Time for an upgrade, which means a new motherboard.

 

The Asus P8Z77-V series seems to be best for my future Core i5-3570K.

 

Anyone have a board preference from the extensive list of sub Z77 models below?

 

I plan to do some mild to medium overclocking, but no de-lidding.

 

I'm still just a newbie overclocker and need something simple.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&N=100006654&isNodeId=1&Description=p8z77-v&x=0&y=0

 

 

Too many choices!

Hello Bryan,

 

Welcome to the club. Im also in the process of upgrading and just finalize my selection of which parts to use. There are several differences in the p8z77-V mobo series and for starters your choice lies between the p8z77-V and the p8z77-V Pro. The other models with the 'LK' and 'M' and all these different letters are basically close cousins to the V and the V Pro. In some cases they are watered down versions to the V and the V Pro.

 

Anyhow the main differences between the V and V pro is

1) price

2) the V Pro has an extra fan header, 2 more USB 2 connections, and COM port

3)the V pro has a few more power phases for the CPU which means better overclocking ability

 

However, the V can still powerful enough to get you to a 4.2 - 4.7 range without any problems.

 

So basically, If you plan to use a case that uses only 3 chasis fans and dont need the extra USB connections, the p8z77-V would be perfect for you.

 

 

CPU

Intel i5 3570K

MOBO

ASUS p8z77-V Pro

RAM

8GB Corsair Vengeance 8gb Low profile DDR3 1600MHz

GPU

eVGA GeForce GTX660Ti 2GB

HDD

2 Samsung 830 series 128gb SSD

PSU

Corsair AX750

CPU Cooler

Noctua NH-D14

Case

CoolerMaster HAF 932 Full Tower

OS

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Bryan, I finished my first build this summer and used a P8Z-77 V LK after a lot of research. I like the 4 fan ports and am using all for my FSX build. This is with an i5-3570K (not overclocked yet) and 8 GB of 1600 RAM. Couple of things-as you may read the board defaults to 1333 Ram timings unless you enable XMP on the BIOS. Also, the whole rebate thing is awful so I just write it off--its not worth the high blood pressure.

 

I didn't have any issues installing Windows 7 and a new Samsung 830 HDD (256gb) and the board fired everything up without issues. I also liked the PCI 3.0 and USB 3.0 buses. Future-proof it for a few years. I am only running one graphics card (Nvidia) so don't have an opinion if you are planning to run SLI.

 

Good luck!

I'm using the big daddy of the family, the Deluxe, and let me tell you, I love my board to death.

For me, it would be Pro or Deluxe/Premium if I want additional features. I think Asus Pro boards are the best shot for the money.

I have the V-LX version and it performs very well with only 1 chassis fan cooling the H60 watercooler (case always open). I prefer silent computers

i5-3570 at 4.6 Ghz now and with FSX running temps stay at: mobo 27C and CPU 47C. Very smooth performance, best i ever had for a flightsim. Overclocking is a bit awkward when using the Asus auto tuning utility, but its a good starting point. Could only get it to 4.3 Ghz with the utility. Setting BCLK back to 100, and DRAM timing back to AUTO a overclock to 4.6 GHz next, was easily done.

Does anybody know if the new Z77 boars also have the double boot problem that both the P67 and Z68 boards had? You know, that when you boot your PC, it sometimes refuses to POST, shuts off again, restarts, than locks up at the Windows splashscreen and you gotta reboot again.