Building a new comp. need motherboard advice

[astroglide]

So Im building a new computer from scratch but iv never done it before. I want a pretty good motherboard that I dont have to upgrade for a while. Im not going to lie though im a little confused on what makes a good mb. can someone post good one and high end one and one to stay away from? I was thinking of getting this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131665 but what is the diffrence between that one and a high end one? I also would like to ask is there any good guides that can help me when makeing one. Iv got some friends who kinda know what there doing but I want other points of views.

[Plasmon]

Don't get that one... it uses the older generation of Intel processors. You will want the Sandy Bridge generation, and the motherboards for that are called H67, P67, or Z68. They use socket LGA 1155.
For the vast majority of computer users, the really high end motherboards (like Sabertooth, Republic of Gamers, Maximus, Fatal1ty, etc) are a giant waste of money, there's very little benefit to most people.

The type that would fit most people's needs is P67. The price range for a decent but not overly expensive P67 motherboard is somewhere around $125-$180.

You should have a look through some "builds" that people have posted. Take a look at Chaud's from the front page of MMO-C (may have been pushed off the first page by now), and also the ones in the first post of a thread in the computer forums called something like "The Sweat Spot build". Neither of them are exactly what I would select, but they're close enough.


Here are some good P67 motherboards to look for that aren't too extreme:

ASUS P8P67
ASUS P8P67-m Pro (m stands for micro, it's a slightly smaller version. Micro-ATX size.)
ASUS P8P67 Pro
ASUS P8P67 Evo

MSI P67A-GD53
MSI P67A-GD55
MSI P67A-GD65

Gigabyte P67A-UD3P
Gigabyte P67A-UD3
Gigabyte P67A-UD4

etc.

[Biernot]

Like Plasmon said, when buying a computer now, you want to pick Intel SandyBridge. That means cpus are called "Core i3-2xxx, i5-2xxx, i7-2xxx". The corresponding motherboards have the "LGA 1155 socket" and chipsets called "H61, B65, H67, P67, Z67". Now to pick the correct board...


(Only H61, H67, P67 are widely available and would make the most sense, so we focus on them)

To get the best price, you need to assess what feature you need or want now and in the future:

SLI/CrossFire: P67
HDD Raid: H67/P67
S-ATA 3.0: H67/P67
Overclocking: P67
>8GB RAM: H67/P67
Onboard GPU: H61/H67

So basically speaking:
- H61 is the chipset for more simple computers (mainly internet and office, but also simple gaming pcs)
- P67 is the chipset for the high-end user (dual-gpu gaming, overclocking, CAD workstations, etc)
- H67 is the middle ground between above two.

This should tell you, what chipset you need. I for myself would do fine with a H67, because i don't want SLI or overclocking, but if you do, then go for P67.

Now there is a variety of versions of boards with the same chipset, even from the same manufacturer. The main difference between them is the equipment with connectors (optical audio out, firewire, >2 PEG gpu slots, 2x LAN, ...), but some differ also in more advanced stuff (e.g. dual-bios for advanced overclockers). For the most part, you will do fine with the basic variant and this would be also the best choice for stability, because the more features there are, the more parts can go bad.

Things i would advise to get:
- S-ATA3 (not so important now, but when you get a new SSD, you will have benefits)
- USB 3.0 (not life-changing, but USB 2.0 with it's max 30 mb/s is kinda slow already, and will be more so in the future)
All other things are situational and depend on your personal needs.

Suggestions:
Asus P8H67-M pro http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131711
Asus P8P67 LE http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131706

[haxs101]

First off, you never said what CPU you are using.. The one you linked is 1366 - 1st gen intel i7 motherboard.

[Deleted]

I want a pretty good motherboard that I dont have to upgrade for a while.

If your budget is healthy and if you're looking to splash out on an Intel system, then the suggestions above are sound enough.
To pair any of the current high end Intel CPU's with the correct motherboard has become somewhat tricky given the current plethora of motherboards available.

Assuming the above quote is true then the best option given a healthy(but moderate) budget is a Z68 motherboard. Reviews on this motherboard i've linked can be found here .

To summarize the Z68 motherboard offers two main features over Intel's last batch of high end motherboards while still giving the user the option to fully utilize the overclocking features of their flagship K series of processors as well as the on die graphics which these processors provide.

- Smart Response Technology Pair an affordable and small capacity Solid State Drive with a standard HDD to improve response times of applications and startup of programs. More info can be found here .

- Lucid Virtu technology Plug your monitor into the adapter provided by the motherboard and enabling this software allows you to benefit from the features that both your on die graphics(found on the processor) and the discrete graphics (GTX 560, AMD 6950 etc). In other words if you're playing games, the technology will utilize the discrete GFX or if you're just browsing the web it will switch to the more energy efficient on die graphics. Other articles explaining the benefits of this technology can be found here .

To be honest most users will probably benefit from the first feature if you plan on purchasing an affordable and small capacity SSD.

However if you are planning to buy a large capacity SSD and don't care about efficiency savings and want to play games at the fullest extent with an expensive GFX then both these features won't neccessarily matter to you.

But being able to fully utilize on die graphics should the need arise such as when your discrete GFX card dies on you and you have no spares lying around is very useful to say the least. Least and foremost the Z68 series of motherboards tick the "future proof" box and most reviewers agree this is what Intel should have done in the first place when they lauched their SB platform.

AMD's Bulldozer platform is released in a month's time if scheduling reports remain true, thats another consideration.

[Drunkenvalley]

I was gonna say the Z68 board is ridiculously expensive, but it really depends on what board you're getting I've now discovered. O_o

Here's what I ordered recently:
http://www.komplett.no/k/ki.aspx?sku=626386#extra

Here's what I'm now wondering if I should have:
http://www.komplett.no/k/ki.aspx?sku=635091#extra

Thankfully, I can return individual parts within 30 days of reception for a refund I think, but shipping alone will make it more expensive. O_o

[astroglide]

Wow thanks for the replys guys. I found all of that usefull. My budget is pretty flexable but i wish i knew all the little things u guys know so i can make a better choice. Thanks for the advice though