MSI Z68MA G45 B3 Compability With my CPU

[XxMongermaniacxX]

I am wondering if I can use this mobo with my i7 3770. Im pretty sure I can, but I want to make 100% sure before I buy one. I just need a simple yes or no answer. i am using 8gb of 1333mhz ram as well.

 

[cub_fanatic]

This board is Ivy Bridge compatible (http://us.msi.com/support/mb/Z68MAG45_B3.html#support-cpu) out of the box without a BIOS update. But, if you are buying it because it is cheap, you might as well get a H77 or B75 instead. You can't overclock the 3770 so you will get about the same performance out of a H77 or B75 but with PCIe 3.0. The Z68 only has PCIe 2.0. If you aren't using a dGPU, though, this doesn't really matter. Also, if it is the best value 1155 board you can find, then ignore this.

 

[XxMongermaniacxX]

This board is Ivy Bridge compatible (http://us.msi.com/support/mb/Z68MAG45_B3.html#support-cpu) out of the box without a BIOS update. But, if you are buying it because it is cheap, you might as well get a H77 or B75 instead. You can't overclock the 3770 so you will get about the same performance out of a H77 or B75 but with PCIe 3.0. The Z68 only has PCIe 2.0. If you aren't using a dGPU, though, this doesn't really matter. Also, if it is the best value 1155 board you can find, then ignore this.

I am wanting a micro atx board that supports sli and crossfire. I dont care which chipset it is, but what do you think would be the best one I could get with the criteria I have listed for the cheapest price. thanks

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($94.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $94.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-03 11:39 EST-0500

 

[XxMongermaniacxX]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($94.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $94.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-03 11:39 EST-0500

that looks like a great solution, but I really need a micro atx mobo... thanks

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: Asus B75M-A Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($101.86 @ Amazon Canada)
Total: $101.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-03 11:46 EST-0500

 

[cub_fanatic]

This board is Ivy Bridge compatible (http://us.msi.com/support/mb/Z68MAG45_B3.html#support-cpu) out of the box without a BIOS update. But, if you are buying it because it is cheap, you might as well get a H77 or B75 instead. You can't overclock the 3770 so you will get about the same performance out of a H77 or B75 but with PCIe 3.0. The Z68 only has PCIe 2.0. If you aren't using a dGPU, though, this doesn't really matter. Also, if it is the best value 1155 board you can find, then ignore this.

I am wanting a micro atx board that supports sli and crossfire. I dont care which chipset it is, but what do you think would be the best one I could get with the criteria I have listed for the cheapest price. thanks

It depends on what cards you are using. If it something ultra high end like two R9 Fury X's or 980ti's, a Z77 is your best bet. But, you are obviously on a budget and are probably using something more mid-range so even at PCIe 2.0 x8, x8, the performance loss will not be that much. You will probably only lose 2 or 3 frames per second max in most games (if that is what you are using the PC for). If you are doing something like compute, it won't really matter at all. The board you chose, the Z68, is well suited.

 

[XxMongermaniacxX]

This board is Ivy Bridge compatible (http://us.msi.com/support/mb/Z68MAG45_B3.html#support-cpu) out of the box without a BIOS update. But, if you are buying it because it is cheap, you might as well get a H77 or B75 instead. You can't overclock the 3770 so you will get about the same performance out of a H77 or B75 but with PCIe 3.0. The Z68 only has PCIe 2.0. If you aren't using a dGPU, though, this doesn't really matter. Also, if it is the best value 1155 board you can find, then ignore this.

I am wanting a micro atx board that supports sli and crossfire. I dont care which chipset it is, but what do you think would be the best one I could get with the criteria I have listed for the cheapest price. thanks

It depends on what cards you are using. If it something ultra high end like two R9 Fury X's or 980ti's, a Z77 is your best bet. But, you are obviously on a budget and are probably using something more mid-range so even at PCIe 2.0 x8, x8, the performance loss will not be that much. You will probably only lose 2 or 3 frames per second max in most games (if that is what you are using the PC for). If you are doing something like compute, it won't really matter at all. The board you chose, the Z68, is well suited.

yea I am on a budget and am planning on getting a used gtx 770, and possibly in the future I may want to sli, so I want to keep that option open. thanks for your help

 

[cub_fanatic]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: Asus B75M-A Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($101.86 @ Amazon Canada)
Total: $101.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-03 11:46 EST-0500

He needs SLI/CFX too. Z68 is most likely going to be the cheapest option for both SLI and CFX if you can still find one (which it seems he has). There are some H-series boards that do Crossfire but I am pretty sure that none of them support SLI even if there is a 2nd PCIe x16 slot because most of them are running at x4.