Gigabyte Z68 or Asrock z68

Hello, I am currently in the process of building a new somewhat budget gaming computer, and I cannot decide between these two mobos.

Gigabyte : http://www.tigerdirect.com/applica [...] Knk9qedQhw

Asrock : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 38566&SID=

The Asrock is 40-50 dollars more expensive ( I think I have a 10$ off promo for that Gigabyte mobo somewhere ), But I wanted to know what you guys thought of these boards. I've read reviews that seem to go both ways, and I don't really know what to think or which to buy. Is the Asrock a better performing mobo? Or is the difference in performance too miniscule to pay 40-50 extra dollars.

On top of this, what brand/speed of RAM should I buy? I know I am getting 8 GB, but someone on these forums told me that the lower the RAM ( 1333 > 1600 ) is better, or even if I should get RAM that is overclockable. Trying to save money, but keep a good performance.

Current Build:

i5 2500k
8gb RAM
XFX 6950 or XFX 6970
750W PSU
Rosewill Challenger U3
MOBO

Both are good boards. Buy the cheapest.
Ram buy this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820233196 is at 1600Mhz and 1.5V. Just go in BIOS and set XMP profile and it will run automatic at 1600Mhz , the voltage keep at 1.5V.
Buy this 6950 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127604 or the same 6970 from MSI it have better cooling , overclocked from factory.

In this case I would do exactly what sosofm posted. Same board+the RAM.

Gotcha. Motherboards have always been a really confusing piece of hardware for me, and I don't really get what makes the higher quality boards "better" per say. In a nut shell, can you guys answer this for me? Will the Asrock run faster, such as giving me more fps in games? My goal with this computer is to buy a rig that can run BF3 on ultra for as cheap as possible. Anti-aliasing not really included, 2x or so would be nice though . Will the gigabyte allow me to crossfire GPUs by the way? I know it has 2xpci16, but I've heard that some gpus that are larger cover up both of them.

As for the memory, these are the ones that have been suggested in the past:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820220570

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231314

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231428

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820220569

Also sosofm, being almost 1/3 of the price that I'm spending, I'm trying to buy from XFX so that I have a lifetime warranty on my GPU xD. I do like MSI's cards, especially their twinfrozr line, but the 2 year warranty really scares me

Sorry but I think those boards in that round up are a bit out of my ball park! $122 for the asrock extreme3 was about my max for the mobo, I was just looking to cut the price a bit so I could spend the money else where by considering the mobo. Speaking of the gigabyte, I was looking at pictures of it and on the board it says DX 10.1. Does this board not support directX 11 or is it referring to something else?

Mhm, feel free to give opinon though!

one note:
the ASRock has LGA 775 holes as well for CPU cooling so the options in cooling with the ASRock board are greater.
let that not be the determining factor, just bringing it to your attention.

the holes will be useful and also the regular 1155 holes are there as well.
the processor in conjunction with the motherboard will run DX 10.1 without the dedicated GPU (graphics card)
but when you get a dedicated GPU depending on which model but if recent then it will be DX 11 compatible.
so do not worry about those things, your covered.

Alright, thanks much for clearing that up malmental. Can you give your opinion on the latter half of my last post?

"So my main question for you guys is this: Will the Asrock provide much of a difference in the realm of gaming for me that it would warrant spending extra money on it? Or can I save 50$ by getting the gigabyte board, and still be able to play BF3 on ultra (or close to that)."

What would you suggest? You think the asrock is worth the extra money for future upgradability? I've also heard that the asrock will support ivy when those cpu's come out.

a few extra dollars and this would be perfect in this case.:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128502

4GB or 8GB kit.?
(you links are not working)

here and it's XMP profiled:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145315
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231416

yep, I linked DDR3 1600MHz as well.
just set it to XMP and that's all the clocking you need to do on the RAM.

just about the same...
so get the cheaper.

malmental: will those cheaper ones be able to OC at all like the ones you posted? or will they overheat or something?

Mmk. And then for these, I know they say 1333, but someone said in the BIOS I can clock them at 1600? Is that right?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] efypkn4i96

Sorry! Just didn't want to make a mistake thinking otherwise. Is it very strenuous on the RAM to overclock them to 1600. I can just buy retail 1600 if so.

XMP is supported in those z68 motherboards as well right?

Not totally there yet nikorr xD. Still ordering some of the last pieces of the puzzle like the PSU and GPU, after that I'm gonna see how much I'm OVERBUDGET . If it isn't bad, I might just bite the bullet and get the asrock. Chances are I will stick with the gigabyte though. Just makes me sad I won't be able to SLI nvidia gpus . Can you answer me about the XMP profiling question?

GA-Z68AP-D3 - Support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules

With Gigabyte u will get free Norton Internet Security (OEM version) : )

Where did you see the bit about the Norton free OEM version? You seem like you are trying to persuade me to go with the cheaper board .

Also I thought it was general consensus not to use Norton

So you think I should go with gigabyte mobo I take it?

I'm getting a pretty decent OCZ 750W PSU that was recommended on a Toms sticky somewhere around here . You think that the gigabyte mobo is just decent though compared to the asrock?

Oh, so you mean the gigabyte isn't as good as the asrock. Do you think the gigabyte is mediocre in general though?

Also, PSU price is onsale from 110 to $100, then has a 25 dollar rebate, and you also get a 20 dollar new egg gift card that I can use for other parts

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817341049

PSU review, http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/OCZ/ZS_750W/9.html