Hi!

[TheTechDude]

Hello everyone! New to the forums here but I was wondering if anyone had any experience in using the gigabyte Z68A-D3H-B3 (revision 1) on any overclocking? I currently use a i5 2500 (non k) and plan to upgrade real soon! I was wondering if its worth to upgrade to an ivy bridge cpu (which means I will need a new mobo) or just keep the mobo i have! I am a very picky gamer and want the best experience I can get! Thank you

[Doctor_Death]

Welcome to Pure OC ! We have a great bunch of guys here, always willing to help out. I'm sure someone will be along shortly to help you out with your question

[TheTechDude]

thank u I do play all day with building lol..I just dont have the resources to actually o'c this board to its potential hence of my dinky 2500 lol

[Solara2xb]

I don't have personal experience with the D3H series from gigabyte, but my buddy as a i5 2500 and was unable to get a high OC out of it, if at all. He ended up using the stock speeds on his chip.

Ivy's is worth the upgrade if you plan in upgrading your GPUs later down the line with a new Z77 mobo. The new Z77 architecture will benefit from that alone. If you are not looking to upgrade everything then just get the 2500K, which unlocks the CPU and gives you a better OC ability. Isn't much more money and great chip still.

The Performance gain from the i5 2500k to 3570k is only about 5-10% overall CPU per CPU.
Also there are allot of new Z77 series boards out there with allot of new features and performance enhancements as a overall experience. If those features are not important then you can stick to the Z68 platform. I still use a Z68 Asus MB and its great with a 2500k.

[TheTechDude]

Awesome! Actually very well said Im using the 7970 (pcie 3.0) and I kno even pcie 2.0 isnt fully utilized just yet but at least Ill be prepared :P Hmm now what board would be a amazing mobo for features and o'c abilities for the 3rd gen ivy's? Thank u all btw

[xelosia]

Welcome to PURE OC

[killjoyjim]

WELCOME TO PURE OC

[Doctor_Death]

Read our reviews on the ASRock Z77 OC Formula, MSI Z77 MPower, and the Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 which is the most expensive of the 3 boards mentioned. As far as a chip, I would skip the 3750 & 3770, they both run hot, instead I would look into a 2700K which has no problem hitting an OC of 4.8GHz to 5GHz and runs much cooler that the new Ivy chips

[JamesLT3]

Sup Scotty!!! Its about damn time you showed up I would go with what Stan has said, the 2600k and 2700k are great chips and fairly cheap right now. Mc has them for $220(2700k). The MSI Z77 MPOWER will be perfect for your needs and wont kill you money wise. You should only consider Ivy if you will be running a full WC loop. In the long run Ivy cost more to keep cool than Sandy.

[TheTechDude]

Wat up and thank you for all the welcomes and the help!!!

[Solara2xb]

Stan and James both make great points. The 2600k and 2700k CPU's are great chips and is more then you will need just for gaming. However one thing to keep in mind is that using the 2600k and 2700k will take away the PCIe 3.0 feature as it requires a Ivyb Chip. So if that is what your looking for then the 3570k and 3770k is what you want to look for. However PCIe 2.0 is more then enough power for ALL GPU's out in today's market. But the other features with the Z77 series boards will benefit you either direction you go.

The IvyB chips do run warmer, so if you plan on OCing be prepared to throw some money into water cooling either custom or the AIO coolers.
However if you don't plan on OCing to much there are allot of air coolers out there that can keep the chips rather cool. I've reviewed a few CPU coolers that does a decent job even in OC settings.

If you click on my sig. my 800D build is using a Z77 MSI board with 2600k with SLI GTX470 and is more then enough power for what I do. It runs a single monitor so GPU power is good enough. But a single 7970 can handle all of today's games and applications with no problems anyways..

board wise.. MSI makes some great boards. The M power board is awesome.. wish I had waited for that board over the GD65 I have.
also AsROck OC formula got great raves and reviews on its features and OC ability...

Also Asus Maximus boards are awesome as well.

And of course.. welcome to PureOC.. lolz

[TheTechDude]

I was wanting to upgrade for 3.0 as my card is 7970 and wat to be ready when it becomes utilizing better! And I dont plan on record breaking o'cing lol..but just some for the headroom if I need to! Also I hear clock versus clock the 3rd gen is better! I will be using a corsair h80 for the cooler as well! Just want to get the best mobo I can (no matter the cost) just to be prepared (it is however the backbone for everything)

[Solara2xb]

I was wanting to upgrade for 3.0 as my card is 7970 and wat to be ready when it becomes utilizing better! And I dont plan on record breaking o'cing lol..but just some for the headroom if I need to! Also I hear clock versus clock the 3rd gen is better! I will be using a corsair h80 for the cooler as well! Just want to get the best mobo I can (no matter the cost) just to be prepared (it is however the backbone for everything)

If the PCIe 3.0 is a important factor then 3570k and 3770k is a great upgrade. The 3570k actually isn't a really hot running chip. I mean its warmer then the 2500k, but not intolerable with Air Coolers. Look at our review section under Cooling.

I did a few coolers just in the recent months with bench marks showing the 3570k OC to 4.4ghz with the Noctua, Phanteks, DeepCool, Xigmatek and Cooler master AIO coolers.
We also have a new DeepCool Cooler review that should go live in a few days.

The H80 is a good cooler, but there are some air coolers that can keep up with it..
But non the less its still a good choice.

Also there are new coolers coming out that can possibly beat it, so keep your eye out for future reviews.

[TheTechDude]

Right on!! was theyre by chance any reviews for the H80 and 3570k? (srry on my phone and its very slow lol_)

[Solara2xb]

Right on!! was theyre by chance any reviews for the H80 and 3570k? (srry on my phone and its very slow lol_)

We do have reviews for the H80, but they were done any another reviewer on our site. But I can't remember which chip he used. Ill have to look it up... But I don't think at the time of the review the 3570k and 3770k were released..

[Doctor_Death]

From what I understand, PCI-e 3.0 vs 2.0 shows no significance gain, not even in gaming, so it's not worth running a hot expensive Ivy Bridge chip when the 2600K and 270oK run cooler and overclock better. Do a search on 3.0 vs 2.0 and you'll see what I'm talking about