Too many "motherboard for my i5-2500k" threads lately. Now ask all your motherboard advice questions in this thread.
LGA 1155 is the socket of Intel's second generation Core processors also referred as "Sandy Bridge." It is incompatible with LGA 1156 used in first generation of core processors.
I'll start off with the basics (in simple language) about the various chipsets first. (I'll add a list of motherboards and prices later.)
H61: 4 SATA 2.0 3gbps ports, on-chip GPU will work, no USB 3.0 except aberrations, no support for Quick Sync (some may have, so better to check), no support for overclocking
Budget motherboards only fit enough for i3-2100 according to me. yes, you can put in an i5-2320, i5-2400 or above processor but why put a Rs. 10,000 processor in a Rs. 3,000 motherboard? A computer should be balanced.
H67: 2 SATA 3.0 6gbps ports, 4 SATA 2.0 3gbps ports, on-chip GPU will work, *usually* will have USB 3.0 and in many cases not, Quick Sync supported (via Lucid Virtu while using discrete GPU), no support for overclocking
This is the chipset to get if you are buying a non-K series processor like i3-2100, i5-2400 et cetera. Motherboards will usually have USB 3.0, but it is your duty to check out whether they have or not. Quick Sync is supported for H.264 video transcoding. It is not advisable to put K series processors in these as it doesn't make any sense to put an "overclockable" processor in a "non-overclockable" chipset motherboard. Lucid Virtu support needs to be checked manually for a motherboard if you are using a discrete Graphics Card.
H77: Basically H67 with native USB 3.0.
P67: 2 SATA 3.0 6gbps ports, 4 SATA 2.0 3gbps ports, on-chip GPU not supported, will have USB 3.0 except aberrations, no support for Quick Sync, support for overclocking
Chipset for overclocking and you should only put multiplier unlocked K series processors like i5-2500k, i7-2600k and i7-2700k in these. P67 motherboards don't support the on-chip GPU and hence will lack the display outputs. There are people who have done the mistake of pairing these motherboards up with non-K series processors. DON'T DO THIS AS IT MAKES NO SENSE. After the launch of Z68 chipset, it is making more sense to go for a Z68 motherboard. Explained below.
Z68: 2 SATA 3.0 6gbps ports, 4 SATA 2.0 3gbps ports, on-chip GPU supported, will have USB 3.0 except aberrations, Quick Sync supported via Lucid Virtu, support for overclocking
Intel's Z68 chipset. The fusion of H67 and Z68. Now you may be wondering, "why did Intel release P67 when they had to release Z68?" Intel are morons and they love confusion to get 2x money, that's why. Z68 chipset supports on-board GPU. There are Z68 motherboards which lack display ports, so you will not be able to connect monitor to those. Quick Sync is supported via Lucid Virtu. Kindly verify Virtu support for a particular motherboard on the manufacturer's website. Z68 motherboards also support Intel Smart Response Technology which is also called SSD Caching. But this is a gimmick without any real world significance as you are better off using a SSD as your boot drive for real boost rather than using it as a cache for your Hard Disk.
Z77: Basically Z68 with native USB 3.0.
Why are you saying motherboards "usually will have USB 3.0" and "will have USB 3.0 except aberrations"? Every H67/P67/Z68 motherboard I have seen has USB 3.0?
See, USB 3.0 controller is not integrated into these chipsets. AMD A75 chipset is the only one to do so as of yet. (Now H77 and Z77 also have integrated USB 3.0. i.e. they also don't rely on an external chip.) It is down the to the motherboard manufacturers to give USB 3.0 in a motherboard model or not. It's their choice. In high-end motherboards like P67 and Z68, they will always include it to justify the price. In low-end motherboards like H61, they don't see any reason to include it as it will cost them money and hence decrease their margins. In H67 motherboards, some motherboards will have and some won't. Also note, USB 3.0 ports will share lanes with a PCIe slot depending on the motherboard.
So, which chipset motherboard should I buy?
For non-K series processors, H67 or H77. For K series processors, P67, Z68 or Z77.
Can you tell me about the on-chip GPU which Intel Sandy Bridge processors have? Also tell me about their performance.
non-K series processors have Intel HD 2000 (Sandy Bridge) and Intel HD 2500 (Ivy Bridge) graphics. K series processors have Intel HD 3000 (Sandy Bridge) and Intel HD 4000 (Ivy Bridge) graphics. yes, K series processors have a faster GPU but still it doesn't make sense to buy an "overclockable" K series processors after spending Rs. 2500 more and then putting in a "non-overclockable" H67/H77 chipset motherboard.
The performance of Intel HD 3000 is roughly around the level of nVidia GT 520 and AMD HD 4350/5450. These cards cost around ~Rs. 2200. There have been a few dumb people who are buying cards like nVidia 8400 GS, 8500 GT, 9400 GT and pairing these with Sandy Bridge processors. Idiotic and waste of money. These cards are barely faster than Intel HD 2000 and 3000.
The "performance" in low-end cards only starts from AMD HD 5570 GDDR5 which costs Rs. 3500. This should be the minimum card which everyone should buy if they are spending money on a graphic card.
As far as on-chip GPUs are concerned, Radeon HD 6530D and 6550D in AMD A6-3650 and A8-3850 processors are roughly two times or more faster than Intel HD 3000. So, in budget "home" configurations, AMD A6-3650 and A8-3850 tend to get my recommendation over i3-2100 (Intel HD 2000).
Is the H67 chipset + non-K combo really non-overclockable?
To say the truth, you can increase the base clock (bclk) slightly and that would give you a little bit of boost, but it's nothing to talk about. Overclocking Sandy Bridge processors is (easy and) through the multiplier and for that you need an "unlocked" "K" series processor in a P67/Z68 chipset motherboard.
LGA 1155 is the socket of Intel's second generation Core processors also referred as "Sandy Bridge." It is incompatible with LGA 1156 used in first generation of core processors.
I'll start off with the basics (in simple language) about the various chipsets first. (I'll add a list of motherboards and prices later.)
H61: 4 SATA 2.0 3gbps ports, on-chip GPU will work, no USB 3.0 except aberrations, no support for Quick Sync (some may have, so better to check), no support for overclocking
Budget motherboards only fit enough for i3-2100 according to me. yes, you can put in an i5-2320, i5-2400 or above processor but why put a Rs. 10,000 processor in a Rs. 3,000 motherboard? A computer should be balanced.
H67: 2 SATA 3.0 6gbps ports, 4 SATA 2.0 3gbps ports, on-chip GPU will work, *usually* will have USB 3.0 and in many cases not, Quick Sync supported (via Lucid Virtu while using discrete GPU), no support for overclocking
This is the chipset to get if you are buying a non-K series processor like i3-2100, i5-2400 et cetera. Motherboards will usually have USB 3.0, but it is your duty to check out whether they have or not. Quick Sync is supported for H.264 video transcoding. It is not advisable to put K series processors in these as it doesn't make any sense to put an "overclockable" processor in a "non-overclockable" chipset motherboard. Lucid Virtu support needs to be checked manually for a motherboard if you are using a discrete Graphics Card.
H77: Basically H67 with native USB 3.0.
P67: 2 SATA 3.0 6gbps ports, 4 SATA 2.0 3gbps ports, on-chip GPU not supported, will have USB 3.0 except aberrations, no support for Quick Sync, support for overclocking
Chipset for overclocking and you should only put multiplier unlocked K series processors like i5-2500k, i7-2600k and i7-2700k in these. P67 motherboards don't support the on-chip GPU and hence will lack the display outputs. There are people who have done the mistake of pairing these motherboards up with non-K series processors. DON'T DO THIS AS IT MAKES NO SENSE. After the launch of Z68 chipset, it is making more sense to go for a Z68 motherboard. Explained below.
Z68: 2 SATA 3.0 6gbps ports, 4 SATA 2.0 3gbps ports, on-chip GPU supported, will have USB 3.0 except aberrations, Quick Sync supported via Lucid Virtu, support for overclocking
Intel's Z68 chipset. The fusion of H67 and Z68. Now you may be wondering, "why did Intel release P67 when they had to release Z68?" Intel are morons and they love confusion to get 2x money, that's why. Z68 chipset supports on-board GPU. There are Z68 motherboards which lack display ports, so you will not be able to connect monitor to those. Quick Sync is supported via Lucid Virtu. Kindly verify Virtu support for a particular motherboard on the manufacturer's website. Z68 motherboards also support Intel Smart Response Technology which is also called SSD Caching. But this is a gimmick without any real world significance as you are better off using a SSD as your boot drive for real boost rather than using it as a cache for your Hard Disk.
Z77: Basically Z68 with native USB 3.0.
Why are you saying motherboards "usually will have USB 3.0" and "will have USB 3.0 except aberrations"? Every H67/P67/Z68 motherboard I have seen has USB 3.0?
See, USB 3.0 controller is not integrated into these chipsets. AMD A75 chipset is the only one to do so as of yet. (Now H77 and Z77 also have integrated USB 3.0. i.e. they also don't rely on an external chip.) It is down the to the motherboard manufacturers to give USB 3.0 in a motherboard model or not. It's their choice. In high-end motherboards like P67 and Z68, they will always include it to justify the price. In low-end motherboards like H61, they don't see any reason to include it as it will cost them money and hence decrease their margins. In H67 motherboards, some motherboards will have and some won't. Also note, USB 3.0 ports will share lanes with a PCIe slot depending on the motherboard.
So, which chipset motherboard should I buy?
For non-K series processors, H67 or H77. For K series processors, P67, Z68 or Z77.
Can you tell me about the on-chip GPU which Intel Sandy Bridge processors have? Also tell me about their performance.
non-K series processors have Intel HD 2000 (Sandy Bridge) and Intel HD 2500 (Ivy Bridge) graphics. K series processors have Intel HD 3000 (Sandy Bridge) and Intel HD 4000 (Ivy Bridge) graphics. yes, K series processors have a faster GPU but still it doesn't make sense to buy an "overclockable" K series processors after spending Rs. 2500 more and then putting in a "non-overclockable" H67/H77 chipset motherboard.
The performance of Intel HD 3000 is roughly around the level of nVidia GT 520 and AMD HD 4350/5450. These cards cost around ~Rs. 2200. There have been a few dumb people who are buying cards like nVidia 8400 GS, 8500 GT, 9400 GT and pairing these with Sandy Bridge processors. Idiotic and waste of money. These cards are barely faster than Intel HD 2000 and 3000.
The "performance" in low-end cards only starts from AMD HD 5570 GDDR5 which costs Rs. 3500. This should be the minimum card which everyone should buy if they are spending money on a graphic card.
As far as on-chip GPUs are concerned, Radeon HD 6530D and 6550D in AMD A6-3650 and A8-3850 processors are roughly two times or more faster than Intel HD 3000. So, in budget "home" configurations, AMD A6-3650 and A8-3850 tend to get my recommendation over i3-2100 (Intel HD 2000).
Is the H67 chipset + non-K combo really non-overclockable?
To say the truth, you can increase the base clock (bclk) slightly and that would give you a little bit of boost, but it's nothing to talk about. Overclocking Sandy Bridge processors is (easy and) through the multiplier and for that you need an "unlocked" "K" series processor in a P67/Z68 chipset motherboard.
