Picking the right motherboard.

[obliza]

I keep hearing a thousand different opinions when it comes to motherboards.

Here is what im going with
Z68 CHIPSET,LGA1155

Four main boards im looking at are
GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD4B3 (Or Similar)
ASUS P8Z68-V-PRO
MSI Z68MA-ED55
MSI Z68A-GD80

But finding comparions on what makes each board better/worse seems to be borderline impossible. All I can seem to find is "I like this one","That ones crap"
Whereas realistically most people never use more the one of the boards meaning getting accurate comparisons as to the strengths and weaknesses of the boards is rare.
It's so easy for phones...

Can anyone comment on the above boards or similar ones? Strengths and Weaknesses of them? ETC?

[Nab]

I would go with the ASUS P8Z68-V-PRO, it supports the latest chipsets and Quad SLI/Crossfire.
Plus, ASUS has a really easy BIOS to use.

[Drunkenvalley]

I can't comment on the individual boards, but generally speaking the differences are mostly flavor:
Ie SATA connections, firewire, eSATA, board fugliness, material, etc.

Just keep an eye out for PCI-e 8x (pretty much any mobo will have a 16x one) or higher, and two 8x (16x when only using one) is awesome.

[Saithes]

I've owned 4 LGA 1155 boards and so far my P8Z68-V Pro has been the best board I've owned.

[Aminozuur]

Well the quality off those boards are the same all boards from msi,asus,gigabyte are good ones. On a 1155 you pick a board on your own needs any board will do. If you want to sli/cf get one with atleast 8x 8x. Check if one has something you need. Like more sata 3 or front usb header or dual gigabyte ethernet.

Else there is no real difference.

(Guess your video editing or using the cache for the ssd. Else the p67 would be better.)

EDIT: about the sli/cf it will support quad sli/quad cf but only if you got for 2x590/2x6990. Not 4x580/4x6970

[Deleted]

If you are someone who like me has

- very little experience in overclocking
- little to no experience of using SLI and Crossfire
- limited by income and will upgrade probably never in 3-4 years

then none of those boards above offer you anything worth of note. In other words you're paying a premium for features you do not need.

However to answer your question directly. Price should be the only deciding factor on those boards you've chosen.

[Deleted]

Question to OP is what do you need on the board? If you need all the features of a Z68, pick the cheapest with all the features you need.

[kailtas]

Question to OP is what do you need on the board? If you need all the features of a Z68, pick the cheapest with all the features you need.

This

If you are going for max 2 cards in sli/crossfire, 2-3 hard drives, optical + ram etc. Then the cheapest is all you need.

I may even say that, by asking what card you need. You have automatically answered the question by showing that you dont know the difference.

So just make sure it has enough USB ports, RAM slots, PCI-E 16x slots etc and you are good to go.