Decent mobo for i5-4690k

[madmad]

Hi guys,

Title says it all really, I need decent a mobo for an i5-4690k that I plan on buying as my old system seems to be on it's last legs. I will definitely overclock at some point but at the same time I will not be trying to squeeze every last Mhz out of it and I'm not a gamer either. Budget is I'd say around £90 but of course the less the better. I'm a lifelong Asus user but I'm willing to give some other make a chance this time around. Asrock Z97 Pro3 looks especially tempting at £69.99, what do you guys say?

 

[Kenmitch]

If that MB has all the features you'll need then it should be fine. I've used Asrock MB's in the past and never had any issues with them.

Overclocking on Intel chips these days is dictated by the silicone lottery more than the MB.

 

[madmad]

Thanks Ken, I think I'll go with it as noone is suggesting anything else. I was a bit unsure because when building my last PC Asrock was cosidered a "poor man's Asus" which kinda implied lack of quality, but apparently that's not the case anymore.

 

[mistersprinkles]

ASRock yes. Pro 3, no. Get at least the Z97 Extreme 4. It's about $130US so should be about 90GBP, it'll be within or close to within your budget. MUCH better power delivery, by a country mile. While Haswell does have onboard VRM and motherboard VRM is less important, you don't want your chip running off 4 phase like on the Pro 3 when it's overclocked to 4.5Ghz either.

Don't forget the cooler. Haswell runs hot. A hyper 212 won't get you very far. I'd be looking at at least an NHD14.

ASRock was once a division of ASUS- the "value" division. And indeed, their mobos were pretty lame. They have long since split from Asus and are making high quality motherboards that deliver a lot of features and great value without using crappy components. The Z97 Extreme6 is my go-to Z97 board when I spec a system out for somebody but since you don't wish to spend that much the Extreme4 will work just as well, albeit with a few less features (like dual M.2 ports).

edit: yep, exactly 90GBP excluding VAT

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asro...quad-sli-3-way-crossfirex-d-sub-dp-dvi-d-hdmi

 

[coffeejunkee]

Asrock is better than they were. In fact, there are no real bad mobo manufacturers nowadays. Well, maybe ECS. Still, low price has to come from somewhere and Asrock tends to use thinner pcb's.

Anyway, Z97 main features are sata-express and pci-e m.2 slot. So I would look for a board that has those connectors, especially if you plan to use it for a long time. Also look at mATX. ATX is really only necessary if you intend to use 2 graphic cards.

 

[madmad]

Thanks for your input guys.

Good point about the mATX, I shall look at those as I will never use 2 gfx cards.

As for Z97 Extreme 4 sure it looks a nice mobo but it really pushes the budget, with VAT and delivery it comes to £120 :/

 

[StangMan04]

Is the ASUS Z97M-PLUS any good? Looking for a mATX board and this one looks decent for my 4690k.

 

[mistersprinkles]

Is the ASUS Z97M-PLUS any good? Looking for a mATX board and this one looks decent for my 4690k.

For $20 more, the ASRock extreme 4 gives you a much more robust power delivery section than the ASUS board does. If you do any kind of serious overclocking that ASUS is going to get mighty toasty.

 

[StangMan04]

For $20 more, the ASRock extreme 4 gives you a much more robust power delivery section than the ASUS board does. If you do any kind of serious overclocking that ASUS is going to get mighty toasty.

I assume that would be better for OCing, which I will be doing. I was told to look for a mATX board since I will only be using 1 video card and it would save space in the case. Unless ATX would be a wiser choice for any reason that I may not know about.

 

[schmuckley]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-408-_-Product

More OCing features than AsRock Extreme4
also better components and warranty (It actually has one)

Z87 Biostar: http://valid.canardpc.com/2897134

 

[StangMan04]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-408-_-Product

More OCing features than AsRock Extreme4
also better components and warranty (It actually has one)

Z87 Biostar: http://valid.canardpc.com/2897134

Haven't heard many people talking about Biostar, I assume you have he Z87 version by your link. 6GHz, wow, I doubt that was stable.

 

[coffeejunkee]

For $20 more, the ASRock extreme 4 gives you a much more robust power delivery section than the ASUS board does. If you do any kind of serious overclocking that ASUS is going to get mighty toasty.

Are you sure the Asrock board isn't doing some phase duplication thingie? Even if not, 4 good phases is still better than 8 low quality ones. For Haswell, all the mobo power section has to do is regulate input voltage. Integrated voltage regulator in the cpu does the hard work.

 

[schmuckley]

Haven't heard many people talking about Biostar, I assume you have he Z87 version by your link. 6GHz, wow, I doubt that was stable.

I have the z97 one, too. :awe: