Best Motherboard 2012 - 1155, 1366, 1156

Ever since Intel's new Sandy Bridge line of processors was released LGA 1155 motherboards have occupied the bestselling lists of most major computer retailer and manufacturer websites. This is because as Intel's CEO Paul Otellini said "The Sandy Bridge is a 486 to Pentium kind of jump." Increased performance for both multi-tasking and video performance have led to its extreme popularity. Both the i7-2600k and i7-2500k rival performance for many CPU up to 3 times their price.

1155, 1366, or 1156 socket motherboard?

So which 1155 motherboard should you purchase? Should you stick with the 1156 and 1366 socket motherboards? The truth is it depends. For the most part I can't see why you would go with a 1366 motherboard at this point unless you plan on purchasing an "extreme" series CPU. Because of the recent overall decrease in price a 1156 socket board in conjunction with a CPU that supports it could save you additonal money elsewhere or might be a perfect fit if you are building your own computer.

Z68 Chipset

Late in the second quarter of 2011 Intel released the all new Z68 chipset. The Z68 brings together the best of the P67 and H67 allowing you to overclock your CPU and use integrated graphics. Being able to use integrated graphics rather than your dedicated graphics card is power saving and more efficient for your machine overall. Another feature, Intel Smart Response Technology, allows you to dedicate a portion (up to 64GB) of your solid state drive to "Cache" therefore giving your hard drive solid state drive like performance. Intel has released its 311 series of 20GB SSD for just this purpose.

If you aren't on a tight budget and need performance, then you should strongly consider the i7 series with a Z68 chipset 1155 socket motherboard. If you haven't built your own custom computer before, then you should know that it's necessary to pick out your CPU before venturing into the realm of motherboards.

Intel now a step above AMD for High-End CPU

It's my opinion that Intel has a strong lead over it's only serious competitor AMD in higher end CPU (Above $300) and while this may change with AMD's pending Bulldozer release this particular hub will be specific to 1155, 1366, and 1156 socket motherboards.

How will this change with Bulldozer? Be sure to let us know what you think in the comment section below.

*For AMD fans: There are some incredible AM3 motherboard CPU combos available in the $200 price range. I've written a hub completely dedicated to the best AMD CPU motherboard combo for 2011.

Sata 6 Gb/s vs. 3 Gb/s

If you are going to purchase a motherboard, then make sure to get one with Sata 6 GB/s capability. Even if you don't have a hard drive that is compatible with this yet, it's still a good idea. Solid state drives will not fully replace HDD for a long time because as Seagate has mentioned there just isn't enough NAND flash memory in the market. In 2011 and for the next few years, you should see more and more hybrid drives. In general you can expect about twice the speed in bandwidth transfer from a Sata 6Gb/s HDD vs. one that is Sata 3Gb/s.

*Featured 1155 motherboard:

ASUS Motherboard P8P67 Pro

Manufacturer's Technical Details:

• Intel P67 chipset supporting the 2nd Generation LGA 1155 Intel Core i7/Core i5/Core i3 Processors
• With AMD CrossFireX and NVIDIA SLI support
• SATA 6Gbps and USB 3.0 support
• Dual Gb LAN featuring the latest Intel and Realtek Chipsets
• EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) BIOS

What's the Difference between the P55 and H55 Chipsets?

H55 processors have integrated video cards so that a separate video card is not necessary. For gaming the P55 is ideal, and for casual use the H55 is the way to go.

1156 motherboards still come in handy when you are on a budget. Finding a value computer is not about purchasing new release items, but finding the sweet spot between the older generation of models and the new ones. Although the 1156 motherboards are slowly becoming outdated, that doesn't mean that you still can't fit some of the newest and best performing CPUs in them. Most of them are ready for DDR3 and use USB 3.0 as well.

Best 1156 i5 Motherboard for Gaming:

ASUS P7P55D-E Pro - LGA 1156 Motherboard - This motherboard features Sata 6 and 3 GB/s functionality and has USB 3 and DDR 3 functionality. Although it's a little bit more money, gamer's will be happy that it has extensive BIOS and overclocking options.

Manufacturer's Details:

• Quad-GPU SLI and Quad-GPU CrossFireX Support!
• USB 3.0 & SATA 6Gb/s RAID Support -Fully unleash USB 3.0 & SATA 6Gb/s bandwidth
• ASUS TurboV EVO - Auto tuning intelligently pushes the system to the fastest clock speeds while maintaining stability.
• Auto Tuning Achieve extreme yet stable overclocking results automatically with Auto Tuning!
• ASUS Hybrid 12+2 Phase Power Design Unprecedented Innovation with the Best Quality Component for Best Performance

What customers are saying: "I decided to build a 'high end' workstation with a board that had features that would allow me to grow into the future. this board had good reviews and i especially liked the packaged software that lets me know what is going on inside the pc. with an i5 processor and 4gb(plan going up 4 more)performance is more than adequate for my needs." Another reviewer said, "this is a super reliable motherboard, I installed two of them, in different builds."

In general, you can expect to pay a little bit more for a 1366 socket motherboard than a 1156. As I mentioned in my hub on building a gaming PC.  In comparison to the 1155 socket motherboards the 1366 are similar in price, and a bit less expensive on the CPU side.  If you are going to build, then it's probably better that you go with a newer product in the 1155.

To the right I've listed the top rated 1366 motherboards right now.

Featured 1366 Motherboard:

ASUS P6X58D Premium - LGA 1366 - X58 - DDR3 - USB 3.0 SATA 6 Gb/s - ATX Motherboard

Manufacturer's Product Specs:

• True ASUS 16+2 Phase Power Design Unprecedented Innovation with the Best Quality Component for Best Performance
• USB 3.0 & SATA 6Gb/s RAID Support -Fully unleash USB 3.0 & SATA 6Gb/s bandwidth
• ASUS TurboV New OC Records with Real-Time Super-precise Tunings
• Stack Cool 3+ Effective Fanless Heat Dissipation at 0dB. Up to 20°C(36°F) Cooler!
• ASUS Fanless Design - Heat-pipe solution

Hopefully this hub on "The Best Motherboards for 2011" has been helpful. If it has, then please leave a comment below. If you feel I've missed a particular motherboard that you would like to see featured, then leave that in the comment section below as well. Also take a look at the Best 1155 motherboards for 2011 - Z68, P67, and H67 for an explanation of the differences between these 3 chipsets from Intel or check out this article on the best gaming motherboards of 2011 to see this year's bestselling motherboards.

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