Maximum PC

CPU: core i5 3570k
GPU: Radeon 7870/7950
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H or asrock z77 extreme4 (cost the same where i live)
after that its just 8gb of ram, and the usual suspects.

What im wondering is which MOBO is best for this rig? Gaming is the primary function, ill maybe overclock the cpu a little, but im no expert, so wont be much. Another question, would a 500w PSU be enough for this rig?

thanks for the answer! not sure about the psu. Looking at super flower, ocz or xfx. Dont really want to go over 120$ for the psu though.

I have a Gigabyte GA-Z77x-UD5H with a 2500k processor and a Corsair H60 water cooler heatsink and I use the onboard overclocking utility to have my CPU run over 4.2G from its stock 3.7.

Earlier this year, Tom's Hardware did a 7 board roundup that included the Extreme4 & the UD3H's sister board GA-Z77X-D3H. Both boards (& a Biostar board) ended up in a three-way tie for best value. While the Extreme4 led most of the performance related benchmarks. The review also has some nice info on each board's overclocking seup.

Personally, I've switched from ASUS boards to Gigabyte & ASRock. Of the three, I'm most impressed with ASRock, tons of value, easy overclocking especially on the Extreme series boards, & better hardware than more expensive ASUS boards.

Bottom line, you can't go wrong with either choice.

Don't skimp on the PSU man. Super Flower? If it sounds cheap, it is...not matter the actual monetary value. You can invest a lot into this build and guess what powers it all? A piece of shit PSU I could build with $20 worth of parts (but probably be better). Pick a better PSU to feed your build. It doesn't have to be killer, Watts are relative, and QUALITY of the PSU is key.

AsRock are getting their shit together and are a value board to say the least. I have to disagree kindly with Chaosdsm here in that Gigabyte is in a state of flux with their products. In the past decade, they're up, they're down, they're average, they're down: If you pay $300, they rock but when we toy with $100 and a value board we get burnt easily. If you're on a budget and just stuck between the two, go AsRock. And if you're and average user, Zotac isn't a bad brand to consider.

It gets pretty much like Borderlands with motherboards for gaming rigs. The specs don't tell it all and you gotta lean on brands, price, level, and "color". Effectively, a gaming rig just relies on the graphics card and one slot on that board. You don't need USB 3.0 in 4 rear ports or any of that shit...you just want a solid board that pumps the graphics slot and utilizes memory to it's max. To me, that's Asus (Atlas if this were borderlands). Even the basic Asus trumps most average MOBO's in actual usage.

Let's not confuse enthusiast boards with game boards...or what you want: A board. You're not wanting to OC way out there, you're not running 6x GPU's...you're just leaning on one card in a motherboard slot. So you basically want an Intel chipped board and could possibly fit this in an mATX build with a fat graphics card.

Look into ASUS they have great OC features and nice high end boards. I have a P5ND purchased in '08 it is running a Pentium 4 HT and it flies on the net and games like modern warefare with the help of a ddr3 1 gb video card. I paid $69.00 on sale and am pleased to have purchased it. So give them a look before a purchase.

Price $124.00 @ Newegg.com
Model
Brand
ASUS
Model
P8Z77-M

Supported CPU
CPU Socket Type
LGA 1155
CPU Type
Core i7 / i5 / i3 (LGA1155)
Supported CPU Technologies
Turbo Boost Technology 2.0

Chipsets
North Bridge
Intel Z77

Memory
Number of Memory Slots
4×240pin
Memory Standard
DDR3 2400(O.C.)/2200(O.C.)/2133(O.C.)/2000(O.C.)/1866(O.C.)/1800(O.C.)/1600/1333
Maximum Memory Supported
32GB
Channel Supported
Dual Channel

Expansion Slots
PCI Express 3.0 x16
1
PCI Express 2.0 x16
1 @x4
PCI Express x1
1
PCI Slots
1

Storage Devices
SATA 3Gb/s
4
SATA 6Gb/s
2 x SATA 6Gb/s
SATA RAID
0/1/5/10

Onboard Video
Onboard Video Chipset
Supported only by CPU with integrated graphic

Onboard Audio
Audio Chipset
Realtek ALC887
Audio Channels
8 Channels

Onboard LAN
LAN Chipset
Realtek 8111F
Max LAN Speed
10/100/1000Mbps

Rear Panel Ports
PS/2
1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port
Video Ports
D-Sub + DVI
HDMI
1 x HDMI
USB 1.1/2.0
4 x USB 2.0
USB 3.0
2 x USB 3.0
S/PDIF Out
1 x Optical
Audio Ports
3 Ports

Internal I/O Connectors
Onboard USB
2 x USB 3.0 + 6 x USB 2.0
Other Connectors
1 x TPM connector(s)
1 x COM port(s) connector(s)
1 x CPU Fan connector(s) (4 -pin)
3 x Chassis Fan connector(s) (4 -pin)
1 x S/PDIF out header(s)
1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector(s)
1 x 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector(s)
1 x Front panel audio connector(s) (AAFP)
1 x System panel(s) (Q-Connector)
1 x MemOK! button(s)
1 x Clear CMOS jumper(s)
1 x USB BIOS Flashback button(s)

Physical Spec
Form Factor
Micro ATX
Dimensions
9.6" x 9.6"
Power Pin
24 Pin

Features
Features
USB 3.0 Boost - Faster USB 3.0 Transmission with UASP

USB BIOS Flashback - Simple Plug & Press - Hardware-based BIOS Flashback

CrossFireX Support!
Quick Info
Warranty
Limited Warranty period (parts): 3 years
Limited Warranty period (labor): 3 years

Compared to the Extreme4, that's not a gaming board... 1 PCI Express 3.0 x16 slot + 1 PCI Express 2.0 x16 that only operates at x4 = no SLI support & not a great option for 7series Radeon's (pci express 3.0)in Crossfire... not that Crossfire is even needed with a 7850 or better card on a single 1080p monitor.

Realtek LAN chipset My personal experiences with them is nothing short of bad.

Only 6 internal SATA connections - of course everyone's needs vary, but I'm currently using 7 internally & will be adding three 2TB drives for added storage space in the near future.

Compare the feature set of the ASUS & Extreme4... the ASUS ends up looking pretty lame.
Onboard debug LED - P8Z77-M = No - Extreme4 = Yes
external clear CMOS button - P8Z77-M = No - Extreme4 = Yes
LAN Chipset - P8Z77-M = Realtek - Extreme4 = Broadcom
RAMdrive utility - P8Z77-M = not included - Extreme4 = Included XFast RAM
LAN Optimization utility - P8Z77-M = not included - Extreme4 = Included XFast LAN (can improve online gaming)
Internal SATA Ports - P8Z77-M = 6 - Extreme4 = 8
Internal SATA 3.0 Ports - P8Z77-M = 2 - Extreme4 = 4
External SATA Ports - P8Z77-M = none - Extreme4 = 1 eSATA 3.0
Premium Gold plated Caps - P8Z77-M = No - Extreme4 = Yes (keeps external environmental corrosion away)

I wouldn't say it isn't a "gamer board", as most gamers can't even use SLI or Crossfire effectively, at least with current pickings. And most don't have a 2560x1440 or higher monitor anyway. At least it has a PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot. Although I'd argue that wouldn't matter, since you need to drop to PCI-Express 2.0 x4 before performance takes a significant hit... well I'll use that until someone does another test with PCI-Express scaling and GPUs.

Bullshit... Extreme4 M (microATX) has same primary spec's as the full ATX version. The differences I listed are still there except for: they swapped the Broadcom LAN for Realtek 8111E and removed the diagnostic LED & external clear CMOS button. Hell ASRock even added a third PCI Express x16 slot to the Extreme4 M (only 2 x16 length slots on the full ATX version) sure it's the same 2.0 revision x4 data rate bs that's on the ASUS board, but it's still a 3rd x16 slot on a mATX board

BTW LatiosXT.... a decent number of gamers are rocking multiple monitors. Even just two 1080p montors spanned for 3840x1080 (4.147MP) or 3840x1200 (4.608MP) requires Crossfire with 7850 cards for smooth gameplay if you want maximum quality in certain games. Even on a single 30" LCD @ 2560x1600 (4.096MP) you'll still see minimum frame rates drop below 24fps in certain scenarios with two high end 1GHz core clocked 7850's in Crossfire.

Two monitors for gaming is horrible, especially for FPS games where you now have a gap where your cross hair should be Or worse, you can't see it because that gap is part of the rendering space.