usually, in today's builds you'll find that you can get an 8 GB kit, (2 X 4GB), of memory for only $50 whole the 4 GB kits are around $45 so I would change that. Also, If you are planning on running only 1 video card you can use a 500W or 550W and it will power your rig without and problems. If you are planning on going upgrade in the future and possibly Overclocking your cpu, (with a better heat sink of course lol), then a 750W or so will be great. However, I wouldn't recommend the XtremeGear SLI/CrossfireX ready power supply as from what little I've read about it it's not too dependable. There is also a BIG difference between the 520 and 550.

If you want advice on a new build?
Your case is good.
the 2500K and stock cooler are fine.
Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard for $115
Memory - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL for $47
550 Watt PSU - Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply for $68
Or 750 Watt - OCZ ZS Series 750W 80PLUS Bronze High Performance Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandy Bridge Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD Phenom for $75 after MIR
You want the 550? HERE EVGA 01G-P3-1556-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) FPB 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card for $122 after MIR.
HDD - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive for $140.
Kinda expensive lately but you could probably shop around some and find it cheaper. Mostly recommending the brand and model as a reference.
Already got a cd/dvd or bluray optical drive or do you need one of them also?

 

[inerstrength]

Hello Suteck,

Thanks for posting on my thread and thanks for the advice as well!!

I am looking at a [CrossFireX] GigaByte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ Intel Smart Response Tech. & 7.1 Dolby Home Theater Audio, GbLAN, USB3.0, 2x SATA-III RAID, mSATA connector onboard, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 3 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI (All Venom OC Certified) right now

I am shopping for a custom PC from www.cyberpwoerpc.com. Its not that I am lazy to build my pc its just that I've only modified my current PC from the store bought stock. So I don't want to mess something up when building my pc like scraching something I shouldn't have.

If you know of a cheaper website that sells custom pc's please tell >< With the specs that I produced above I modified the variation from the Gamer Xtreme 1000 set http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1DM6L5

Also I bet there is a big difference from the i3 and i5 processors right? just double checking.

Thanks!