Need some advice for selecting first z68 board

[Luzah]

Hello everyone!


So I've decided it's time to upgrade from my I7-920 and my eVGA x58 SLI LE motherboard to something newer, since I've read in several places that 1366 is officially "dead". I'll give you guys a list of the things I am looking at, as well as what I will be re-using on the new board. ANY help in this area is most appreciated, since I've been looking and looking at numerous forums and just can't seem to find a board that fits "me".


Things I HAVE and will be re-using:

Vid Card = Sapphire Radeon 6990

Case = Corsair 800D

PSU = Corsair TX850

Sound Card = Fatal1ty Titanium Champion (with 5 1/4 dock)

DVD/Blu-Ray = nothing big time, just some SATA ones

HDD = Two WD Black 1gb drives


Things I am in need of advice on:

Motherboard = ?? (I am a hardcore gamer, and the more bells and whistles, the better for me. Although maybe there's a solution for the gimmicks?)

CPU = Here I was going to go with the i7-2600k.. but I have done a bit of research on benchmarking, and it -seems- to me that the 2500k hangs in there with it's bigger brother. However, I am not sure if the 2mb loss of cache or the loss of HT is worth it?

Memory = I was thinking of re-using my OCZ DDR3 1066, but again.. not sure if I should get better ones for the new build

SSD = If I can save a bit of money with the cpu/mobo combo, I may pick up an SSD card for the OS install.



Keep in mind that I am a gamer, and FPS means everything to me. I can't say for sure if I will add another 6990 to the build next year, BUT I would like to keep that option open to me -just in case-. Also, my budget will most likely be around $800 or so for recommended buys.

Boards I have looked at are

Gigabyte G1.Sniper2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128525

Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD7
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128499

ASUS Maximus IV Extreme Z
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131760


One thing I like about the Sniper2 board is the incorporation of the Killer NPU and the onboard X-FI. I may not even have to use my fatality if I decide to get that board...

What say you guys?!!

 

[videopho]

I've been thru this road a month ago.
I ended up with a GB-Z68XP-UD3 mobo and a 2500k for less than $280 (combo saving from MicroCenter).
I too ended up dumping my 1033 DDr3 and went for Patriot Extreme Viper 1866 (8gb) for $50 AR.
Get yourself a small SSD like 60gb abd go for SRT caching and watch your game speed loading flies.
I have two HDD one is system apps, OS and another for gaming. Both are WD 1TB Black Caviar type.
I use a Microcenter branded 64gb (A-DATA) for caching my 1TB gaming HDD and couldn't be happier, everything works out exactly as planned.

 

[abekl]

I think the system you have is fine and can still be considered "current." I would wait and skip one generation and upgrade after the socket 2011 chips have been out for a time.

 

[Luzah]

Now see... I thought about doing that as well, but I'm pretty sure this motherboard is bottlenecking the GPU considerably. So if I was to replace the motherboard, I may as well go with current gen stuff and get a new cpu while I am at it.. that's my thought process, anyhow.

 

[Diogenes2]

If you live near a Microcenter, I think they are still taking $80 off a Z68 mobo if you bundle it with a $279 2600K ..

I wouldn't worry about getting better RAM - I'm using some 1066, and I see very little difference with some 1600 I tried..

If you can spring for a 30 -60gb SSD, you can set up SSD caching and, get near stand-alone SSD read performance from your spindle drives...

 

[Luzah]

I'm actually planning on an SSD... A Kingston HyperX

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820139601

So I got all that figured out.. I just need to figure out which board.

 

[gevorg]

I would wait at least until Ivy Bridge, IMHO. Do you actually experience performance issues in whatever you're doing with your current machine? If its just an upgrade bug, a good SSD should "cure it" for the time being.

 

[Luzah]

No.. my WEI is like 6.0 for graphics... there's no reason why it should be that low with a 6990.. PLUS i ran 3dmark 11 and scored about 3k lower than similar rigs.. 2k alone in the vid area. I am pretty sure this motherboard/cpu is holding my gpu back.

 

[gevorg]

Benchmarks are just numbers and WEI is a joke. Do you actually notice performance loss in whatever you're doing?

 

[Luzah]

Yep.. my system seems to lag a lot more while playing Black Ops, or even WoW. A lot more than my GTX 460 did. As far as benchmarks are concerned, It's safe to say that someone who has a very similar system to me, should get the same marks as I do. I could see maybe a 300-500 point difference, but when it's 3000 point difference, then there's a problem somewhere.