Advice needed - Sandy bridge upgrade (Mobo)

[Vanhimself]

Hi there guys,
I see there have been a few of these threads so I thought I would start one to get some advice on a Sandy bridge build.

MOBO:
So far I am looking at the Maximus IV Gene-Z. Please advise whether the asus P8P67 (pro or evo or Deluxe) is possibly a better option? The MSI also seems like a popular choice?

CPU: 2500k - bang for buck

RAM: corsair vengeance 2x4 GB 1.5v 1600mhz.

The hard choice is the MOBO. It has to be able to SLI. THe gene has great reviews but I want to go for the Asus P8P67 to have extra space between the PCI-E slots.

 

[Pada]

Could you perhaps tell us what case, power supply and graphics cards you will be using?
Also, for what reason did you pick the Maximus IV Gene-Z board? Due to its X-Fi audio?

The Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z is rather expensive, and it is only a micro-ATX board, so you won't be able to install any other PCI-E cards except for the 2x graphics cards.

My suggestions for motherboards would be the MSI P67A-GD65 ~ R1700 / Z68A-GD65 ~ R2100.

 

[Vanhimself]

Hi Pada,
Yes I apologize, I should have included the rest of my build. I am using the HAF-X case with a 1000W Silverstone PSU. I will be running 2x MSi 460GTX OC sli.
The reason I chose the Gene initially is because of Bit-tech's excellent review of the Mobo (I can't share the link as it is blocked at work). I dont have any other PCI expansion cards except for my graphics.

I think Bit-tech also had great reviews for the MSI P67A-GD65. I cannot find that Mobo on Prohecy. I have bought all of my hardware from Prophecy in the past. What other websites can I check to find that MSI mobo?

 

[P3wP3w]

I see that Zaps has the MSI P67A-GD65, it is however not in stock at the moment http://www.zapsonline.com/lga-1155/...8ch-audio-gigabye-lan-no-vga-motherboard.html. But they do have the MSI Z68A-GD65 in stock http://www.zapsonline.com/lga-1155/...x-sata-usb30-onboard-vga-atx-motherboard.html.

 

[Vanhimself]

I see there is a MSI P67A-GD80 in stock at prophecy http://www.prophecy.co.za/p67agd80-ddr3-s1155-p-96567.html . Is this better than the GD-65?
Also has anyone bought hardware from Zapsonline?

 

[GeOgre]

I see there is a MSI P67A-GD80 in stock at prophecy http://www.prophecy.co.za/p67agd80-ddr3-s1155-p-96567.html . Is this better than the GD-65?
Also has anyone bought hardware from Zapsonline?

The P67 GD80 is better than the P67 GD65, but the Z68 GD65(G3) board I would say is better than the P67 GD80 unless you need e-Sata

http://www.prophecy.co.za/intel-chipset-socket-1155-100mhz-core-p-105703.html

You can also these these poeple they have about 3 of these in stock still, they are in Pretoria
http://titan-ice.co.za/product_info.php?products_id=5877