Which Z77 Mobo to go with Ivy Bridge?

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josejones

josejones

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Which Z77 Mobo to go with Ivy Bridge?

I'm just waiting for Ivy Bridge and the z77 motherboards to come out. I use most of these nearly everyday for work:

Adobe CS (I'll get the new CS 6 when it comes out soon), Office, Word, Photo Shop, XSite Pro (for building our own websites). I also have to create our own powerpoint lectures, and now we have to create/render our own HD videos, music, 3D graphics and 3D web design, Skype, watching movies, occasional minor online gaming.

Which z77 motherboard would be best for my needs? I was considering going with a GIGABYTE mobo - or what would be better for me?

P.S. I'm curious, when will the newer motherboards stop including the soon to be obsolete USB 2.0 and PCIe 2.0 and go with all gen 3? I don't even want a mobo with USB 2.0 and PCIe 2.0.
 
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geofelt


Not to worry. 1155 has more than twice what you need for your workload. Z68 or Z77 is plenty, and will be less expensive.

2011 was designed primarily for heavy workstation requirements and massive amounts of ram.
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z77 motherboards will natively support (no bios upgrade needed) ivy bridge cpus.
wait for the motherboard vompanies to release the motherboards and the reviewers to test them first.
usb 2.0 and pcie 2.0 won't be obsolete soon. pcie 3.0 launched late last year and will go mainstream with ivy bridge this year. both usb 3.0 and pcie 3.0 are new tech. for now all motherboards will support usb 3.0, 2.0 and pcie 2.0 and 3.0. pcie 3.0 and usb 3.0 are backwards compatible with pcie 2.0 and usb 2.0 respectively.
 
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It is a bit premature to be selecting unannounced motherboards, but here are some thoughts:

1) Brand? Since they all will use the same source of chipset, the basic functionality will be the same. Pick the brand based on your own comfort level and experience. I have used Asus, Gigabyte, ASrock, Intel and msi in the past with no important issues.

2) Features? Probably the only essential feature for you is 4 ram slots to accomodate the large amount of ram that photoshop can make use of.

pci-e 2.0 or 3.0 is really a non issue today. It might be important if you used a pci-e based SSD(expensive). Even top end graphics cards are only impacted by a few fps between 2.0 and 3.0.

All motherboards will have at least a couple of usb3.0 ports. It matters not if it is the cpu chip or a separate chip to implement. If you need more that the typical 2 usb3.0 ports, you can always get a add-in card.
 
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Ahh, thanks for all the input. I was considering going with a Gigabyte z77 but, I've never had one before. How's their support and updates? I like that they have a 5 year warranty (or maybe that's just the x79?). A local computer shop recommends Gigabyte because in their experience they have the least returns and issues.

de5_roy, I will wait for at least a few reviews before I buy.

I just remember that issue regarding PCIe 3 between them and MSI: MSI Calls Out Gigabyte for "Not True PCIe 3.0" I've seen the response from Gigabyte but now I can't find it.

- just found it - Gigabyte Sets Record Straight on PCIe 3.0 Support

How much RAM would you recommend? I was going to start out with 8g - is that enough for now?

My thing with usb/pci gen 2 is simply that I want all that bandwidth from the gen 3 and don't want to screw around with the gen 2 if I don't have to. I'm just trying to get as next, new generation as possible.

Here's my current system from 2004 (LOL):

Mobo: MSI RS480M - (only two slots for ram, maxes out at 2g total)

http://www.msi.com/product/mb/RS480M.html

http://www.xpcgear.com/msirs480mil.html

CPU: AMD 1.6 Sempron (upgraded to 2.1 Athlon two years ago)
RAM: 512 (upgraded to 2g two years ago)
HD: WD 80g (WD 500g last year)
PSU: 250w
GPU: Onboard ATI Radeon Xpress 200 Series (LOL)
OS: XP SP3

As you could imagine, I am stoked to be getting a new system!

Here's my thread for my new build: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/333702-31-bridge-work-build

I'm just an old guy so any help is always greatly appreciated!
 
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Z77 will natively support usb/pcie 3 so there is no "gen 3" that is being marketed on SB chipsets. The pcie controller is on the cpu itself. Just like SBE that natviely supports pcie 3, there are no mobos with pcie 2. Your budget will dictate your other specs but with that budget you can easily go for 2x8gb so you have open slots for future upgrade. We can't really suggest any parts since they aren't released, there is no info on them. IB will be similar price to SB so what you can get now for that budget will be what you will be getting, except with IB. Any company geofelt said will be fine.
 
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let me ask a question..
which nuclear reactor power supply for my setup-
intel failobridge i99 @69.5yopohertz(it's not much but still stable and good enough)
32PB 81222299955 ghz XDDDR99 RAM
25x2 yotobyte WD drives+ 2x 99050TB SSDs
16x HD89990 8TB in crossfire @45 yopohertz core(i know its low but it runs cooler)
liquid helium custom cooling with EK platinum blocks and titanium flxible tubing.
this is all inside A380 case!!!
HELP!!!!!!!!!!
 
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I'm still waiting for more information regarding the z77 motherboards. When will Tom's have a few z77 boards to review and compare? It's almost March already and I've learned almost nothing about the z77. I hear plenty about the x79's though, which are far too expensive and over-kill for my needs and purposes.

I'm leaning towards a Gigabyte z77 board but, not sure which one yet because I hardly know anything about them.
 
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check the ivy bridge sticky thread. a recent rumor suggests that z and h series mobos will launch in early april and the quad core desktop cpus will launch in late april/early may.
i think you're looking for answers that no one can give you. all information regarding ivy bridge should be taken with a grain of salt. nothing is certain till the actual products get released. besides, even if some reviewers/oem had ivy mobo/cpu in their possession they won't just come out and tell anyone because of the NDA.
right now, all you can do is wait and read the information that trickle out into internet.
 
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The only thing I can find about the z77 boards mostly comes from that early January convention, which merely provides a few images and not much info.

More MSI Z77 motherboards get previewed
http://vr-zone.com/articles/more-msi-z77-motherboards-get-previewed/14681.html

Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H, Z77X-UD3H & B75M-D3H
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1821/2/

I'm looking forward to some serious Gigabyte z77 reviews.

I just ran across this latest news:

Intel Ivy Bridge Revised Launch-Schedule Revealed

"Citing issues with the 22 nm manufacturing process, Intel postponed the release of its 22 nm "Ivy Bridge" Core processor family by as much as 10 weeks. There still seems to exist some confusion surrounding this launch, which SweClockers sought to clear with its latest article containing important dates related to the launch.

8 April, 2012: This was supposed to be the day "everything" (all CPU models slated for April, compatible motherboards) launched. Instead on this day, motherboard vendors will launch their products based on Intel Z77, Z75, H77, and B75 chipsets. System builders (you) will have to use existing "Sandy Bridge" processors, which are very much compatible with those motherboards. You will not be able to buy "Ivy Bridge" processors from anywhere on this day.

29 April, 2012: This is when Intel will launch quad-core Core i5, Core i7 "Ivy Bridge". On this day, the media will be able to post reviews of the new processor platform. It's not clear if you'll be able to buy these chips on this day, either. Perhaps you might.

3 June, 2012: This is when Intel will launch Q77 and Q75 chipset. The notebook platform based on "Ivy Bridge", dual-core "Ivy Bridge" processors, and the much talked about Ultrabook "Ivy Bridge" form-factor are due for "sometime in June". "
Click to expand...
 
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I think you should go with this one!
640px-Crocus-p1020491.jpg
 
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Ahh, crapola. :cry:

I thought a few z77 boards would be made available to a select few places like Tom's Hardware to review and discuss. I mean, I've heard quite a bit about all the x79 boards. Why not an equal amount of info on the z77's?

Edit: okay, I just noticed that the x79's are out. Fair enough but, why would the 79's come out before the 77's?
 
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P.S. What's the real difference between the LGA 2011 socket for the x79's compared to the LGA 1155 socket for the z77's and the new Ivy Bridge? Is one of these sockets really better than the other?

The socket issue with Intel really confuses the hell out of me. That's one thing I really liked about AMD for keeping those AM2 and AM3 sockets. Wish Intel would do that. Does a different socket have anything to do with performance at all? If not, then, why does Intel insist on having so many different sockets?
 
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The 2011 sockets have more pins to be able to manage more i/o lanes. A necessary capability on high end workstations, and multi card high end graphics configurations.
 
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Not to worry. 1155 has more than twice what you need for your workload. Z68 or Z77 is plenty, and will be less expensive.

2011 was designed primarily for heavy workstation requirements and massive amounts of ram.
 
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Solution
I think you're spot on geofelt.

I posed the question below:

"What's the real difference between the LGA 2011 socket for the x79's compared to the LGA 1155 socket for the z77's and the new Ivy Bridge? Is one of these sockets really better than the other?

The socket issue with Intel really confuses the hell out of me. That's one thing I really liked about AMD for keeping those AM2 and AM3 sockets. Wish Intel would do that. Does a different socket have anything to do with performance at all? If not, then, why does Intel insist on having so many different sockets?

How do I know if a z77 board will be fine for me or, if I need an x79?"
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I thought ebalong, page 55, made a great response so I thought I'd quote it here for others
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/page-303971_28_2700.html

"Intel divides their processors into "Mainstream" and "Enthusiast". Mainstream, all the way from the lowly Celeron, to the "Mainstream Performance or Premium" 2600K is on 1155. 2011 is for the SB-E and IB-E processors which are subdivided further into "Extreme" and "non-Extreme". 2011 socket is "better" in the sense that it has nearly twice as many pins, supports a larger 6-core processor, 4-channel RAM, and some other goodies. Though, high-end chips for 1155 are more than enough for most people, hence the term "Enthusiast" to describe the 2011 socket. There may be value in the roughly $600 3930K (2011 socket) for people that multitask a lot, but it is questionable whether the pinnacle offering, the "Extreme" 3960X (also 2011 socket) is worth the $1,000 for not much more than pure bragging rights.

With 1155 and 2011, Intel continues with their "parallel" socket offerings that they began with the first gen i-series 1156/1366 sockets. I don't know how many other sockets were around during the 775 days....the upcoming Haswell will use 1150, and who knows what the Haswell-E will use....

People seem to perceive that AMD has some advantage with allowing backwards compatibility between some sockets, but it is not that much different than what Intel does when you really look at it. With Intel, a socket is around for roughly 2 generations of processors, or ~2 years. It looks like even some of the lower-end 1155 boards with the cheaper chipsets might even be able to support an Ivy Bridge chip with BIOS update. Despite AMD having their AM2-AM2+ compatibility (and so forth), it still depends upon the board. I haven't seen where you can take an AMD board that is about 2 years older or more, and have it support newer chips, despite socket compatibility. For example, I can't switch my Athlon 64 X2 6000+ out for even the lowliest of Phenom II's, despite the fact that AM2+ chips are supported by AM2 sockets, my board is too old. In this manner, AMD hasn't been much different than Intel, I really don't know why people insist on perpetuating this idea that AMD boards enable you to upgrade just the processor after more than ~2 years, there may be rare cases, but it doesn't seem to be the rule.

Research the difference between the Enthusiast line of Intel processors, and the Mainstream line; decide what you need, that will dictate what socket you go with. "
Click to expand...
I think that for my needs, the z77 board and 1155 socket Ivy Bridge will be just fine for me and it'll be much cheaper as well.
 
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