Need good z68 that is stable

[Sad39]

Hi,
About to finish my build. Been buying parts andi am about to get my cpu and mobo.

What i have...
Rosewill Hive 550 psu
Plextor m3 128 SSD
Barracuda green 2 tb hdd
Sniper 8gb memory... 1600
Sapphire 1gb hd 6670 gpu

About me and system.
This is my first ever build.
I am a photographer, using photoshop.
If i play games, it will be lite to mid level.
I wont be overclocking.

I am most concerned with my budget... And stability.
I was going with a i5 2400... But with the $15 off at newegg, may get the 2500k.
I was set on a gigabyte mobo... Z68x ud3h or z68xp ud3. But i just started reading about boot looping?
Now, i have a couple of other options. I also want to have onboard usb3.
Other choices around my price range are...
Asrock z68 extreme4... Which is $20more than planned, so id stick with the 2400 cpu.
Msi z68a gd55
Asus p8z68 v le

Should i be concerned about the gigabyte issues? Or is the risk no greater than any other board? If gigabyte is a worry, which options should i go with. I really want to build it, and not have to always troubleshoot.

Thanks

 

[scottiemedic]

I have the Z68XP-UD3P and it's been solid as a rock for the past 2 months on a i3-2100. I would highly recommend it to anyone. I think it would be a pretty good match for what you're wanting...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128506&Tpk=ga-z68xp-ud3p

 

[larkspur]

Gigabyte has a great reputation for motherboards. I haven't seen any reason to suddenly stop using Gigabyte. I've used mostly Asus in my builds but Gigabyte boards are great. Also, if you won't be overclocking don't bother with a "k" chip. So instead of a i5-2500k get a i5-2500 (unless the k version is somehow less expensive).

Since you are most concerned about your budget and not so interested in gaming, maybe drop the graphics card altogether and go with the onboard graphics so you can afford the better CPU? If you do game then the 6670 will be much better than the integrated obviously but if gaming isn't a concern just go integrated. You can always add a GPU if you want it later.

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

I used the Asus P8Z68-M pro board a while back for a build and I was very happy with it and havent had a single problem.

Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

 

[Sad39]

You guys are great. Thanks flr your help thus far.
Staying with gigabyte... And thinking of saving cash with onboard graphics (and maybe a later upgrade) i see 3 models.
Z68X UD3H
Z68XP UD3
Z68XP UD3P
The UD3H appears to be the same as the XP models, with the additional DVI and Dsub connections, and may be a better choice with onboard graphica.
For the life of me, i cannot find a diference between the UD3 and UD3P...except color, an mSata connection, and $30.... What am i misng?