The Intel Z68 Express Review: A Real Enthusiast Chipset

[The Greater Good]

[citation][nom]daygall[/nom]another reason i dislike intel is bull like this, so your telling me that EVEN IF i buy the most expensive enthusiast class mobo i can utilize all the features without third party intervention??i ask again just for the slow, why in the world after purchasing there best mobo do i have to wait for third party intervention to utilize all features?ether that or i missed something and i shouldn't be reading and posting @ 4am >_>[/citation]

I too, am wondering if I need LucidLogic's software to use a discreet GPU and QuickSync at the same time. Can anyone answer this question for us?

 

[spectrewind]

"Somewhere along the way, though, marketing got in the way"

I was ready to buy in January. Then I became aware of what everyone else saw in P67/H67 and artificially disabled features.

My wallet remained close. Bad marketing, methinks. Hopefully someone (that matters) from Intel can see this.

 

[lmlim]

Can we have Marvell's Hyperduo vs Intel's SRT benchmark too please?

 

[Guest]

I´m interested if the Intel ssd311 caching would be any good in a server(homeserver) anyone got an idea in that?

 

[rohitbaran]

Great article Toms! Useful for anyone wanting to switch over to Z68 and utilize its features.

 

[acku]

[citation][nom]neiroatopelcc[/nom]Read the article on my phone. Might've missed something, but I really don't see why quick sync is so important and cool? it didn't seem to really do anything in the benchmarks?[/citation]

Read
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/sandy-bridge-core-i7-2600k-core-i5-2500k,2833-4.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/video-transcoding-amd-app-nvidia-cuda-intel-quicksync,2839.html

And you'll understand why Quick Sync matters. You can convert a 31.2 GB Blu-Ray movie into an iPad ready format in under 20 minutes. That's fast!

 

[acku]

[citation][nom]spectrewind[/nom]"Somewhere along the way, though, marketing got in the way"I was ready to buy in January. Then I became aware of what everyone else saw in P67/H67 and artificially disabled features.My wallet remained close. Bad marketing, methinks. Hopefully someone (that matters) from Intel can see this.[/citation]

You need Z68 + Virtu to make that happen.

 

[Guest]

I think the title is missing a question mark at the end of "Chipset".

 

[Zeh]

I'm grabbing a P67 to go along a 2500K. It's nice to see the Z68 has a few more stuff, but nothing major for me. Just a few fancy things that should've come along the P67.
I'm still going to be happy with a 60gb SSD for OS + 2 apps; and i'm missing the point of QuickSync since I don't convert anythingbesides wmw/avi/rmvb to DVD.

Not spending another ~$40 for a Z68.

 

[WyomingKnott]

I just checked out the contest. I have to waive all moral rights in my entry? WTF?

In addition, a potential Winner may be required to sign a release in which he/she irrevocably assigns and transfers to the Sponsors any and all rights, title and interest in Entry, including, without limitation, all copyrights and trademark rights, and waives all moral rights in the Entry.

 

[dapneym]

The dates listed on the contest are wrong I think. After submitting my entry, it said entries submitted between two dates in March, rather than the obviously correct dates of 11 May and 25 May.

 

[jinxed_07]

If I buy a Z68 board without any video outputs on it, can I still take advantage of Quick Sync or do I lose that b/c I need to use a dedicated graphics card?

 

[akula2]

@If you’re serious about squeezing the most performance out of Intel's Z68 Express platform, you need a K-series processor.

How long a processor such as 2600K would last under heavy OC? 5 years against 7-9 years? What's the figure, roughly? How much OC is safe for such processors? Hmmm, up to 30%? I've never tried to do my own studies in that area so anyone could answer them?

Lastly, it was Gigabyte for P55 and Asus for P67. Who's for Z68? (I understand Gigabyte too updated their MOBOs with EYI etc). So, which maker is recommended by Tom? Thanks.

 

[lradunovic77]

[citation][nom]acku[/nom]Readhttp://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 833-4.htmlhttp://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] ,2839.htmlAnd you'll understand why Quick Sync matters. You can convert a 31.2 GB Blu-Ray movie into an iPad ready format in under 20 minutes. That's fast![/citation]

I can convert same movie using NVIDIA SLI Setup + 1366 Socket CPU for 15 minutes.

 

[acku]

I can convert same movie using NVIDIA SLI Setup + 1366 Socket CPU for 15 minutes.

Wrong you can't. We did the full benchmarks. Read the whole article please. This is a FULL Blu-Ray transcoding job. This isn't a lightweight DVD. We're talking about straight Blu-Ray rip into a H.264 6 Mbps 1280x720 video file.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/video-transcoding-amd-app-nvidia-cuda-intel-quicksync,2839-7.html

It takes more than 2.5x longer on CUDA.

If I buy a Z68 board without any video outputs on it, can I still take advantage of Quick Sync or do I lose that b/c I need to use a dedicated graphics card?

Z68 boards will come with video outputs.

 

[acku]

@If you’re serious about squeezing the most performance out of Intel's Z68 Express platform, you need a K-series processor.

How long a processor such as 2600K would last under heavy OC? 5 years against 7-9 years? What's the figure, roughly? How much OC is safe for such processors? Hmmm, up to 30%? I've never tried to do my own studies in that area so anyone could answer them?

Lastly, it was Gigabyte for P55 and Asus for P67. Who's for Z68? (I understand Gigabyte too updated their MOBOs with EYI etc). So, which maker is recommended by Tom? Thanks.

We have an upcoming Z68 roundup.

 

[acku]

The dates listed on the contest are wrong I think. After submitting my entry, it said entries submitted between two dates in March, rather than the obviously correct dates of 11 May and 25 May.

I'll pass the word along so it's corrected.

 

[Guest]

Am i correct in thinking most of the z68 gigabyte boards don't actually support intels HD graphics or quick sync effectively making them a flowery p67?

 

[acku]

[citation][nom]WyomingKnott[/nom]I just checked out the contest. I have to waive all moral rights in my entry? WTF?[/citation]

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/property/library/moralprimer.html

Legal speak. Not moral as in religious or ethics. It's referring to something else.

 

[acku]

[citation][nom]pavlos88[/nom]Am i correct in thinking most of the z68 gigabyte boards don't actually support intels HD graphics or quick sync effectively making them a flowery p67?[/citation]

Check out the pic on the first page. You get Intel HD graphics on the Z68 just like the H67. Drop in a video card + install Virtu and you can use QuickSync and the discrete graphics card at the same time.

 

[akula2]

@acku

I'll check the z68 roundup for sure. But what about this:

"How long a processor such as 2600K would last under heavy OC? 5 years against 7-9 years? What's the figure, roughly? How much OC is safe for such processors? Hmmm, up to 30%?"

Have you done any work in that direction? If yes, please share. Today's market is getting too much focused on OCing thing but in the real world out there (researcher/corporate/office) most don't do it so am looking from this perspective if OCing is healthy to do it on weekly basis (say 40-60 hrs). Do respond.

 

[saood06]

[citation][nom]flong[/nom]Hey, did I read this right, the theoretical maximum of the 2600K and 2500k chips is 5.7 ghtz???? Has anyone ever got a cpu that high? The most Ive read about is 5.0 ghtz and that was with water cooling. So does 5.7 ghtz exist?[/citation]

http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=1746796

 

[Olle P]

-On SSD chaching- ...
So why not keep doing things the way we have with SSD's the past few years, ...

You mean "not use it because it's prohibitively expensive"?
If that works for you, then fine with me...

I too, am wondering if I need LucidLogic's software to use a discreet GPU and QuickSync at the same time.

Yes, for now! Both nVidia and AMD are working on drivers to do the same job as Virtu, adapted for their graphics cards.

If I buy a Z68 board without any video outputs on it, can I still take advantage of Quick Sync or do I lose that b/c I need to use a dedicated graphics card?

See the answer above.
- Most Gigabyte cards come with neither video outputs nor Virtu support. It's not clear yet whether the video card manufacturer's drivers will work with these, but I don't think so because I don't think the chipset has connection to the iGPU.
- Asus will release some cards without video connector but with Virtu support. These will definitely be able to use QS.

Am i correct in thinking most of the z68 gigabyte boards don't actually support intels HD graphics or quick sync effectively making them a flowery p67?

That's correct. Only bords with an H in the designation, like GA-Z68-UD3H-B3, have video ouputs (and support Virtu).

 

[akula2]

@Olle P

That was incredible. I didn't know we could install Windows XP on the latest Hardware such as Maximus IV Extreme + 2600K. Was that straight forward installation from the Asus MOBO CD? Please share a little as I got 2 more XP Pro licenses left. Thank you

 

[akula2]

Sorry I was referring to saood06, NOT Olle P.