Intel i5 3570K + Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H LGA 1155 Z77 = 299.98 + tax Microcenter

Quote from npolite : I have a Gigabyte board and really like them. Are the Z77 boards they are making now that bad?

They had some screwups recently that took a while to resolve. Whole range of z68 boards had problems like lock ups and boot loops.

I just bought an MSI z77 G45 board. Its really thick and sturdy, has pretty much the same features as most of these, I like the power layout, and it looks pretty cool too. I got it on a rebate deal for around $110. Asrock seems to have some good boards and some not so good ones. Cant go wrong with Asus either. Biostar and Gigabyte boards can be a little on the thin side for my tastes.

This is the board I got: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Pro...6813130645

Quote from sklar : They had some screwups recently that took a while to resolve. Whole range of z68 boards had problems like lock ups and boot loops. I just bought an MSI z77 G45 board. Its really thick and sturdy, has pretty much the same features as most of these, I like the power layout, and it looks pretty cool too. I got it on a rebate deal for around $110. Asrock seems to have some good boards and some not so good ones. Cant go wrong with Asus either. Biostar and Gigabyte boards can be a little on the thin side for my tastes. This is the board I got: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Pro...6813130645

Yep, that's a good board. It seems MFGs hit peaks in quality as time comes and goes and it seems MSI is kicking but right now in quality of their boards and video cards. The BIG BANG MSI board is probably the best board out there period right now.

Quote from jtskier1200r : I agree the MSI and Asrock are better boards, but I haven't seen any "terrible" reviews for this board. Also, with this deal this is quite a bit less than the other two boards.

3 MSI, 2 Asrock boards in the past 4 years that have been rock solid.

Also had a biostar Z68 recently that I wasn't crazy about, but it got the job done. first one had to be RMA'd because it couldn't boot with dual channel RAM.
the replacement was picky with PCI slots.

I went with the Asrock board and 3570K.
http://www.microcenter.com/single...id=0387557
Asrock surprised me with the inclusion of IDE port, although my main purchase point is for the PCI slots they still got.
Total combo price is around $370 after providing my friend's company name. I hate paying tax here in SoCal.

now $270, bundled with i5 3570K processor.

Not that I'm looking right now. I'm surprised that the Gigabytes are no longer rated highly. My last builds were with Intel Quad cores and Gigabyte boards and they've worked out great; course I'm not doing anything special other than using them for HTPC and internet browsing.

This is the first time I've even heard of Asrock. Will keep that in mind in the future.

Anyone know if Frys would price match CPU and Mobo combo?

The closest Microcenter is probably 1000 miles away. Anyone have experience at the Willsonville Oregon Frys with this?