Any other decent mATX board besides the Asus Maximus IV GENE-Z?

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Sgt_Strider

Gawd
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I'm looking for a good value mATX board to use with the Intel Core i5 2500K. I know that the Asus Maximus IV GENE-Z is a good board, but it's pretty expensive. Are there cheaper, but still decent solution for overclocking the 2500K?

Thanks!
 
If you don't need Z68 consider:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188081

If you want Z68 then you can look at these, although the GENE-Z is the best IMHO

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131786

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157252

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130596

Keep in mind these boards may not work for SLI/Crossfire due to slot layout, though your case may allow it if you have a fifth slot on the case. ie PC-V354
 
N1GHTRA1N said:
If you don't need Z68 consider:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188081

If you want Z68 then you can look at these, although the GENE-Z is the best IMHO

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131786

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157252

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130596

Keep in mind these boards may not work for SLI/Crossfire due to slot layout, though your case may allow it if you have a fifth slot on the case. ie PC-V354
Click to expand...

I'm planning to build an SFF and I don't need crossfire. I'm just planning to go with a single card setup. Will either of the Z68 boards give me a decent overclock with the 2500K?
 
I've seen a 2500K running at 4.2GHz with stock cooler on the Asus board I listed. I'm sure all of these boards would go well but I'm biased towards Asus myself. I'm sure it could have been pushed a little higher than 4.2 and even further with a better cooler.
 
So far the Gene Z is the best mATX z68 mobo in OCing and performance. For something cheaper I'd go with the ASUS or ASRock that N1GHTRA1N listed. About the only way to get cheaper than that is if you get a mobo with no USB 3.0 or 6Gb/s features.
 
Skott said:
So far the Gene Z is the best mATX z68 mobo in OCing and performance. For something cheaper I'd go with the ASUS or ASRock that N1GHTRA1N listed. About the only way to get cheaper than that is if you get a mobo with no USB 3.0 or 6Gb/s features.
Click to expand...

I'm aware of that, but I'm not looking for the best as I upgrade my processor and motherboard on an annual basis. I don't need the best, but I'm looking for good value. Whatever is the best now will not only cost me more, but be slower than what will come out next year.
 
See my sig for my OC on my Gene. When I get a hair up my butt, I'll raise the voltage and see if I can hit 5 Ghz (at 1.35v for now).
 
Sgt_Strider said:
I'm aware of that, but I'm not looking for the best as I upgrade my processor and motherboard on an annual basis. I don't need the best, but I'm looking for good value. Whatever is the best now will not only cost me more, but be slower than what will come out next year.
Click to expand...

Get the ASRock. It should be good for non-extreme overclocking and it has all the basics such as SATA 6G (from chipset), USB 3.0, PCIe x16, eSATA. It also has all the video outputs you might ever need (DVI, VGA, HDMI, DisplayPort) in case you are the type to "trickle down" your old hardware to family members. About the only potentially useful thing it is missing are USB 3.0 headers for front panel ports.

BTW, if you're near a Micro Center, you can get $80 off this motherboard when purchased with a Core i7-2600K. This makes it the same cost as buying a 2500K with this motherboard from Newegg.
 
Sgt_Strider said:
I'm looking for a good value mATX board to use with the Intel Core i5 2500K. I know that the Asus Maximus IV GENE-Z is a good board, but it's pretty expensive. Are there cheaper, but still decent solution for overclocking the 2500K?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

If you're interested in overclocking, you're wasting your time looking at anything else. Gene-Z is as close to perfection as an M-ATX board gets right now. It's an investment in keeping your CPU fed with rock-stable voltage on account of the superior VRM's. That was my main buying point, that and the awesome BIOS with lots of options from the $375 full ATX board .
 
odditory said:
If you're interested in overclocking, you're wasting your time looking at anything else. Gene-Z is as close to perfection as an M-ATX board gets right now. It's an investment in keeping your CPU fed with rock-stable voltage on account of the superior VRM's. That was my main buying point, that and the awesome BIOS with lots of options from the $375 full ATX board .
Click to expand...

I know, but if I can save $30-$40 to get a board with similar qualities, then why wouldn't I? Are there no other mATX boards that can adjust the memory timings and VCore?
 
Sgt_Strider said:
I heard that ASRock throttles the CPU especially with their Z68 itx board.
Click to expand...

That's their ITX board. I'm talking about their micro ATX board.

Sgt_Strider said:
Are there no other mATX boards that can adjust the memory timings and VCore?
Click to expand...

BIOS pic from ASRock Z68 PRO3-M. Got everything you're looking for, at $110.

IMG_0563.jpg
 
Zap said:
That's their ITX board. I'm talking about their micro ATX board.



BIOS pic from ASRock Z68 PRO3-M. Got everything you're looking for, at $110.
Click to expand...

Wow. Do you have any experience with this board? I don't need the absolute highest overclock possible, but I'm looking to add a little bit of VCore and overclock a bit on the processor. So definitely no throttling issues with the ASRock mATX board? Any issues with all 4 DIMM slots populated? I'm planning to put 16GB of RAM in the system.
 
I upgraded a system for someone using that ASRock board. I took that crappy photo. No throttling that I could see, but I did not do extensive overclocking with it. Initially I was going to push it to around 4.3-4.4GHz using a tower heatsink and only did some preliminary testing at those speeds. Unfortunately there was an issue with the case (original Silverstone TJ08) where the HDD cables covered up the edge of the CPU area. If you look at a picture of the board, you can see that the CPU is closer to the RAM than on most other boards. Thus, I was only able to use the stock heatsink. I did clock it to 4.0GHz at stock voltage using the stock heatsink, and there was no throttling. This board comes with VRM heatsinks, unlike the mini ITX ASRock.
 
Zap said:
I upgraded a system for someone using that ASRock board. I took that crappy photo. No throttling that I could see, but I did not do extensive overclocking with it. Initially I was going to push it to around 4.3-4.4GHz using a tower heatsink and only did some preliminary testing at those speeds. Unfortunately there was an issue with the case (original Silverstone TJ08) where the HDD cables covered up the edge of the CPU area. If you look at a picture of the board, you can see that the CPU is closer to the RAM than on most other boards. Thus, I was only able to use the stock heatsink. I did clock it to 4.0GHz at stock voltage using the stock heatsink, and there was no throttling. This board comes with VRM heatsinks, unlike the mini ITX ASRock.
Click to expand...

Doh, I just realize that a lot of the Z68 mATX boards don't support more than 2 DIMMs. Is the Asus Maximus IV GENE-Z the only decent board that will support 4 DIMMs?
 
Zap said:
I upgraded a system for someone using that ASRock board. I took that crappy photo. No throttling that I could see, but I did not do extensive overclocking with it. Initially I was going to push it to around 4.3-4.4GHz using a tower heatsink and only did some preliminary testing at those speeds. Unfortunately there was an issue with the case (original Silverstone TJ08) where the HDD cables covered up the edge of the CPU area. If you look at a picture of the board, you can see that the CPU is closer to the RAM than on most other boards. Thus, I was only able to use the stock heatsink. I did clock it to 4.0GHz at stock voltage using the stock heatsink, and there was no throttling. This board comes with VRM heatsinks, unlike the mini ITX ASRock.
Click to expand...

I just built a quasi HTPC (and light gaming) with the ASROCK Z68 PRO3-M. Love this little board. No throttling issues but I'm running an i3 2100 (so no overclocking for me). I've got 8gb's (2 x 4gb modules) of Gskill working just fine on a RAID 0 setup. I'm very pleased with this motherboard and might pick another one up soon.

Here is my related thread: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1631255
 
Sgt_Strider said:
Doh, I just realize that a lot of the Z68 mATX boards don't support more than 2 DIMMs. Is the Asus Maximus IV GENE-Z the only decent board that will support 4 DIMMs?
Click to expand...

The ASRock board has 4 DIMMs and IMO is decent.

I don't know what Z68 mATX boards you are looking at, but Newegg lists 9 of them and only one (cheapest) has 2 DIMMs. The other 8 have 4 DIMMs.
 
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