Z68 vs P67 Motherboards, Should I get one?

[Mike029]

I've been looking at the P67 MB's for my sisters build. The new Z68 MB's are out and starting to get some reviews. Price is comparable vs the P67. I'm wondering if I should get a Z68 for future upgrade ability or stay in the P67?

This,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=13-131-730&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=5&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&SelectedRating5=5&Keywords=%28keywords%29#scrollFullInfo
And this one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157250

Give me the best bang for buck z68/p67 to run 3 GPU's. (In the foreseeable future) If I have to go up to around $200.00 to $250.00 for a more future proof board I will.

What say you?

[DrPop]

Yeah, the new Z68 Chipset looks better to me. That's what they should have started out with, IMHO. I don't think it was quite ready, and they were really wanting to thump the competition, so I think they just brought out Sandy Bridge with a half-@ss chipset and the rest is history.

For 2 GPUs, hard to beat this $120 mobo (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128501) from GIGABYTE.

For 3 GPUs, this is the best bang for the buck (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157250), $199 ASRock.

Looks like with these boards you are paying a big premium for that 3rd GPU slot. Is this for your own personal rig? And would be filling that 3rd slot, or is there a better use for the $80?

Well, hmmm...you could get a 3 GPU capable mobo here for $159 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157229), P67 chipset, ASRock. Strong board. Good features...wonder if the Z68 is really worth $40 extra? That seems a little steep.
JPM or F$ or someone like that -- can any of ya'll comment on whether it's worth $40 more?

@Mike - Is that kinda what you were looking for Mate?

[Mike029]

Yes and thank you. I always look here before leaping. Sort of cause I Jumped!! :o I just got an email notification from NewEgg that the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO is available. It was between the ASRock Z68 Extreme4 which is not available right now and the Asus above. Sooooo, I jumped at the Asus, 3 year warranty vs 1 year for Asrock. :cool:

So here is the setup.

ASUS P8Z68-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $209.99


Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K
$314.99

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C8
$84.99

Total $610.

Shipping $9.57
Promo Code -$15.00
Total $604.57


I still have to collect a $25.00 rebate coming as well knocking this to under $600.00 =D>

I'll use the 950 PSU that Shadow sent me. Big shout out and Thank You. I see USPS crushed you on postage and I appreciate the PSU.^:)^ It saved me a few dollars.

I'll put in in two hd 5870's. If there is room for the 3rd card. I'll swap in the OCZ 1200 psu and try to run a 3rd 5870. :p If not I'll run 2 in my rig and 2 in this one. Trying to run 3 gpu's seems to be a bit of a challenge with heat. We'll see how it goes.

I'm real tempted to see if my Sis wants my computer and I'll keep this one. :o

The order will be here later this week.:D

Once I get my Sis. computer up and running this is the end of my upgrades. :(( My wife has been real patient with me. If I buy anything else I'll be looking for a low rent dog house to move into with my computer. ~:>

[Duke of Buckingham]

One question that shipping is not to Portugal? I have not such a good luck.

[John P. Myers]

For us crunchers, i don't see the real need to get the Z68. But maybe your sis would get more use out of it than we would.

It doesn't support anymore PCIe lanes than the H/P67 does. Sure, you can switch between integrated graphics and a GPU, but at the cost of running your chip hotter, limiting your overclocking abilities. Caching frequently used data on an SSD? Why wouldn't you have your frequently used data on the SSD in the first place? lol Hell i don't even have an SSD so again, that's useless.

However, the Z68 does offer some overclocking ability that the H/P67s don't. But isn't that what the BIOS is for? Except that you can overclock CPUs that have locked multipliers (though it's very limited), i don't personally have a need for the Z68. But we're all different :)

PC Magazine Z68 article (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2385173,00.asp)

[DrPop]

@Mike - wow, what a beautiful mobo! ;) That is going to be one insane build. I am quite sure whoever gets it - you or her or your niece - will be happy with it for a long time to come. Thanks for thinking of the team when getting the hardware, too - I can feel The Force is strong with you...it is telling me, "a great increase in RAC coming soon." :D :))
;)
Oh, and believe me, I second the bit about the "upgrading" vs doghouse. I am walking that tight rope too! :D :D

[Mike029]

@Mike - wow, what a beautiful mobo! ;) That is going to be one insane build. I am quite sure whoever gets it - you or her or your niece - will be happy with it for a long time to come. Thanks for thinking of the team when getting the hardware, too - I can feel The Force is strong with you...it is telling me, "a great increase in RAC coming soon." :D :))
;)


Thanks. I'm hoping with this build I'll go over the 1mil a day threshold.



Oh, and believe me, I second the bit about the "upgrading" vs doghouse. I am walking that tight rope too! :D :D


I know it's true. I have seen the pics.

http://www.davidwenzel.com/images/comics/Courant-Dog-House.jpg

[joker]

If I buy anything else I'll be looking for a low rent dog house to move into with my computer.

And I have heard that there is no sex in the doghouse. :(

[Mike029]

For us crunchers, i don't see the real need to get the Z68. But maybe your sis would get more use out of it than we would.

It doesn't support anymore PCIe lanes than the H/P67 does. Sure, you can switch between integrated graphics and a GPU, but at the cost of running your chip hotter, limiting your overclocking abilities. Caching frequently used data on an SSD? Why wouldn't you have your frequently used data on the SSD in the first place? lol Hell i don't even have an SSD so again, that's useless.

However, the Z68 does offer some overclocking ability that the H/P67s don't. But isn't that what the BIOS is for? Except that you can overclock CPUs that have locked multipliers (though it's very limited), i don't personally have a need for the Z68. But we're all different :)

PC Magazine Z68 article (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2385173,00.asp)

Thanks JPM. I agree that this will be more card then I need, ATM. :)

[Bryan]

I'm looking to upgrade one of my comptuers to an I7 2600k. So the question comes to the MB and the built in graphics. Unless I'm mistaken to do crunching (multiple cards) you need to turn off the built-in GPU.

Can this be done on both P67 and Z68 MB? I'm looking at the ASUS P8Z68-V Pro and P867 Deluxe Rev 3.0.

I will be running a 5970 and some Cuda 570, 580, 590 ... I haven't decided on the 2nd card yet.

PS probably pulling the trigger on this build within a week so need a little quick help!

[Fire$torm]

I'm looking to upgrade one of my comptuers to an I7 2600k. So the question comes to the MB and the built in graphics. Unless I'm mistaken to do crunching (multiple cards) you need to turn off the built-in GPU.

Can this be done on both P67 and Z68 MB? I'm looking at the ASUS P8Z68-V Pro and P867 Deluxe Rev 3.0.

I will be running a 5970 and some Cuda 570, 580, 590 ... I haven't decided on the 2nd card yet.

PS probably pulling the trigger on this build within a week so need a little quick help!

As I understand Sandy Bridge, disabling IGU is not necessary. It is designed to work alongside GPU cards. This could actually help someone who had this as their primary desktop, since the IGU could be used for the display which would eliminate lag with the users GUI.

[bmwr606]

As I understand Sandy Bridge, disabling IGU is not necessary. It is designed to work alongside GPU cards. This could actually help someone who had this as their primary desktop, since the IGU could be used for the display which would eliminate lag with the users GUI.


i have been wondering about this exact thing.....
if true would be a great reason to buy Z68....

can anyone here confirm this???????

[Mike029]

i have been wondering about this exact thing.....
if true would be a great reason to buy Z68....

can anyone here confirm this???????

I have been unable to run the on board video for my monitor while the 5870 is installed. I called Asus and spoke with their tech team and the guy told me you can not run the on board when you have a gpu installed. I'm not convinced as I've read a couple of people that are running their monitors on the on board and crunching with their dedicated gpu. I have to look into this more.

I like the mb but I have not really done much with it. I feel like I'm the 90 year old man in the right line of the freeway going 55 MPH in a Lamborghini. :( Not using this mb to it's full potential.

[John P. Myers]

On my Gigabyte, you can use on board and GPU at the same time.
On my MSI with the i7 2600k, it was my understanding the P67 chipset automatically disabled the IGU. You'd need H67/Z68 to use the IGU at all.

[Mike029]

On my Gigabyte, you can use on board and GPU at the same time.
On my MSI with the i7 2600k, it was my understanding the P67 chipset automatically disabled the IGU. You'd need H67/Z68 to use the IGU at all.

I have not tried enabling it again. I'll play with it some more this weekend.

[Bryan]

Okay I'm pulling the trigger tonight and going with the ASUS Z68 board. If it works with the internal GPU fine and if not then I can disable it and nothing is lost.

I decided on the I7 2600K and will use one of my existing 5970s and add a new GTX 570.

[joker]

Bryan, can I have a loan?? ;)

[Bryan]

Bryan, can I have a loan?? ;)

If I had anything left but now I've spent it all :|

[Mike029]

Okay I'm pulling the trigger tonight and going with the ASUS Z68 board. If it works with the internal GPU fine and if not then I can disable it and nothing is lost.

I decided on the I7 2600K and will use one of my existing 5970s and add a new GTX 570.

Sweet setup. That box will put out 1.5 stones a day. More if you really push it.

I'd recommend this GTX 570 for your box. I reviewed it at NewEgg and gave a shout out for SUSA. I hope we get someone to join off of a review. that would be cool. Check it out here.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130622

[Bryan]

Sweet setup. That box will put out 1.5 stones a day. More if you really push it.

I'd recommend this GTX 570 for your box. I reviewed it at NewEgg and gave a shout out for SUSA. I hope we get someone to join off of a review. that would be cool. Check it out here.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130622

I went with the EVGA Superclocked that has the fan in the rear instead of in the middle. I already have 2 of those and 1 that is in the middle. My GTXs are mounted as the bottom card which puts them right over the power supply and with the rear fan it has a little cleaner air path for the fan. Outside of that I haven't found any difference in the cards.

I run the GTX 570s at 900 MHz and they get around 710-720k per day.

[Bryan]

Wow, Newegg is great! I placed the order at midnight last night and 9 hours later I get the email with the tracking number!! The toys are on the way:cool:

[Mike029]

Let me know how you make out with the on board for monitor vs crunching with the reference gpu without a monitor attached.

[Bryan]

Okay the build is now fully up and running.

First of all with regards to the I7 2600k .... the sucker is a SCREAMER :)) I had it clocked at 4.8G and ran the Prime95 stress test for 6 hours without a failure and the temp never hit 70! When I added the 5970 and GTX 570 I had to drop to 4.4G to stay below 70C and that's with no air conditioning.

So on to the buiild:

I7 2600k
ASUS P8Z68-V Pro MB
Zalman CNPS11X cooler
8GB PC2000 DDR3 (wasted money ... see note)
1 kW PSU
1 5970
1 GTX 570
HAF 932 case

With regards to running the internal processor GPU and crunching with the PCIe cards .... it works like a champ! It isn't totally isolated because the desktop will "extend" onto 1 of the PCIe GPUs BUT that extention will have no changing graphics on it so it is virtually free.

When a PCIe GPU is installed the boot display will automatically switch to the PCIe card and turn off the iGPU. The following is the method I used to get things working with BOINC and then I turned the iGPU back on.

1. Install the ATI card first (5970 in my case). I installed the full blown CAT 11.5 package.
2. Get BOINC crunching on that card.
3. Install the GTX 570 without a dummy plug or monitor attached. I installed ONLY the card driver.
4. Reboot and launch BOINC and it should pick up the Nvidia card. Get it crunching as well.
5. Now restart and go into the MB BIOS to: Advanced - System Agent Configuration - Initiate Graphics Adapter ... set it to iGPU. This sets the "boot" graphics adapter to the CPU's GPU.
6. When you exit/save/reboot put a monitor on the iGPU output and a dummy plug on the ATI. Once the system boots it will automatically "extend" the desktop onto the ATI card but it is an extension and has no changing graphics. If you don't use a dummy plug the CAT driver will say "No AMD devices active".

That's all there is to it ... works great!

NOTE: The P8Z68 board does NOT support PC2000 memory devices. So if you buy those you are wasting your money (like I did). It DOES support 1866 and 2133 so either save a little money going with the 1866 or spend more bucks with the 2133. It also supports the slower memories.

NOTE 2: There is an issue with SATA 6 drives and the Marvel disc controller (and some others). When I tried to install both Vista and Win7 it said there were no HDD. Checking the web there are bunches of people having that problem and the vendors Marvel/MB mfg/disc mfg are all pointing fingers saying "it's not my problem". I'm going to return the HDD and get an old reliable SATA 3 drive :))

[DrPop]

Oh my...that is an amazing machine. I am drooling! :o I really wish AMD would get Bulldozer right soon so I can compare it to Sandy Bridge and see what the next build should be! ;)

[Fire$torm]

Super SWEET!!! And thanks for the great info on configuring IGU with GPUs. I'm sure this will help anyone wanting to upgrade to Sandy Bridge. Sorry to hear that the SATA industry can't get their collective arses together.

[Mike029]

Nice job and thanks for the info. I'll give this a try on my z68 this weekend. How was the install with that heatsink? It looked huge.

[Bryan]

The heatsink was a piece of cake! It has a spreader that accepts screws (from the top of the MB) and it is held in place with double sided tape (on the bottom of the MB). So once that is in place you only work from the top side of the MB. Put the heatsink in place, drop the screws in the holes, and then using a long allen wrench they supply tighten them up. Much, much, easier than the Artic Cooler I did on an I7 950 build last month. On that one you have to hold the heatsink in place while trying to put nuts on from the bottom. That one would be better if you had 3 hands :)