• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

What is the Best Z68 Board?

What is the Best Z68 Board?

  • Asus Maximus IV Extreme-Z

    Votes: 10 41.7%
  • Asus P8Z68 DELUXE

    Votes: 1 4.2%
  • EVGA Z68 FTW

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD4-B3

    Votes: 3 12.5%
  • Gigabyte G1.Sniper2

    Votes: 4 16.7%
  • ASrock Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3

    Votes: 2 8.3%
  • ASrock Z68 Extreme7 Gen3

    Votes: 4 16.7%

  • Total voters
    24
Joined
Jul 27, 2011
Messages
127 (0.03/day)
Location
Mozambique
System Name Frankenstein
Processor Ryzen 9 5800X
Motherboard Asrock Z570 Phantom Gaming X
Cooling Noctua NH-D15
Memory 2 x 16 GB DDR4 G.Skill 3200mhz
Video Card(s) SAPPHIRE Toxic Radeon RX 6900 XT WC
Storage Corsair MP600 + 2xSamsung 860 Evo + Samsung 950 Pro + Others
Display(s) ROG SWIFT PG278Q
Case Lian Li O11 Dynamic Evo White
Audio Device(s) AudioEngine A5+ White
Power Supply Seasonic PRIME 1300W
Mouse Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard Razer Blackwidow Elite
Software Windows 10 Pro
I have searched the net for this and no one managed to answer...

What is the Best Z68 Board in the universe?

In my opinion Asus is the best brand in the Motherboard Market, but, I can be wrong:rolleyes:...

- Is it the extreme OC oriented and Asus Flagship Maximus IV Extreme-Z:cool:?
Or the Asus second in command:
- The feature rich P8Z68 DELUXE? (also wallet friendly:D)

On the other and we have:
- EVGA Z68 FTW;

and Gigabyte's
- GA-Z68X-UD4-B3
and
- G1.Sniper2

Or can it be that Asus's sister - ASrock made the best boards? we have:
- The Fatal1ty Pro gamer branded Z68 Professional Gen3,
and
- The feature rich Z68 Extreme7 Gen3 that has the NVIDIA® NF200 Chip Onboard and supports Dual VGA cards at PCI-E x16/x16.
 

JrRacinFan

Served 5k and counting ...
Joined
Mar 17, 2007
Messages
20,064 (3.23/day)
Location
Youngstown, OH
System Name Dual Build Streamer
Processor Ryzen 7900x3d : Ryzen 4600G
Motherboard AsRock B650E Steel Legend : Giga B450i Aorus
Cooling Custom Water 1x420 : Stock
Memory 32GB T-Force Deltas : 16GB Dominator Platinums
Video Card(s) PowerColor 7900 XTX Liquid Devil: iGPU
Storage 20+ TB
Display(s) Sammy 49" 5k Ultrawide
Case Custom White Painted Phanteks Enthoo Pro 2
Audio Device(s) Onboard : Onboard
Power Supply EVGA 1200W P2
Mouse Corsair M65 RGB Elite White
Keyboard Hyperx Origins 65
Software Windows 10
What is the Best Z68 Board in the universe?

In my opinion Asus is the best brand in the Motherboard Market, but, I can be wrong:rolleyes:...

IIRC, Asus has been lackluster as of late on the Sandy bridge side of things.

My vote-in Asrock Z68 Extreme 4 Gen3, only costs a little over the standard "budget" board but with a whole messload of features over any other board for it's price. Out of those listed, the Extreme7.
 

Fourstaff

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Nov 29, 2009
Messages
10,018 (1.92/day)
Location
Home
System Name Orange! // ItchyHands
Processor 3570K // 10400F
Motherboard ASRock z77 Extreme4 // TUF Gaming B460M-Plus
Cooling Stock // Stock
Memory 2x4Gb 1600Mhz CL9 Corsair XMS3 // 2x8Gb 3200 Mhz XPG D41
Video Card(s) Sapphire Nitro+ RX 570 // Asus TUF RTX 2070
Storage Samsung 840 250Gb // SX8200 480GB
Display(s) LG 22EA53VQ // Philips 275M QHD
Case NZXT Phantom 410 Black/Orange // Tecware Forge M
Power Supply Corsair CXM500w // CM MWE 600w
Joined
Apr 4, 2008
Messages
4,686 (0.80/day)
System Name Obelisc
Processor i7 3770k @ 4.8 GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z77-V
Cooling H110
Memory 16GB(4x4) @ 2400 MHz 9-11-11-31
Video Card(s) GTX 780 Ti
Storage 850 EVO 1TB, 2x 5TB Toshiba
Case T81
Audio Device(s) X-Fi Titanium HD
Power Supply EVGA 850 T2 80+ TITANIUM
Software Win10 64bit
Idk about best but that extreme7 sure is snazzy. I'd expect it to be close to asus even though they parted ways. Their efi is pretty much a direct copy of asus'.
 
Joined
Dec 31, 2009
Messages
19,366 (3.73/day)
Benchmark Scores Faster than yours... I'd bet on it. :)
Best as in what? Imposible to answer this question if there is no scope defined. They all have some pluses and bad points about them depending on what angle you are coming from.

Example - Sniper 2: Great board for gaming with KillerNIC and legit Xfi onboard, however shitty bencher (no power/reset/debug led etc)...
 
Joined
Jul 27, 2011
Messages
127 (0.03/day)
Location
Mozambique
System Name Frankenstein
Processor Ryzen 9 5800X
Motherboard Asrock Z570 Phantom Gaming X
Cooling Noctua NH-D15
Memory 2 x 16 GB DDR4 G.Skill 3200mhz
Video Card(s) SAPPHIRE Toxic Radeon RX 6900 XT WC
Storage Corsair MP600 + 2xSamsung 860 Evo + Samsung 950 Pro + Others
Display(s) ROG SWIFT PG278Q
Case Lian Li O11 Dynamic Evo White
Audio Device(s) AudioEngine A5+ White
Power Supply Seasonic PRIME 1300W
Mouse Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard Razer Blackwidow Elite
Software Windows 10 Pro
IIRC, Asus has been lackluster as of late on the Sandy bridge side of things.

My vote-in Asrock Z68 Extreme 4 Gen3, only costs a little over the standard "budget" board but with a whole messload of features over any other board for it's price. Out of those listed, the Extreme7.

Actually this extreme7 surprised me a lot, a board with such a huge amount of features...

Best as in what? Imposible to answer this question if there is no scope defined. They all have some pluses and bad points about them depending on what angle you are coming from.

Example - Sniper 2: Great board for gaming with KillerNIC and legit Xfi onboard, however shitty bencher (no power/reset/debug led etc)...

The best in Overall usage (OC, Gaming, Media, etc...).


They have nothing interesting right now...
 
Joined
Mar 2, 2009
Messages
5,061 (0.92/day)
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 7600
Motherboard Gigabyte B650 Aorus Elite AX
Cooling Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE
Memory Kingston Fury Beast DDR5-5600 16GBx2
Video Card(s) Gigabyte Gaming OC AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT 16GB
Storage TEAMGROUP T-Force Z440 2TB, SPower A60 2TB, SPower A55 2TB, Seagate 4TBx2, Samsung 870 2TB
Display(s) AOC 24G2 + Xitrix WFP-2415
Case Montech Air X
Audio Device(s) Realtek onboard
Power Supply Be Quiet! Pure Power 11 FM 750W 80+ Gold
Mouse Logitech G304
Keyboard Redragon K557 KAIA RGB Mechanical Keyboard
Software Windows 10
2 "TOP-OF-THE-LINE" INTEL ATX BOARDS PER BRAND
Z68 chipset:
ASRock Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3
ASRock Z68 Extreme7 Gen3
ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z
ASUS P8Z68 DELUXE
Biostar TZ68K+
Biostar TZ68A+
EVGA Z68 FTW
EVGA Z68 SLI
Gigabyte G1.Sniper2
Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD7
MSI Z68A-GD80
MSI Z68A-GD65


They have nothing interesting right now...

:laugh::laugh:


- The feature rich P8Z68 DELUXE? (also wallet friendly:D)

:laugh::laugh:

Yet no mention of Biostar boards.
 

the54thvoid

Intoxicated Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Dec 14, 2009
Messages
12,344 (2.37/day)
Location
Glasgow - home of formal profanity
Processor Ryzen 7800X3D
Motherboard MSI MAG Mortar B650 (wifi)
Cooling be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4
Memory 32GB Kingston Fury
Video Card(s) Gainward RTX4070ti
Storage Seagate FireCuda 530 M.2 1TB / Samsumg 960 Pro M.2 512Gb
Display(s) LG 32" 165Hz 1440p GSYNC
Case Asus Prime AP201
Audio Device(s) On Board
Power Supply be quiet! Pure POwer M12 850w Gold (ATX3.0)
Software W10
Joined
Sep 9, 2009
Messages
1,168 (0.22/day)
Location
Austria, Europe
System Name Bang4Buck
Processor AMD Ryzen 9 5900x
Motherboard MSI PRESTIGE x570 CREATION
Cooling Fractal Design Celsius S36
Memory 32Gb 4400Mhz Patriot Viper Steel(Samsung B-die) @ 3800Mhz 16-16-16-32-48-1T @ 1.38v
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 3080 Ti Suprim X
Storage Adata SX8200Pro 512Gb/2x Crucial P1 1Tb/Samsung 840 EVO/6Tb Raid -HGST Enterprise/2x IronWolf 8Tb/
Display(s) Samsung UE49KS8002 4K HDR TV (US - 9 series)
Case Fractal Design Define R6 Black Usb-C
Audio Device(s) HDMI out to Denon X4400H reciever, 2x Dali Zensor 7, Dali Zensor Vokal, 2x Dali Zensor 1, Yamaha Sub
Power Supply Seasonic Prime Ultra 750W
Mouse Logitech G305 Lightspeed
Keyboard Logitech K520
Software Windows 11 Pro x64
Benchmark Scores https://www.3dmark.com/spy/26216445
+1 on that MSI.
 
Joined
Dec 26, 2009
Messages
560 (0.11/day)
Location
boondocks, Michigan
System Name Majestic Command 3.0
Processor Ryzen 5 3600
Motherboard ASRock B450M Pro 4
Cooling Corsair water loop
Memory 2x8GB Ballistix DDR4
Video Card(s) RX 5600 XT
Storage 1TB WD Black SN750 M.2, a home server
Display(s) Asus VG249Q
Case Darkflash DLM22 - black
Audio Device(s) X-Fi HD>AT-HA25D>FR-N71X
Power Supply EVGA 600W standard
Mouse Razer Mamba Elite
Keyboard Razer Blackwidow Chroma TE
Software Windows 10
Although it's a P67, I'd take an MSI Big Bang Marshal over any of those boards!
 
Joined
Oct 6, 2009
Messages
2,820 (0.53/day)
Location
Midwest USA
System Name My Gaming System
Processor Intel i7 4770k @ 4.4 Ghz
Motherboard Asus Maximus VI Impact (ITX)
Cooling Custom Full System Water cooling Loop
Memory G.Skill 1866 Mhz Sniper 8 Gb
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 780 ti SC
Storage Samsung SSD EVO 120GB - Samsung SSD EVO 500GB
Display(s) ASUS W246H - 24" - widescreen TFT active matrix LCD
Case Bitfenix Prodigy
Power Supply Corsair AX760 Modular PSU
Software Windows 8.1 Home Primeum
I would have to say the two I would go for is the Asus Maximus Extreme IV Z Z68 Motherboard or the Gigabyte G1 Sniper 2 Z68 motherboard which I plan to switch to from my Current Asus Maximus extreme IV.

The reason I am making the switch is the two PCIe 3.0 slot that will be available on that board and the upgrade option to Ivy bridges. Yes I am aware that you will be able to upgrade to Ivy Bridge with the Asus board too... But it won't have the PCIe 3.0 slots and even if they found away to do a BIOS upgrade to get them.... You still wouldn't have two of them.

If you are looking to buy now.... and don't want to upgrade your board in another year like I don't. I would go with the Sniper.
 

brandonwh64

Addicted to Bacon and StarCrunches!!!
Joined
Sep 6, 2009
Messages
19,542 (3.68/day)
im surprised cadaveca hasn't posted in this thread yet. hes been doing alot of reviews on boards latley.
 
Joined
Dec 26, 2009
Messages
560 (0.11/day)
Location
boondocks, Michigan
System Name Majestic Command 3.0
Processor Ryzen 5 3600
Motherboard ASRock B450M Pro 4
Cooling Corsair water loop
Memory 2x8GB Ballistix DDR4
Video Card(s) RX 5600 XT
Storage 1TB WD Black SN750 M.2, a home server
Display(s) Asus VG249Q
Case Darkflash DLM22 - black
Audio Device(s) X-Fi HD>AT-HA25D>FR-N71X
Power Supply EVGA 600W standard
Mouse Razer Mamba Elite
Keyboard Razer Blackwidow Chroma TE
Software Windows 10

I had to show it!
 

LordJummy

New Member
Joined
May 13, 2011
Messages
1,403 (0.30/day)
Location
US of A
System Name Workstation1 | Asus G55VW-DS71
Processor i7 970 3.8GHz | i7 3610QM
Motherboard RIII Formula
Cooling EK 360 Supreme HF | Asus G55VW
Memory 24GB Dominator | 12GB DDR3
Video Card(s) 2x Diamond HD 6970 | GTX 660M
Storage 2x Vertex4 256GB | 256GB Vertex4 & 750GB HDD
Display(s) 3x Crossover 27" LED S-IPS + 30" DELL IPS
Case Corsair Obsidian 800D
Audio Device(s) X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro + Gigaworks G550W
Power Supply HX1000 + NZXT Black Sleeved Extensions
Software Win7Ult64Bit
Benchmark Scores ballz
I agree with EarthDog. There can't be a "best overall" board. It's just not possible. Unless someone makes a single massive board with every option imaginable and it's FREE.
This is one of those threads that just spawns infinite arguments, and can never truly be answered.
 
Joined
May 7, 2008
Messages
934 (0.16/day)
Location
Texas
System Name Dell inspiron 5570
Processor Intel® Core™ i7-7500U Processor
Motherboard Dell Inc.
Memory SK Hynix 4GB DDR4 SDRAM PC4-19200
Video Card(s) Intel(R) HD Graphics 620
Storage Intel Optane+932GBHDD w/ External Crucial M500 240GB ssd
Display(s) 15.6" w/ Extended display Samsung 27"
Audio Device(s) Realtek Audio
Mouse ONN Wireless
Software Microsoft Windows 10 Home (x64)
Benchmark Scores HaHa yeah right :p
You might not get a 100% perfect board but the question was What is the Best Z68 Board? So I do believe when you have for example 10 boards and you evaluate them all their good points vs bad you eventually rate them. The one with the most that performs the best would be #1 the one with the least and performs the worst would be #10. I didnt see any "best for the money" references in the OP. Flat out "What is the Best Z68 Board in the universe?" is what I read. ;)

There are reviews done all the time comparing boards but most are not doing 6 to 10 boards at the same time but even when they do 3 or more they come up with one board they conclude to be the best. I bet if they had the time and resources to do 10 Z68 boards there would be one they gave the crown to in the end.

The issue I have with this poll is individual lack of knowledge voting. No offence to anyone as I am no expert myself. But the ASRock ASUS discussion in this very thread proves this. ASRock hasn't been with ASUS for years but people still believe they are owned by ASUS which is false. If people still miss things like that what are they not understanding or missing about the features or performance of these boards. :twitch: And they vote and the end result is as murky as it was before it started.
 

cadaveca

My name is Dave
Joined
Apr 10, 2006
Messages
17,232 (2.63/day)
im surprised cadaveca hasn't posted in this thread yet. hes been doing alot of reviews on boards latley.

"We don't comment on unreleased products"



Actually, I figured one might read my reviews, grab the boards with the highest scores, and go from there. No need for me to spout my opinion everywhere.

:toast:
 

cadaveca

My name is Dave
Joined
Apr 10, 2006
Messages
17,232 (2.63/day)
Ah, no, not yet. Very interested in that one though, for sure. I've got a few boards here I'm working on ATM though.
 
Joined
Nov 24, 2009
Messages
39 (0.01/day)
Location
Eire
System Name Be very Quiet!
Processor Intel Core i5-2500k 4GHz
Motherboard Asus ROG Gene-Z
Cooling CPU: Noctua NH-U9B SE2. Case: aaiiirrr 2x12cm + 14cm
Memory 2x4gb Corsair Vengeance LP 1600Mhz 1.5V
Video Card(s) Asus HD6850 1GB DirectCU V2 840Mhz/1140Mhz
Storage OCZ Vertex 2 120gb v1.33
Display(s) LED Acer 21.5" S221HQL DVI
Case Fractal design Arc Mini
Audio Device(s) Sound Blaster X-Fi 2
Power Supply Be Quiet! E8-CM-580W Silver, 91 Eff @ 80% Load
Software Windows 7 Pro 64bit
Benchmark Scores \o/
mATX not coming in question?

mATX has 1 advantage over all ATXes and it's.. smaller size :D Well easier to carry around for LAN parties!

These can perform as good as big brothers and sisters up to and over 5GHz CPU speed:
ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z Republic of Gamers
MSI Z68MA-ED55 (B3)
 
D

Deleted member 24505

Guest
The Matx asus maximus IV gene-z is a funky z68 board too.
 
Top