Help me pick a motherboard

[Artie17]

I wasn't planning on upgrading, but recently got a good price on a 4770K so I'm ditching my i7 920 and moving up

Since I got the CPU, all I need now is Motherboard and RAM.

For RAM, I think I only need 8GB. I was previously recommended G.SKILL Sniper RAM. Should I consider anything else or just get it?

For Motherboard, my only requirements are that is supports 2 way SLI + Auzen Prelude sound card and is able to provide a decent OC. I would like to keep the price at $200, but I don't mind paying more if there are additional features that will be useful. I was looking at the Asus Formula cause of the looks, but couldn't justify the extra $100 just for looks and I heard the onboard audio will not be better than my sound card.

Here are my current choices:

ASUS MAXIMUS VI HERO
GIGABYTE G1.Sniper Z87
GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-OC
GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-UD3H
GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-UD5H

Please let me know why you think I should pick one over the other. I'm leaning towards the Hero because it meets my requirements and I like the color scheme. I actually wish it didn't have onboard audio and the price was slightly lower.

I think once I get some suggestions, I will make a poll.

Thanks!

 

[Ketchup]

I have seen very good things out of the UDxH boards. The 5 has some pretty nice audio, I have been pretty happy with the Realtek audio (like the chip on the 3) over the past few years. Other than that, I don't see a HUGE difference between the two. Asus makes good boards, just don't expect too much help from them if you have an issue, and you will pay more just for the name.

 

[Artie17]

Thanks.

I don't care that much for onboard audio since I'm going to be keeping my sound card, unless the onboard audio solution is better.

I think my finalists are the Hero and the OC board. I don't really like the color scheme of the Gigabyte though.

Any tips for RAM?

 

[Ketchup]

Thanks.

I don't care that much for onboard audio since I'm going to be keeping my sound card, unless the onboard audio solution is better.

I think my finalists are the Hero and the OC board. I don't really like the color scheme of the Gigabyte though.

Any tips for RAM?

8 gigs works for me - the only thing I do that stresses it is some light gaming and some video encoding.

Brand, I say go with the list on their site. There are tons of brands, models out there, just remember that Intel chips don't care about RAM that is above spec, and if you have a motherboard problem and go to the manufacturer, they may turn a deaf ear if you don't have RAM that is on their list. Most RAM is fine though, just stay away from OCZ, or a brand you haven't heard of.

 

[Artie17]

Thanks again.

I'm actually down to GA-Z87X-UD3H or Asus Hero.

Anyone else can comment or give me advice?

 

[denis280]

8 gigs works for me - the only thing I do that stresses it is some light gaming and some video encoding.

Brand, I say go with the list on their site. There are tons of brands, models out there, just remember that Intel chips don't care about RAM that is above spec, and if you have a motherboard problem and go to the manufacturer, they may turn a deaf ear if you don't have RAM that is on their list. Most RAM is fine though, just stay away from OCZ, or a brand you haven't heard of.

This... and for the mobo asus

 

[misthe]

Hello all i have the same doubt and i don;t know what to choose as i' m not a fan gamer and i 'm looking for a stable motherboard that will keep me warm at least for the next five years. I 'm working a lot with virtual environments and multitasking so i definitely need a powerful board. This is my list and i' m starting with the lowest price

1) GA-Z87X-D3H
2) G1.Sniper Z87
3) GA-Z87X-UD3H

So my question is if i purchase the UD3H am i going to realize any difference or i can suite with the lowest price board D3H or the NEW G1 Z87 ?
what can be the real and OBVIOUS benefits between them ?

Thanks in advance!

 

[xeledon20005]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128595

that is what I have right now. Currently in the process of buying all the parts for a new build, that board with a 4770k. Working on the rest. Recommend that board $50 rebate nice looking lots of features closed loop on north/south bridge.

 

[misthe]

I appreciate your response but is out of my budget, for this purchase i have set as a TOP the UD3H and as you can understand i' m looking also for a lower budget boards.
Honestly for what i' m looking i think even the simple D3H can suite perfect for me.
But again i' m not sure
For what i have understand from my research until now is that all Z87 boards are powerful and stable and what is distinguish between them is some extras useless features (for myself )that include in the package.

 

[dma0991]

I 'm working a lot with virtual environments and multitasking so i definitely need a powerful board.

VMs and multitasking aren't good enough reasons why you'd need a high end board. The distinction between a high end and mid range is that you're getting a more robust power delivery; a benefit only seen if you're stressing the motherboard by overclocking.

Assuming that you're never overclocking, ASRock Z87 PRO3, ASRock Z87 Extreme3, Gigabyte Z87 DS3H or Gigabyte Z87 HD3 would've done the same for less compared to the ones you've listed.

You need to be specific about what you meant by a powerful board. Connectivity? Features? Power delivery, VRM robustness?

 

[TheGoat Eater]

^^^ Along that line I too would recommend something different, the MSI MPOWER - It is a hell of a board for the price. I have one running on the benchtable sitting on my desk. I fine it one of the best price to performance motherboards out there. Definitely know more about your wants and needs in the boards would help us make a more focused recommendation

 

[Artie17]

What do you guys think would be the main difference between the UD3 adn the Hero? Maybe a higher OC?

I kinda have it narrowed down to those too. The Gigabyte will allow me to run hackintosh and is cheaper and the Hero has some nice overclocking features and is a much better looking board IMO.

 

[ali1988]

I would normally recommend the Asus Gryphon z87 as it has a 5yr warranty unlike most mobos which is just 3 years. Is about as durable board as you can buy BUT the deal breaker in your case is SLI. Though it technically supports 2 way SLI the slots are way too close together so you're GPUs are going to be hella toasty. Not worth it so if you have to stick full size ATX board i'd go with the z87 sabertooth as they have same high quality 10k caps.

AFAIK motherboards make virtually no difference to CPU overclock when it comes to haswell due to integrated VRM and IMC. All comes down to the chip itself basically, the motherboard can't do much anymore like they used to.

 

[dma0991]

What do you guys think would be the main difference between the UD3 adn the Hero? Maybe a higher OC?

Either boards would do just fine. Motherboards at that price range will perform similar (+/- 100MHz), but it depends on what added features (on board sound, layout, color scheme, etc) that you prefer. You stand a better chance of higher OC by playing the silicon lottery than to find the right motherboard.

The Kingston Hyper Blue X is a good buy.

As an owner of Kingston HyperX 1600 MHz; its a terrible purchase. It doesn't run 1600 MHz as default without XMP profile and only ran at 1333 MHz. With XMP profile turned on, its prone to crashes. It wasn't too different compared to Kingston ValueRAM with blue heatsinks and supposedly factory overclocked.

Had zero problems with my Samsung sticks, which ran 1600 MHz with no tweaking and overclockable to 1866MHz.

 

[Artie17]

I heard Haswell likes really fast RAM. 2000MHZ+

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I heard Haswell likes really fast RAM. 2000MHZ+

Having used RAM over the years from OCZ, Crucial, Corsair and G.SKILL, I've been using G.SKILL for about five years -- exclusively.

RAM is pretty much a commodity, but I've seen differences in quality and reliability. G.SKILL support -- quality and reliability -- have been consistently satisfactory throughout.

We've repeated the same recommendations in general for "window-shopping" (and "Windows-shopping") for RAM -- many times. Look for the lowest voltage requirement, tightest latency specs for any given speed you want.

When I buy components, I look for lab-test reviews of the product(s). I also look at customer reviews to see what users say. In this latter case, you need to separate the useless from the meaningful. A lot of people don't know what they're doing with -- say -- a motherboard, so they post a bad review. On the other hand, how many of a product's customer reviews were shipped "DOA?" How willing to help is the manufacturer's tech-rep as gauged by his responses to customer reviews?

 

[Artie17]

Thanks!

G.Skill Sniper is one of the kits that I've heard really good things about.

The prices went up recently so I'm waiting for them to go down again.

BTW I pulled the trigger and got the Asus Hero. Just need to get RAM now.

 

[Cerb]

VMs and multitasking aren't good enough reasons why you'd need a high end board. The distinction between a high end and mid range is that you're getting a more robust power delivery; a benefit only seen if you're stressing the motherboard by overclocking.

Agreed. Both are good reasons to get a CPU with HT, if you're fine spending more on that (if OCing, though, put it into mobo, PSU, and CPU cooling first, then only go for an i7 if you have $100 burning a hole in your pocket ), and both are good reasons for more RAM, doubling of which costs about the same as moving to a HT-enabled CPU (more w/o OC, less w/ OC).

I heard Haswell likes really fast RAM. 2000MHZ+

Yes, but it's more complex than that. Previously, very little was gained going above 1333MHz. You generally would get faster because 1333 was either the same price as 1600, or only a few % cheaper, but the differences were slim to none.

Now, Haswell can make fair use of 1866, and there are programs where 1333 is slow enough, compared to 1600+, to warrant not going with 1333, even when cheaper.

If you have a video card, however, faster than that is going to net you negligible gains, for non-negligible costs. With no video card, however, faster RAM helps a lot, because the IGP is severely bandwidth-limited.

1600 9-9-9 to 1866 11-11-11, at 1.5V, should be available at a decent price. CPU performance, GPU performance, and RAM capacity are all far, far, far more important than RAM speeds, once you are in the range of, "good enough."

 

[Artie17]

Thanks Cerb, good to know.

The RAM prices are going up right now. Do you think $80 is allright for an 8GB kit ?

 

[Cerb]

As 1x8GB, rather than 2x4GB, you can get <$70, if barely, hunting a bit on Amazon, but $80 is about right for 2x4GB, ATM.