Best MotherBoard For i7-2600k?

[mogans]

Hi,


Please anyone suggest me a best motherboard for i7-2600k in the price range of $250 and below.

 

[ShintaiDK]

Asrock Extreme4 Z77. ~130$.

 

[lehtv]

Depends on what you need from a motherboard.

What do you do with the PC?
Any special requirements for connectivity?
How much do you plan to overclock and what CPU cooling do you have?
What monitor, GPU and PSU do you have, and do you have plans for higher resolution gaming?
Is your case ATX or microATX?

 

[The_Golden_Man]

ASUS P8Z77-V or V PRO seems to be a safe bet, and have everything one need. Also, ASUS UEFI is simply the best bios layout when compared to other brands.

 

[crazymonkeyzero]

Also, ASUS UEFI is simply the best bios layout when compared to other brands.

Agreed.


Also $250 is quite frankly a lot for a board. So as stated by lehtv, it really comes down what you will be primarily using it for. Some really good boards are out there around the $150 mark, no need to spend $250 for extra features you're not gonna use.

 

[AE-Ruffy]

Gigabytes UD5H
Asrock extreme6
MSI GD65
Asus Gene-V if you can do matx.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Agreed.


Also $250 is quite frankly a lot for a board. So as stated by lehtv, it really comes down what you will be primarily using it for. Some really good boards are out there around the $150 mark, no need to spend $250 for extra features you're not gonna use.

I'll throw in with The_Golden_Man on this, suggesting as a close second some AsRock boards. But I've seen enough in both reviews and comments here at Anandtech to conclude that ASUS took last year's P8Z68 line as a basis to provide similar quantity of features and quality of product this year with the P8Z77 models.

TGM mentions the -V and -V Pro models. Last year, I thought there was a demarcation in phase-power design between those two, and that the -V Pro, -V Deluxe and Maximus IV had either same or designs that were close or in the same class.

If I weren't planning to buy a K processor, I might consider less expensive boards. Buying a K processor means the builder wants to tweak and OC. Maybe the models below the -V Pro are better this year. But the latter fits the OP's budget, and I suspect people building Ivy Bridge or Sandy Configurations this year are looking fondly at the -V Pro, even if they chose something else.

 

[KingerXI]

I just bought a BNIB ASRock P67 Extreme4 Gen3 for $85 shipped from Newegg. I have my i7 2600k. @ 4.4Ghz easy.

 

[birthdaymonkey]

I had an Extreme4, and while it worked fairly well, I ended up returning it because of coil whine and getting a P8Z77-V Pro. The Asus board is silent, which was the most important thing for me.

Now, having tried both, I'd say the Asus is a nicer board in other ways too (although it should be, at $60 more cost). It overclocks with offset A LOT better than the ASrock, which I could only get stable using manual v-core at 4.6GHz on my 2500K. This meant it ran hotter and consumed more power at idle.

The only thing I'm missing from the ASRock was the lightning fast boot time.

 

[UNhooked]

I recently bought a Gigabyte Z77X UD3H, very happy with it just the VIA stuff on still needs to mature some. But otherwise a pretty solid board.