Initially I was going to go for MSI Z77A-GD65, however I've changed my mind and now after reading reviews I think that the Asus P8Z77-V is the one to go for. This Asus board has everything I need without the extra cost of the others bits I don't.
I'd also say take a look at the UD5H. I can't really fault Gigabyte, good customer service especially, although 2 X58 boards did go dodgy on me, but thats more likely down to a series of bad PSUs. ASUS have been less than helpful on the CS front, though. My old Athlon XP rig is Giga, still running after 9 years. Asus board of similar vintage died much sooner.
I've seen reviews for the AMD Sabertooth version and they were very good. BIOS has a plethora of overclocking options.
Cost more than the P8Z77-V and a bit less than Sabertooth that's why I took it out of my choices. Made no sense to me, if I'm going to pay that much, I might as well get the Sabertooth lol. Right now I'm leaning a bit more to the P8Z77-V. Keep those comments rolling . Cheers, deltatux
just personal experience mate. I used to use Abit boards in the past, but switched to Asus for my q6600 rig and for my current 2500k rig and I love them, I have not had one problem with either of these boards, drop them in, they're rock solid, oc like a dream and have nice features. Can't knock them one bit and my next board will most likely be a Asus V board again. and if oc is done the same way on IB than on SB, it doesn't really matter on the board, I run my 2500k @4.5ghz @1.2v. it's all about the chip. Have to admit though, that sabertooth looks fit!!!
So I just found out that there is a non-WiFi version of the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H and it's cheaper than the ASUS P8Z77-V motherboard. Both still have their pros and cons though now I'm leaning more to the UD5H because it has two gigabit ethernet adapters (could care less about WiFi tbh as the only reason why I would use it is if it's an emergency ... which is very rare to justify a built-in WiFi) and the front panel USB 3.0 module is included which is not available on other motherboards. What I do like about the ASUS P8Z77-V motherboard is the fact that there is UASP support on them. So what do you guys think? If you've voted in the past but want to change your vote because now I added this choice, just post here and I'll reflect the changes on the poll. deltatux
Going by how long you've had your M3A, I think you should just get the best, most expensive mobo you can afford.
Well if it's because of the ASUS brand, it really doesn't make a difference when comparing ASUS with GIGABYTE for me as I have both manufacturers in use in my family. I'm just trying to get the best value out of my cash. deltatux
I wasn't comparing brands, I meant you'll prob keep it for ages so may as well get one with all bells and whistles if you follow me.....
If we're just talking about bells and whistles, GIGABYTE seems to have more on the GA-Z77X-UD5H, no? deltatux
In that case are you looking at CF or SLI? If not then why are you looking at multi-gpu boards? You could get a single gpu mobo with the same options for less money... Compared to?
Multi-GPU solutions aren't top priority. However, there may be a chance of me using them in the future. Honestly, I needed a board with 8 SATA ports, a minimum of 6 real panel USB ports, need to be durable at a good price. Lucid's MVP solution is wanted as well as I do video encoding and being able to tap into Intel's iGPU for QuickSync would be great. Unfortunately, all the single GPU boards only come with 6 SATA ports and their durability is questionable. I was comparing the ASUS P8Z77-V and the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H deltatux
New option for you if you are willing. I for one have changed my mind, gonna get the ASUS P8Z77V-DELUXE http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8Z77V_DELUXE/#overview Now this is an extreme motherboard for Overclocking and it has dual LAN and WIFI...
Oh, I checked that GA-Z77X-UD5H and was going to recommend it but somehow thought that it did not have heatsink at top of CPU VRM so brought up that WiFi version (incase you needed that)... O well. This one then simply because I prefer Gigabyte over Asus and I think that I have had conversation about this topic with you few times?
how about these 2? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131819 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157299