z77 or z68?

[powerplayer75]

I want to overclock an i5 3570k, should I go with a z68 motherboard with more features for a lower price or a z77 motherboard with less features at the same price?

 

Would there be any difference if I used an older chipset (z68) over a newer one (z77)?

[Leonard]

You should go with the Z77 but they are really hard to find. What is the Z77 MOBO?

[LooneyJuice]

Whichever of the two is the more robust board with a good VRM. Z68 or 77 won't matter unless you really need a specific feature like M.2 or PCIE 3.0. In the case of the latter, if you're worried about GPU performance, it doesn't matter one bit.

[powerplayer75]

11 minutes ago, Leonard said:

You should go with the Z77 but they are really hard to find. What is the Z77 MOBO?

either

 https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-shipping-original-motherboard-for-Gigabyte-GA-Z77P-D3-DDR3-LGA1155-boards-Z77P-D3-32GB-Z77/32772264953.html?ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_4_10152_10065_10151_10068_10130_10084_10083_10080_10082_10081_10110_10178_10136_10137_519_10111_10060_10112_10113_10155_10062_10114_437_10154_10056_10055_10054_10182_10059_303_100031_10099_10078_10079_10103_10073_10102_10096_10123_10189_10052_10053_10142_10107_142_10050_10051,searchweb201603_9,ppcSwitch_4&btsid=8d59a1b0-ebdd-46f1-82b9-3383a28cdd1d&algo_expid=5461c2fa-077f-4388-a168-f340b9056ec4-19&algo_pvid=5461c2fa-077f-4388-a168-f340b9056ec4

 

or 

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/For-MSI-Z77A-G41-Origianal-Used-Desktop-Motherboard-For-Intel-Z77-Socket-LGA-1155-DDR3-For/32749756388.html?ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_4_10152_10065_10151_10068_10130_10084_10083_10080_10082_10081_10110_10178_10137_10111_10060_10112_10113_10155_10114_10154_438_10056_10055_10054_10182_10059_100031_10099_10078_10079_10103_10073_10102_10189_10052_10053_10142_10107_10050_10051,searchweb201603_5,ppcSwitch_4&btsid=2bc61991-1bf3-47f2-b657-bd8ec5961902&algo_expid=d178afbe-a314-42c9-a466-de706e2f768b-6&algo_pvid=d178afbe-a314-42c9-a466-de706e2f768b

[powerplayer75]

3 minutes ago, LooneyJuice said:

Whichever of the two is the more robust board with a good VRM. Z68 or 77 won't matter unless you really need a specific feature like M.2 or PCIE 3.0. In the case of the latter, if you're worried about GPU performance, it doesn't matter one bit.

1.) How do I tell if VRM are good?

2.) wont PCIe 3.0 affect GPU performance?

[LooneyJuice]

13 minutes ago, powerplayer75 said:

1.) How do I tell if VRM are good?

2.) wont PCIe 3.0 affect GPU performance?

For the former, you'll have to link to the boards you're looking at. Generally speaking you want a decent number of phases (~8+), maybe some good heatsinks and of course a board that's not the bottom of the pile.

 

Also, no, I stated it doesn't. When I had a Z77 board, I even switched the interface between PCIE 1.0/2.0/3.0 via Bios and the benchmark differences were within margin of error. You can even find plenty of material regarding PCIE scaling. The only time it matters is for PCIE storage devices.

 

Currently on a P67 board which only goes up to PCIE 2.0, and I'm on 2x980s.

[powerplayer75]

23 minutes ago, LooneyJuice said:

For the former, you'll have to link to the boards you're looking at. Generally speaking you want a decent number of phases (~8), maybe some good heatsinks and of course a board that's not the bottom of the pile.

 

Also, no, I stated it doesn't. When I had a Z77 board, I even switched the interface between PCIE 1.0/2.0/3.0 and the benchmark differences were within margin of error. You can even find plenty of material regarding PCIE scaling. The only time it matters is for PCIE storage devices.

 

Currently on a P67 board which only goes up to PCIE 2.0, and I'm on 2x980s.

So I did some searching and would 

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100-original-motherboard-for-ASUS-P5P43T-LGA-775-DDR2-16GB-Mainboard-All-solid-desktop-motherboard/32313863079.html?ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_4_10152_10065_10151_10068_10130_10084_10083_10080_10082_10081_10110_10178_10137_10111_10060_10112_10113_10155_10114_10154_438_10056_10055_10054_10182_10059_100031_10099_10078_10079_10103_10073_10102_10189_10052_10053_10142_10107_10050_10051,searchweb201603_13,ppcSwitch_4&btsid=26465c7d-76d7-44be-ac83-ea2bb0148c7f&algo_expid=4557eefa-5e93-489f-8b68-9b29ba435db5-5&algo_pvid=4557eefa-5e93-489f-8b68-9b29ba435db5

 

be good for overclocking?

[LooneyJuice]

1 minute ago, powerplayer75 said:

So I did some searching and would 

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100-original-motherboard-for-ASUS-P5P43T-LGA-775-DDR2-16GB-Mainboard-All-solid-desktop-motherboard/32313863079.html?ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_4_10152_10065_10151_10068_10130_10084_10083_10080_10082_10081_10110_10178_10137_10111_10060_10112_10113_10155_10114_10154_438_10056_10055_10054_10182_10059_100031_10099_10078_10079_10103_10073_10102_10189_10052_10053_10142_10107_10050_10051,searchweb201603_13,ppcSwitch_4&btsid=26465c7d-76d7-44be-ac83-ea2bb0148c7f&algo_expid=4557eefa-5e93-489f-8b68-9b29ba435db5-5&algo_pvid=4557eefa-5e93-489f-8b68-9b29ba435db5

 

be good for overclocking?

Yeah that's a P67 chipset board, it should be alright, as far as I recall. Just make sure it's a reputable seller and all that. Also, google the board to find the ASUS page and make sure that the 3570k is in the supported list of CPUs (it should be) or it at least adds support through a BIOS update. This board was released prior to the 3570k, so better be safe than sorry.

[powerplayer75]

1 minute ago, LooneyJuice said:

Yeah that's a P67 chipset board, it should be alright, as far as I recall. Just make sure it's a reputable seller and all that. Also, google the board to find the ASUS page and make sure that the 3570k is in the supported list of CPUs (it should be) or it at least adds support through a BIOS update. This board was released prior to the 3570k, so better be safe than sorry.

I checked and it does support it so ill likely buy it. But I need to see if I can live without Integrated Graphics as I am currently using it to power one of my 3 monitors.

[LooneyJuice]

Just now, powerplayer75 said:

I checked and it does support it so ill likely buy it. But I need to see if I can live without Integrated Graphics as I am currently using it to power one of my 3 monitors.

That is a good point. But if you have anything fairly recent from AMD or NV, you can do that just as easily on a dedicated GPU. That being said, you won't have the benefit of being able to troubleshoot without it. So purchase at your own discretion. Look for Z68 or 77 like you were, if that's a big concern.

[powerplayer75]

2 minutes ago, LooneyJuice said:

That is a good point. But if you have anything fairly recent from AMD or NV, you can do that just as easily on a dedicated GPU. That being said, you won't have the benefit of being able to troubleshoot without it. So purchase at your own discretion. Look for Z68 or 77 like you were, if that's a big concern.

if I do need z68 could I use 

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/For-Asus-P8Z68-V-LE-Original-Used-Desktop-Motherboard-For-Intel-Z68-Socket-LGA-1155-For/32810611948.html?ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_4_10152_10065_10151_10068_10130_10084_10083_10080_10082_10081_10110_10178_10137_10111_10060_10112_10113_10155_10114_10154_438_10056_10055_10054_10182_10059_100031_10099_10078_10079_10103_10073_10102_10189_10052_10053_10142_10107_10050_10051,searchweb201603_13,ppcSwitch_4&btsid=c404d73e-6c1b-4572-bb69-84eba83f2e03&algo_expid=88219eae-6db4-4881-9df2-f497c2fc8f78-3&algo_pvid=88219eae-6db4-4881-9df2-f497c2fc8f78

 

or 

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/For-Gigabyte-GA-Z68A-D3H-B3-Original-Used-Desktop-Motherboard-Z68A-D3H-B3-For-Intel-Z68/32763867635.html?ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_4_10152_10065_10151_10068_10130_10084_10083_10080_10082_10081_10110_10178_10137_10111_10060_10112_10113_10155_10114_10154_438_10056_10055_10054_10182_10059_100031_10099_10078_10079_10103_10073_10102_10189_10052_10053_10142_10107_10050_10051,searchweb201603_13,ppcSwitch_4&btsid=130c66b6-b018-4f41-930d-8166876c0567&algo_expid=2462e481-45c0-477c-84b0-c15eb9a9c3a3-20&algo_pvid=2462e481-45c0-477c-84b0-c15eb9a9c3a3

 

to overclock? Or do they not have enough power phases and/or heatsinks?

[LooneyJuice]

Sadly those were lower-end boards. They will totally work, sure. But, if you want to seriously overclock (And Ivy Bridge had quite a bit of headroom), you want to make sure your board is squared away. I'd trust that P67 board more than these two.

[powerplayer75]

12 minutes ago, LooneyJuice said:

Sadly those were lower-end boards. They will totally work, sure. But, if you want to seriously overclock (And Ivy Bridge had quite a bit of headroom), you want to make sure your board is squared away. I'd trust that P67 board more than these two.

I could use 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/For-Asus-P8Z68-V-GEN3-Original-Used-Desktop-Motherboard-For-Intel-Z68-Socket-LGA-1155-For/32810611949.html?ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_4_10152_10065_10151_10068_10130_10084_10083_10080_10082_10081_10110_10178_10137_10111_10060_10112_10113_10155_10114_10154_438_10056_10055_10054_10182_10059_100031_10099_10078_10079_10103_10073_10102_10189_10052_10053_10142_10107_10050_10051,searchweb201603_13,ppcSwitch_4&btsid=30b8611e-3753-4afc-80ce-02534a56b5fa&algo_expid=3edc59e5-17bf-48ce-a64e-3a4e74543646-2&algo_pvid=3edc59e5-17bf-48ce-a64e-3a4e74543646

if worst comes to worst.

 

Thank you for your help. 

[LooneyJuice]

That could totally work actually. It's the same series as the P67 board but on a newer chipset. If you can grab that one, it seems to be the ticket. Just be careful with these used boards, other than that, this appears to fit the bill.

 

And you're welcome.

[powerplayer75]

3 minutes ago, LooneyJuice said:

That could totally work actually. It's the same series as the P67 board but on a newer chipset. If you can grab that one, it seems to be the ticket. Just be careful with these used boards, other than that, this appears to fit the bill.

 

And you're welcome.

One more thing actually, when you said "if you want to seriously overclock" what does that mean? Like would I be able to hit 4 GHz? or would my max voltage be limited?

[LooneyJuice]

The thing is, Ivy Bridge CPUs (3770/3570k) had quite a bit of headroom. Chips regularly hit 4.5 to 4.7 with adequate cooling. The problem with that is that as the Frequency and voltage go up, power draw increases exponentially. That means that power delivery components on the board get taxed more. A more robust VRM design will spread the load and reduce thermal stress on components. Additionally a better VRM will allow you to maintain a higher stable frequency by providing "cleaner" power delivery which responds better to rapid changes in load. 

 

There's definitely more to it than that, but that's the gist of it.

[powerplayer75]

2 minutes ago, LooneyJuice said:

The thing is, Ivy Bridge CPUs (3770/3570k) had quite a bit of headroom. Chips regularly hit 4.5 to 4.7 with adequate cooling. The problem with that is that as the Frequency and voltage go up, power draw increases exponentially. That means that power delivery components on the board get taxed more. A more robust VRM design will spread the load and reduce thermal stress on components. Additionally a better VRM will allow you to maintain a higher stable frequency by providing "cleaner" power delivery which responds better to rapid changes in load. 

 

There's definitely more to it than that, but that's the gist of it.

Ok, in that case, Ill make sure to buy one of the boards you recommended, as I prefer stability over anything and I'd like to have as much headroom as possible.

 

I also think I understand how the overclocking works on a motherboard a lot better now. 

[LooneyJuice]

Just one last thing to avoid any trouble during overclocking. I always suggest finding videos or articles from reputable sources detailing how to overclock a similar cpu on the same board. That way it matches up what you're doing, you can reference numbers they're using for other things, and you'll learn more advanced bits too. It's easy there's plenty of videos for that board for example.

[powerplayer75]

Ill make sure to do that in accordance to how good their cooler is compared to mine. 

[Leonard]

7 hours ago, powerplayer75 said:

either

 https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-shipping-original-motherboard-for-Gigabyte-GA-Z77P-D3-DDR3-LGA1155-boards-Z77P-D3-32GB-Z77/32772264953.html?ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_4_10152_10065_10151_10068_10130_10084_10083_10080_10082_10081_10110_10178_10136_10137_519_10111_10060_10112_10113_10155_10062_10114_437_10154_10056_10055_10054_10182_10059_303_100031_10099_10078_10079_10103_10073_10102_10096_10123_10189_10052_10053_10142_10107_142_10050_10051,searchweb201603_9,ppcSwitch_4&btsid=8d59a1b0-ebdd-46f1-82b9-3383a28cdd1d&algo_expid=5461c2fa-077f-4388-a168-f340b9056ec4-19&algo_pvid=5461c2fa-077f-4388-a168-f340b9056ec4

 

or 

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/For-MSI-Z77A-G41-Origianal-Used-Desktop-Motherboard-For-Intel-Z77-Socket-LGA-1155-DDR3-For/32749756388.html?ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_4_10152_10065_10151_10068_10130_10084_10083_10080_10082_10081_10110_10178_10137_10111_10060_10112_10113_10155_10114_10154_438_10056_10055_10054_10182_10059_100031_10099_10078_10079_10103_10073_10102_10189_10052_10053_10142_10107_10050_10051,searchweb201603_5,ppcSwitch_4&btsid=2bc61991-1bf3-47f2-b657-bd8ec5961902&algo_expid=d178afbe-a314-42c9-a466-de706e2f768b-6&algo_pvid=d178afbe-a314-42c9-a466-de706e2f768b

Those two MOBO are basic and back then they both had driver issues and the MSI had reliability issues too, i also doubt you will get a good OC, meaning over 4.5Ghz.