1155 guide me!!

[Jesse11]

Right, xmas bonus is nearly here and I am finalising details of my build.

CPU: i5 2500k
RAM: 8gb Corsair LP
Case: Fractal R3
Cooler: Frio
Other bits and bob's pulled from my current build.

Struggling to decide which motherboard tho.

Toss up at the minute between:
Asus P8Z68-V
Asus P8Z68-V Pro
MSI Z68A-GD55 (G3)

In all honestly I can't see bugger all between the two ASUS boards that can warrant the price difference. 2 Firewire ports and a couple of extra SATA 3 ports, doesn't blow my socks away.
I really like the fact the ASUS boards have 2 CPU fan headers tho, that is a real nice touch.
The MSI seems good, PCI-E 3.0, USB3 headers etc., but the lack of the second cpu fan header puts me off a little.
I know I can go GEN3 with the ASUS boards, but the prices are just silly.

Any comments or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[JPMiller]

I always hesitate to use any of the fan headers on the board...
My reasoning is that it doesnt seem efficient or wise to pull any more power through the board than necessary..
Theres not much if any benefit, and I think it makes for less heat, noise, and overall wear on the board...
Just my 2cents...

[stroyal]

If there is any advantage it is only the tachometer, and you really don't need that for case fans.
Really just a toy, for the most part.


Like JP, I run most, if not all my fans from the power supply.

If you still want the tach, you can buy or modify fans to run off the power supply, and still have a tach.


Basically, you connect the red and the black wire to the power supply, and the yellow wire to the motherboard fan header.

Edit;
Not many people will ever need Firewire, and if you did, you can get an expansion card later.
Same goes for more USBs, or just get a USB hub.(I'd get a powered one)