P67 vs Z68

[hoofhearted4]

so ive read some of the differences. i know the Z68 has an integrated graphics card or something and it allows it to work with your actual GPU. there was also something about SSD quick cashing, which doesnt mean anything to me atm, but in the future i could see myself getting an SSD.

 

so which is better to get. is the z68 more future proof? id be using it almost strictly for gaming (meaning no video editing or anything like that, if that makes a difference)

 

thanks guys for deal with my 380439042 questions...im still trying to learn :)

[CommanderCrazy]

'Future Proof' is a stupid idea. PC's can never be 'Future Proof' as things get harder to run all the time.

No real input on the question itself, i have no experience with a Z68.

[hoofhearted4]

well i dont mean will i ever have to upgrade it, i simply mean is the Z68 designed for future use more then the p67 in the "futureproof" aspect

 

im just curious if i should get a z68 chipset or a p67. being a new PC builder i hardly think ill even notice a difference, but id hate to have my first PC build and look back and b like o crap i shoulda done this or shoulda gotten that. its inevitable in the end, it will happen, especially with someone as new to it as me, but im trying to cut down on it as much as possible (hence the 43902 question threads)

 

and on that regard you guys have all been amazing and such great help!, prolly the reason i keep coming back with more questions.

 

its basically between these two:

 

P67:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157230

 

Z68:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157251&cm_re=asrock_z68-_-13-157-251-_-Product

Edited July 2, 2011 by hoofhearted4

[Erik005]

The main differences are the ssd cashing, and the hybrid gpu that does not work yet.

 

With the hybrid gpu you use the gpu of the processor in windows applications and your graphics card when gaming, This is great in theory but in practice it doesn't work yet.

[hoofhearted4]

hmm. im thinking about getting a z68 just because it has some features the p67 doesnt, which could be usefull down the road when i put more money into my pc and learn to do more with it

[Vecna6667]

The Z68's integrated graphics part is this: You can virtualize the graphics chip in the Sandy Bridge CPU so that it can run graphics accelerated applications at the same time you are using the discrete graphics chip for a more demanding task such as playing video games at the same time. This is done through a software application called Virtu (or eventually Synergy when nVidia releases it.) Also if you are not playing games at the moment and want to cut down on power consumption, you can go into the bios and switch to integrated mode to use the Sandy Bridge GPU and save on the energy bill or you can virtualize the discrete GPU and have that running GPU accelerated programs in the background at a lower power consumption.

 

SSD caching is using the SSD to hold cache files while the HDD is the boot drive. Two early prototypes of this tech is the Hybrid HDD and Ready Boost, that would have 4GB of NAND memory(the main memory storage of Solid State Drives and usb thumb drives) to collect information of files and programs that you use. The more frequently a file or program is used, the faster it loads up(there is a limit to how fast this could go.) This though allows you to take a Solid State Drive of up to 64GB(thus much more cache information can be stored.) The end result is a HDD that has a drastic increase in read speed(up to 80% of an SSD.)

 

Here is a link that has a video that describes the z68 chipset details in better detail than I could:

 

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/everything_you_need_know_about_intels_new_z68_chipset

[hoofhearted4]

hmmm....i just dont know which one i wanna go!!!!

 

but that was a very good description thanks!!!

 

 

also i dont think z68 boards support turbo boost do they?

[Vecna6667]

hmmm....i just dont know which one i wanna go!!!!

 

but that was a very good description thanks!!!

 

 

also i dont think z68 boards support turbo boost do they?

 

I think it is the CPU that handles turbo boost and not the motherboard, but I could be wrong. Here are a couple of links in how turbo boost works:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbo_Boost

 

http://www.intel.com/support/processors/sb/CS-029908.htm?wapkw=(turbo+boost)

 

I just checked on wikipedia and at intel's about the z68 chipset and I've seen nothing that mentions that whether the z68 supports turbo boost or not. Besides, most gaming computers will not utilize turbo boost to it's fullest capabilities as it is mainly for single-threaded applications, but you should still get some improvement with dual threaded games.

 

As for which one to get, there really is no wrong answer. Just pick one and stick with it.

Edited July 4, 2011 by Vecna6667

[hoofhearted4]

well i was comparing a couple of p67 boards with a z68 and the p67s listed that they supported "turbo boost technology 2.0", but the z68 was blank in that respective category.

 

this is the p67 im currently planning on:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130574

 

here is a z68 of the same price:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130602&cm_re=z68-_-13-130-602-_-Product

 

they seem to be near identical. the p67 does have a $20 rebate, which is nice

 

im curious though, on a somewhat difference topic, if i get the z68, would it be worth it to buy a 64gb SSD as well? what do u do? put the OS on the SSD and just put everything else on the HDD? whats the best way to utilize it. also is a SSD Hybrid any good? i noticed Seagate has them, they are cheaper which i like lol, but idk anything about them.

 

thanks for your continued help :)

 

EDIT: although i just realized my case (HAF 922) doesnt support 2.5" hard drives so ya. idk.

Edited July 4, 2011 by hoofhearted4

[Vecna6667]

well i was comparing a couple of p67 boards with a z68 and the p67s listed that they supported "turbo boost technology 2.0", but the z68 was blank in that respective category.

 

this is the p67 im currently planning on:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130574

 

here is a z68 of the same price:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130602&cm_re=z68-_-13-130-602-_-Product

 

they seem to be near identical. the p67 does have a $20 rebate, which is nice

 

im curious though, on a somewhat difference topic, if i get the z68, would it be worth it to buy a 64gb SSD as well? what do u do? put the OS on the SSD and just put everything else on the HDD? whats the best way to utilize it. also is a SSD Hybrid any good? i noticed Seagate has them, they are cheaper which i like lol, but idk anything about them.

 

thanks for your continued help :)

 

EDIT: although i just realized my case (HAF 922) doesnt support 2.5" hard drives so ya. idk.

 

64GB is the max that the Smart Response Technology(SRT) will recognize. The whole point is that you take a cheap solid state drive(32GB drives can go for under $100) with a large HDD and give the HDD close to SSD read speeds(write speeds still suck.) As for what you do, it is a bit complicated, but from what I have seen and read, you put both the SSD and HDD on the SATA ports that is controlled by the Intel SATA chip(this is the important part. Luckily the two ports should be a different color from the rest, but the motherboard manual should tell you all the time which SATA ports to use.) Then in the UEFI BIOS, set the SATA configurations of those ports to RAID(not IDE or ACHI) and install the O.S. on the HDD then install the SRT software and run it. As I have said, the manual should have full detail as to how to setup SSD caching and if it doesn't go to the motherboard manufacture's site and on their forums, if you ask around, should threads on how to install. Such sites almost always provide help on topics such as these if you ask nicely and politely.

 

As for Hybrid drives, they do work, but mainly if you are using programs over and over again and they have a smaller limit as to how much faster they can go because the cache is limited. Most Hybrid drives have 4GB of NAND flash memory for their cache.

 

As for your case problem not supporting 2.5 hard drives, at Newegg, search 2.5 to 3.5 brackets and you get a list of bracket to allow you to fit a 2.5" notebook drive into a 3.5" destop drive bay and just about every 2.5" SSD ships with just such a bracket.

Edited July 5, 2011 by Vecna6667