Round-Up: Four Z68 Motherboards From $220 To $280

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I wonder if you would really notice the speed difference between the non-overclocked boards - most of the time it is 1-3 fps in games which is insignificant. Therefore if you are going to overclock, it would seem that the best board at overclocking would be the most important but the difference in overclocks for the different boards was not that much either. I doubt you would be able to tell the difference between the AsRock overclock and the Asus overclock in this article.

Really, it then comes down to features and how well the boards distribute their bandwidth. The AsRock boards (the Extreme 4 and 7)with their bridges do a better job of this overall. Also there is at least one professional article on the Extreme 4 Gen 3 the I have read where it easily overclocked to 5.1 ghz (2600k cpu).
 
[citation][nom]Bluex610[/nom]Asrock extreme 7 has only 1 PCI-e 3.0 slot, while the Fatal1ty PRO has 2 PCI-e 3.0 slots. Weird... But the Extreme 7 has NF200 chip that allows x16/x16 with 2 cards. I'm going with the Fatal1ty since I want 2 PCI-e 3.0 slots, might not use it for a while, but it's nice to know I have the option.[/citation]Wait, are you a marketing shill for MSI? Because MSI argues that TWO X8 SLOTS IN 3.0 are better than TWO X16 SLOTS IN 2.0. But that's 100% UNTRUE.

Do the math, 3.0 adds twice the bandwith so (8+8) x2 = 32. But 16+16 = 32 as well. So it looks like the same bandwidth right? But adding the repeater hub (bridge) adds latency to the Extreme7's loss. But most cards will continue to be PCIe 2.0 to the Extreme7's win.

Do the math another way, with PCIe 2.0 cards the Extreme7 has TWICE the bandwidth. With PCIe 2.0 it only has the SAME bandwidth as two 3.0 x8 slots. So it continues to win at least most of the time.

Then you add 3-way SLI capability and that "most of the time" part goes away, Extreme7's slot configuration wins all of the time against two eight-lane PCIe 3.0 slots.
 

Hehe i was talking about poorer countries.
I guess most people dont know that in developing countries such as China and India warranties are more of a marketing scheme.
 
[citation][nom]Crashman[/nom]I believe you missed this:http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] ,2980.html[/citation]
not what i want, they are first gen z68's, there are newer models out with better features now. OK to be more specific this is what i want to see: roundup - Budget Z68 boards WITH crossfire/sli support, there are lots of them under $200, and many under $150. And gigabyte boards dont count as they have a crappy BIOS instead of UEFI, why would any motherboard maker still use BIOS? cheap bast@rd5.
 
[citation][nom]iam2thecrowe[/nom]not what i want, they are first gen z68's, there are newer models out with better features now. OK to be more specific this is what i want to see: roundup - Budget Z68 boards WITH crossfire/sli support, there are lots of them under $200, and many under $150. And gigabyte boards dont count as they have a crappy BIOS instead of UEFI, why would any motherboard maker still use BIOS? cheap bast@rd5.[/citation]Yes, that's why they're in that review. I know now that you don't like the Z68A-GD55 or Z68XP-UD3, but those are current models and they do support SLI.
 
Not gonna buy asrock mb ever again, their customer service sucks, with no reply whatsoever, and my asrock z68 extreme 4 have bsod everyday, so stay away from asrock, don't know why thomas keep recommending asrock, yes it has a many features, but its pointless if you always have problem everyday.
see here http://forums.tweaktown.com/asrock/44772-asrock-z68-extreme-4-bsod-clock-interrupt-not-received.html its a thread for asrock z68 extreme 4 BSOD it has 25000 view. not a small number

and i really hope thomas or someone from toms investigate this, as i suggest it on the forum http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/21467-9-asrock-extreme#t492264
 
[citation][nom]Da_Man[/nom]Not gonna buy asrock mb ever again, their customer service sucks, with no reply whatsoever, and my asrock z68 extreme 4 have bsod everyday, so stay away from asrock, don't know why thomas keep recommending asrock, yes it has a many features, but its pointless if you always have problem everyday. see here http://forums.tweaktown.com/asrock [...] eived.html its a thread for asrock z68 extreme 4 BSOD it has 25000 view. not a small numberand i really hope thomas or someone from toms investigate this, as i suggest it on the forum http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] me#t492264[/citation]
how do you know the motherboard is causing BSOD. its probably incompatable ram or you may not have set up bios/uefi settings properly. Maybe there is a bios update, many other possibilities, dont just blame the mobo.
 
well because some people try changing the mobo to different brand and no more bsod, if you visit the link there you will see that most user there use different brand and/or type of ram, different kind of type of Hdd, but all using the same asrock z68 extreme.


 
[citation][nom]Da_Man[/nom]well because some people try changing the mobo to different brand and no more bsod, if you visit the link there you will see that most user there use different brand and/or type of ram, different kind of type of Hdd, but all using the same asrock z68 extreme.[/citation]

I have the AsRock Extreme 4 Gen 3 and have had the BSOD only twice in all of the times that I have had it (several months). It occurred after using the computer multiple hours with WMC on watching HDTV and doing work. The issue is virtually non-existent and I doubt it is the motherboard that is causing it - I think it is a Windows 7 issue but that is a guess. I do know that the RAM is compatible with Sandy Bridge and so I do not think it is the RAM either.
 
Thanks for another well-written and useful review of enthusiast mobos.

I offer a criticism of your reviews "in-general" which I hope you will consider:

As you go from test to test, the order of the products changes because you always (?) put the best result at the top and the worst at the bottom of the group. That makes it difficult to scroll through the test results and get a visual overview of the results.

Instead, why not arrange the products in alphabetic, for example, order? If you did that, it would quickly become clear what the pattern of results is.

As it is, I have to read each chart and then try to remember . . .

Well, I'm sure the advertisers prefer the current method because we readers must spend much more time on each page and many more times move the mouse across a hot-spot for a pop-up ad.

Regardless, I never make a move on hardware without reading Tom's reviews - whether I reach the same conclusion or not, it is very helpful.
 


Explain really bad experiencs?? Sounds like you are exaturating?
 
[citation][nom]cadillac84[/nom]Thanks for another well-written and useful review of enthusiast mobos. I offer a criticism of your reviews "in-general" which I hope you will consider:As you go from test to test, the order of the products changes because you always (?) put the best result at the top and the worst at the bottom of the group. That makes it difficult to scroll through the test results and get a visual overview of the results. Instead, why not arrange the products in alphabetic, for example, order? If you did that, it would quickly become clear what the pattern of results is.As it is, I have to read each chart and then try to remember . . .Well, I'm sure the advertisers prefer the current method because we readers must spend much more time on each page and many more times move the mouse across a hot-spot for a pop-up ad.Regardless, I never make a move on hardware without reading Tom's reviews - whether I reach the same conclusion or not, it is very helpful.[/citation]Some of the editors do it like that, mostly I think because they don't want to take the time to sort the charts. Tom's Hardware once had a style guide for charts that stated "order of performance" but I don't think it's even being sent out any longer.

Yes, I'm sure the manufacturers prefer that their top result sits at the top of the chart, except for ASRock. I'm pretty sure ASRock would prefer alphabetical order. Poor Zotac...
 
round up fine!Hope it works better than the original defy
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AsRock is a good board until it quits. There waranty is no good. I know I have one that worked to two months and quit. Ive spent the last two months waiting for a repair
 
I don't run SLI but I run a secondary card as Physx processor so I'd like to be able to run one slot at full 16x and another at 8x or 4x. None of the current boards seem to do that. It's either 16x 0x or 8x 8x 🙁
 
[citation][nom]zaktheevil[/nom]I don't run SLI but I run a secondary card as Physx processor so I'd like to be able to run one slot at full 16x and another at 8x or 4x. None of the current boards seem to do that. It's either 16x 0x or 8x 8x[/citation]Third slot runs at x4 on the Asus, Gigabyte and MSI boards. Asus lets you have it, Gigabyte makes you give up the x1 slots, and MSI makes you give up onboard controllers. Depending on your card, you might need an 8-slot case to go with it.
 
I'm getting the ASRock Z68 Extreme 7 mobo and wanted to get the same cooler & memory used in these tests but I'm having trouble finding the Thermalright MUX-120 and G.Skill memory. Any suggestions for alternates?
 
I read the entire article hoping to find at least some information about actual quality comparisons of each MB. But, not one word. Everything was geared toward features, speed, performance, temperatures, etc. Those are all good things, but having them on a board that won't last flawlessly for years, doesn't make sense to me. I know this is the day-and-age of "disposable" products, made cheaply overseas.

Why was there no mention of quality components used, motherboard thickness, gold trace spacing, etc.? I don't like the idea of a thin, flimsy MB that has the thickness of a "shirt cardboard" (if anyone can remember those).

Which MB's (on the market) have the best quality components (resistors, capacitors, etc.) and consistant quality, manufacturing standards -- yet still provide the features which this article discussed quite well?

I have been reading more and more about people RMA'ing everything because of poor quality assurance and DOA products. (It takes hours on newegg, just to read about RMA's on MB's that were recommended on THG!).

To me, THG reviews of hardware should include at least some info on WHY one motherboard has better manufacturing quality in addition to performance, over another motherboard. I want to buy products that will last longer than their few-year warranties.

It was a good review of 4 MB's; I wish it had included some of what I mentioned, as well.
 
ASRock brings back the long-forgotten 2-port USB plus single-port PS/2 breakout plate specifically to serve those of us who won’t give up their old keyboards or mice.
Click to expand...

I find it troubling that a site I come to for hardware advice doesn't know PS/2 keyboards are used for full n-key rollover, that high-end mechanical keyboards come with PS/2 adapters for that very reason.
 
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