What is the big difference between these ASROCK MB?

[g335]

Hello

I am looking to get a SB mb. I will probably oc my processor some and maybe my gpu some, not super high but some. I might SLI in the future. I do want firewire, USB 3.0, maybe a E-SATA
I am going to get the i5 2500K or the i7 2600K cpu.
I will use the computer for 2-D and 3-D design later.

I have seen the Extreme 4 and 6 and the Pro for the SB cpu. Which one of these is best for my setup?

What is the big difference between ASRock, and ASUS and Gigabyte?

 

[Leaps-from-Shadows]

Both the Extreme4 and Extreme6 will work for you. They overclock. They do SLI, firewire, USB3, and ESATA.

The main differences between the two are...
Extreme4: 8+2 power phases, 4x SATA2 ports and 4x SATA3 ports
Extreme6: 16+2 power phases, 4x SATA2 ports and 6x SATA3 ports

The Pro and Pro3 will not work for you.

ASUS, Gigabyte, and MSi are generally considered the top-tier companies. In general they charge more for their names.

ASRock, Biostar, and others are more budget-oriented but are about the same quality as the top tier.

Note that you should only purchase one of these boards if it says for sure that it's the B3-stepping version. That's the new version with the fixed SATA controller.

 

[g335]

Both the Extreme4 and Extreme6 will work for you. They overclock. They do SLI, firewire, USB3, and ESATA.

The main differences between the two are...
Extreme4: 8+2 power phases, 4x SATA2 ports and 4x SATA3 ports
Extreme6: 16+2 power phases, 4x SATA2 ports and 6x SATA3 ports

The Pro and Pro3 will not work for you.

ASUS, Gigabyte, and MSi are generally considered the top-tier companies. In general they charge more for their names.

ASRock, Biostar, and others are more budget-oriented but are about the same quality as the top tier.

Note that you should only purchase one of these boards if it says for sure that it's the B3-stepping version. That's the new version with the fixed SATA controller.

Thanks

Is it worth looking at the other makers or should I stick with the ASRock?

 

[Leaps-from-Shadows]

You can look at others, but ASRock makes a good product and is less expensive. I have their P67 Pro3 board in my Sandy Bridge system right now. I would even recommend them to family and friends.

 

[hogan773]

I am using ASRock P67 Extreme 4 and I like it a lot. I chose it because it has lots of features (equal or more to the Asus P67 Pro) and it was 30 bucks cheaper. It also hasn't had all the glitches that Asuses have had in their initial bios revisions. This is my first build after owning Dells all my life, but I've been happy with the ASRock. ASRock used to be an Asus product (lower end brand of Asus) although now they're basically separate companies with Asus still maintaining some minority ownership.

 

[g335]

Best answer selected by g335.