This thread is for any tips, tricks and troubles with the Biostar TZ68A+ motherboard.
Please share what type of overclocks you have gotten and at what settings.
I have gotten this board recently for my latest build. It is extremely hard to beat its feature set for the price. I got it on sale from Newegg for $94.67 shipped, and thats with CA tax too! Currently you can get it for $99 shipped w/o CA tax.
Here are some pros and cons:
Pros:
-Best bang for the buck Mobo currently available
-Great bios! super easy and fast access to what matters
-Bios post screens are super fast with ACHI enabled
-Overclocks CPU easily with only a couple bios changes
-Stable when cpu is overclocked at high speeds (4.5Ghz to 5Ghz)
-Extremely fast
-Crossfire capable
-USB 3.0
-DVI/HDMI/VGA out
-SATA 3
Cons:
-Lack of USB ports in the back
-Crossfire is 16x4 and not 8x8 (which is still fine, but would rather prefer 8x8)
-Should have 1 more fan header (PWM)
-First PCI-X 16 slot is too close to the cpu, had to face my
cooler to blow upwards to fit (which was fine since I have a
fan there as well, but some people may not.) Cpu heatsink is
about 1 inch away from back of GPU.
-No USB 3.0 Front panel header on mobo
-Mobo Stand off holes are not in conventional places for bottom right area
Current System:
Antec 1200
2500k @ 4.4Ghz @1.280V @ 60c 65c 62c 62c Max cpu temps @ 100% load for hours
CM Hyper 212+ Heatsink/1 push fan
4GB Corsair DDR3 1600 cas 7
120GB Corsair Force 3 SSD
6970 2GB DDR5 w/Zalman VF3000A Heatsink (doesnt go above 60c at full load, this is with both fans on the lowest setting!)
Seasonic 750watt 80Plus Gold
Win7 Ulti 64bit installs in 7Min 49 seconds!
I came from a Q6600 overclocked to 3.4Ghz @ 1.375V
which installed Win7 Ulti 64bit in 16 min 23 seconds.
*Tips*
--------
-To enable Load Line Calibration for the CPU, you must set the option to *Disabled
for some reason its backwards.
-You can get the best overclocks by setting the cpu vcore to "Fixed" mode, the only downside is that the vcore doesn't drop accordingly at idle. I would rather have a lower max vcore at load and higher vcore at idle then a higher idle vcore and higher load vcore.
-You can overclock the HD3000 Graphics, but currently programs like gpuz or cpuz cannot see the final overclocking frequency, performance is indeed boosted though.
-
please share your good and bad experience with this board!
Please share what type of overclocks you have gotten and at what settings.
I have gotten this board recently for my latest build. It is extremely hard to beat its feature set for the price. I got it on sale from Newegg for $94.67 shipped, and thats with CA tax too! Currently you can get it for $99 shipped w/o CA tax.
Here are some pros and cons:
Pros:
-Best bang for the buck Mobo currently available
-Great bios! super easy and fast access to what matters
-Bios post screens are super fast with ACHI enabled
-Overclocks CPU easily with only a couple bios changes
-Stable when cpu is overclocked at high speeds (4.5Ghz to 5Ghz)
-Extremely fast
-Crossfire capable
-USB 3.0
-DVI/HDMI/VGA out
-SATA 3
Cons:
-Lack of USB ports in the back
-Crossfire is 16x4 and not 8x8 (which is still fine, but would rather prefer 8x8)
-Should have 1 more fan header (PWM)
-First PCI-X 16 slot is too close to the cpu, had to face my
cooler to blow upwards to fit (which was fine since I have a
fan there as well, but some people may not.) Cpu heatsink is
about 1 inch away from back of GPU.
-No USB 3.0 Front panel header on mobo
-Mobo Stand off holes are not in conventional places for bottom right area
Current System:
Antec 1200
2500k @ 4.4Ghz @1.280V @ 60c 65c 62c 62c Max cpu temps @ 100% load for hours
CM Hyper 212+ Heatsink/1 push fan
4GB Corsair DDR3 1600 cas 7
120GB Corsair Force 3 SSD
6970 2GB DDR5 w/Zalman VF3000A Heatsink (doesnt go above 60c at full load, this is with both fans on the lowest setting!)
Seasonic 750watt 80Plus Gold
Win7 Ulti 64bit installs in 7Min 49 seconds!
I came from a Q6600 overclocked to 3.4Ghz @ 1.375V
which installed Win7 Ulti 64bit in 16 min 23 seconds.
*Tips*
--------
-To enable Load Line Calibration for the CPU, you must set the option to *Disabled
for some reason its backwards.
-You can get the best overclocks by setting the cpu vcore to "Fixed" mode, the only downside is that the vcore doesn't drop accordingly at idle. I would rather have a lower max vcore at load and higher vcore at idle then a higher idle vcore and higher load vcore.
-You can overclock the HD3000 Graphics, but currently programs like gpuz or cpuz cannot see the final overclocking frequency, performance is indeed boosted though.
-
please share your good and bad experience with this board!