need help choosing the best z68 motherboard

[schmutz06]

I'm extremely stuck picking out a motherboard. I don't want to compromise on features/achieving a stable overclock of ~4.5GHz. My candidates are:

VALUE--> Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H £100

GOOD REVIEWS--> Asus P8Z68-V PRO Z68 £150

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED--> ASROCK Z68 Extreme 4 £140

I am looking for quality/stability/decent overclocking and support for all of my components (4x HDDs, SSD drive, 2x GPU's, PCI sound card etc) I don't know if I'll get all of this with the Gigabyte motherboard. I am only interested in Z68 boards.

Some details:

I use my computer for professional Video editing, Music production, gaming and extreme multi-tasking. Here are the parts I'm getting/have bought:

CPU

Intel Core i7 2600k

16GB RAM (bought x2)

Kingston 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1333MHz HyperX Blu

SSD DRIVE

Crucial M4 128GB

CPU Cooler (bought)

Thermalright Silver Arrow

(I have everything else, 64 bit OS/HDD's/Case/monitor/peripherals etc.)

As it stands I am inclined to go for one of the more expensive motherboards simply because I am intimidated by the 4 pin CPU power connector on the cheaper gigabyte mobo. It will really give me peace of mind if I was made aware of some of the features offered by the more expensive mobos over the gigabyte one. Thanks in advance for your opinions!

[schmutz06]

I went with the ASrock Z68 Extreme 4.

Why did I go for this motherboard? First, it has largely positive reviews/response everywhere I look whereas I couldn't find any feedback on the cheaper gigabyte board at all besides a few "rants". Second, the gigabyte is a little tight on sata ports since I have 4 HDD's, a sata optical drive and the SSD drive. Lastly, the gigabyte mobo has a 4 pin CPU power adapter, and the ASrocks 8 pin adapter will probably serve me better with regard to overclocking.

ASROCK Z68 Extreme 4 vs Asus P8Z68-V PRO Z68:

It is an extremely close call since both mobo's are of high quality and highly recommended.

Factor in tomshardwares comparison review:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...3,2939-18.html

For £10 less, the ASROCK Z68 Extreme 4 is the better deal IMO.

I do hope this helps someone decide which Z68 mobo to go for. I spent a lot of time researching every detail to come to this conclusion. If you are insistent on getting a Z68 board and need the extra SATA ports/PCI-e slots, go for the ASROCK Z68 Extreme 4

[piezo]

Asrock are quite good for the price (sister company of asus afaik). I do however think that you should have been looking at other gigabyte boards that compared closer to the asus or asrock. Something like the gigabyte z68x-ud4-b3 or ud5-b3 would have been closer to the specs you were looking for I think and in the same price range.. kind of an unfair comparison to compare a lower end gigabyte board to higher end asus/asrock ones.

[schmutz06]

Originally Posted by piezo

Asrock are quite good for the price (sister company of asus afaik). I do however think that you should have been looking at other gigabyte boards that compared closer to the asus or asrock. Something like the gigabyte z68x-ud4-b3 or ud5-b3 would have been closer to the specs you were looking for I think and in the same price range.. kind of an unfair comparison to compare a lower end gigabyte board to higher end asus/asrock ones.

I don't mean to offer a comparison, rather, I am trying to justify how the higher end boards served my requirements better. It was a challenge picking out the right motherboard because I found it difficult to understand what the higher-spec boards offered in comparison to cheaper mobo's like the GA-Z68A-D3H.

Now you mention it I feel I may have overlooked some of the higher spec gigabyte boards, although, going by comparison reviews within their price range the ASUS and ASRock are definately quality z68 mobo's.

[Fatterpat 1]

Hey Guys I am a novice computer guy but I am a professional audio & video guy. I am in the planning stages of a server for my home theater and have been researching computer components. So I cant tell you how happy I was to find this thread. I have purchased already a i7 2600k unlocked cpu. I too was looking at motherboards and was highly considering the Asrock z68 extreme as well as the Gigabyte ud7 b3.
If I could impose on you professionals to please let me know what you decide on for all of your components I should would appreciate it. I need to know absolutely every part and component needed to build this thing the right way. I would like it to be bad ass. Mirrored 2tb, ultra quiet, HD 1080p graphics w HDMI output.
Again any help will be appreciated and if I can ever help you with audio you need just ask. If you get a chance check out my radio station koolclassichits.com
Thanks!!!
Products Considered already:
Sound card: Xonar HDAV 1.3 Deluxe
HDD: Seagate xtst32000641as - 2tb 7200rpm 64mb Sata 6gb x2
PS: Enermax Modu 87+ EMG 900 (right size ?)
CPU Fan: Noctua NH-D14
Video card: HIS Radeon HD 6970
?: Ieee 1394 Card (do not know what this is)
Optical: pioneer BDR-206BK Blu ray
Rackmount case: Arrowmax 4u case (switch out fans w/ quiet ones)