New MOBO suggestion.

[azeem40]

For my current planned build, I have a Gigabyte Z68XP UD3 MOBO. The Processor is i5-2500k, gpu is 7970, psu is antec 750w. Is there a better MOBO out there? Currently my build costs $1650 w/o HDD and my budget is $1800. Any recommendations?

 

[tlmck]

Any Gigabyte or ASUS z68 motherboard will do. It just depends on what features you want. For me, I have an ASUS uATX board as my processor is not over-clockable(although the motherboard is capable), and I only run a single video card.

If you wanted to do some heavy overclocking and multiple video cards, then the highest end boards around $300+ would not be unreasonable. http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/Maximus_IV_ExtremeZ/

For overclocked dual card rigs, you could go with just about any of the dual card boards around the $200 range. The ASUS P8Z68-V PRO is about the hottest in this category. http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8Z68V_PRO/

The lesser priced boards are just as good quality wise, it is just a matter of what you want to do with it. You can of course look up the Gigabyte equivalent to these boards. They will work just as well.

Some folks would throw Asrock into the mix as a low cost solution, but I just do not care for the lower build quality.

 

[azeem40]

I don't think I will be crossfiring the 7970 I am gonna get, so what MOBO is good?

 

[tlmck]

Either of these will do nicely. They both support PCIe 3.0 is what your 7970 is. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?bop=And&Submit=Property&N=100007627%20600176035&IsNodeId=1&Manufactory=1315%2c1314&PropertyCodeValue=717%3a140053

For my preference, I would go with the uATX Maximus as I prefer mid tower cases and full ATX can get a bit cramped in those. Plus, you are not paying for unused motherboard space. The Maximus will still do dual cards if you ever decide to go in that direction and it is a great overclocker.

 

[azeem40]

Thanks!

 

[totalknowledge]

MSI, Gigabyte, Asus, Asrock...

Any of them are fine.

 

[azeem40]

Best answer selected by azeem40.