Motherboard purchase today. Need urgent advice.

[Digital X]

Hey guys, forum newbie here. Currently using:

i7 2600
8GB 1333Mhz RAM
MSI GTX 670 PE OC Graphics card (bought as an addon)
IPISB CH2 Motherboard (prebuilt pc i know.. i know.)
Corsair CX600W PSU (bought as an addon)
2TB Seagate Barracuda
Zalman Z11 case

I would like a Z77 board, was looking at the MSI Z77A G45 mainly because it matches the GPU, as I may overclock and SLI in the future with new parts and don't really want a B75 board now, then have to buy ANOTHER board later. the USB 3, PCI E 3.0 etc particularly caught my eye as it would be beneficial. Have looked at Asrock's Extreme3/4 for the Xfast features.

Would either boards fit well in my case? or should I go Mini ATX..? Rather not lose out on features if I can fit well, an ATX board in.

I would go up to around £80 for a decent Z77 board but lower is better as long as it will work and is decent.

Thanks.

 

[Feronix]

XFast features are marketing more than anything tbh.

There's also Micro-ATX boards if you want to get a smaller form factor. mATX has 4 expansion slots where mITX only has one. mITX also tends to be more expensive. Your case fits an ATX board though, so I'd just go with that one.

MSI have the best z77 boards. This opinion is shared by most members on this forum. If I were you, I'd buy the most expensive MSI board that you can afford/ want to spend and I can guarantee that you'll be happy with it

 

[Digital X]

Thanks for the response, best one I've had asking around.

would this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/MSI-Z77A-G45-Motherboard-Pentium-Celeron/dp/B007JRGVUA be good then? the price and shipping seems reasonable, and I have found RAM I like to match it.

Just to clarify, it will be all compatible? I'm going from a prebuilt Mobo to this, and using the SAME HDD with a new windows 7 disc. Just put the disc in, format or partition, then install right?

 

[Digital X]

Not sure if this message got through, said it was awaiting a Mod's approval, i'll ask again.

Oh, and will this all be compatible? I'm also ordering 8GB corsair vengeance 1600Mhz, 8-8-8-24 latency.

 

[Feronix]

Not sure if this message got through, said it was awaiting a Mod's approval, i'll ask again.

Oh, and will this all be compatible? I'm also ordering 8GB corsair vengeance 1600Mhz, 8-8-8-24 latency.

That is because you're new and probably included a link or image. It's a way to combat spam. Next time just wait for a mod to approve it

Yes, any RAM that is DDR3 (not SODIMM) would work on it.

 

[Digital X]

Oh that's good, thank you very much for your help!

 

[yassarikhan786]

In the OP you've listed the i7 2600, which is the "locked" variant, meaning that the overclockability will be extremely limited. If you've unintentionally missed the k, forget what I've just said.