Z68 vs H67

[MKBL]

I have an MSI H67 board with i5 2400 CPU, and now am considering to replace the board with a Z68 one. Main reason is, obviously with H67, CPU frequency is fixed, and I am kind of itching to overclock my CPU moderately. But I want to make an informed decision, so here are questions:

- Would moderate overclock of i5 2400 will improve game play? Of course it will improve 3DMark, but I'm not concerned about the benchmark, but on gaming experience.

Other components:
Cooler Master 212+
Corsair 1333Mhz 4GB x 2
EVGA GTX 560 Ti 448 Classified
Antec HCG-620
Antec 300
Samsung F3 500GB
Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit SP1
HP 2311x 1920 x 1080

Games to play:
Batman Arkham City with everything max
Civilization V
Witcer 2 (will buy after finishing Batman)
Diablo 3 (pre-ordered)
Skyrim (maybe, maybe not)

- What other advantage does Z68 provide over H67, besides overclocking?

- If I buy a Z68 board, is there a good way to get some money back from the H67 that I have right now? It seems that ebay is not a valid option.

 

[sosofm]

Read this to see what is the diference between H67 and Z68 : http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/06/09/h67-p67-and-z68-which-one-is-right-for-you/

 

[jaquith]

Also, neither the H67 or Intel i5-2400 will or can OC.

To OC you MUST use a SB 'K' CPU (e.g. i5-2500K or i7-2600K) AND either a P67 or Z68 MOBO. The H67, H61, C206, Q67, etc don't allow any OC'ing.

Examples:
i5-2500K + H61 = no OC
i5-2400 + Z68 = no OC

i5-2500K + P67 = YES OC
i5-2500K + Z68 = YES OC

Therefore also an aftermarket HSF like 'Cooler Master 212+' is a waste if not OC'ing; use the free stock HSF.

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

The others have given you solid information on the difference between the H67 and the Z68 chipset but a couple things to add in.
-Intel SRT (Smart Response Technology) will allow you to set up a small SSD (<64GB) for a caching drive.
-Intel SATA III controller said to be better than the older Marvell Controller that was used on the older H67 boards.

and like the others have said

-Z68 will allow you to change the multiplier on our unlocked 2nd generation Intel® Core™ processors.

Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team