Marketing of "Gaming boards" vs non-gaming boards

[L8trdude]

I'd like your input on motherboards, especially with the use of of the words 'gaming' vs boards marketed without those specific words.

I've always built my last several systems focusing on (in this order) the (1) motherboard chipsets design, (2) the specific cpu processor design and socket size, (3) gaming DDR memory design and maximum allowance, (3) expansion card placement, (4) number of sata connector provided

After looking at boards I've purchased in the past, I've always noticed the same exact boards sold later on with the same exact chipsets and memory capacity, but marketed as a "Gaming Board".

How much difference in performance do these 'gaming boards' provide over my system build methodology?

I've never bought a 'gaming board' outside of Intel's Bad Axe D975XBX2.

Thanks for your valued input.

 

[dma0991]

'Gaming' is just a simple marketing strategy to fool people who does not do prior research before buying stuff they want or they are not the technically inclined but are still gamers.

I've heard of gaming RAM, gaming PSU and now gaming motherboard all of which does not bring about huge performance gain at all when it comes to gaming. What's next? Gaming grade GPU? Of course there will be parts like gaming keyboard or gaming mouse that could bring some benefit to improving gaming performance but I'd like to believe that skill > gear in this matter.

I could get parts that do not have any gaming prefix and spend that money on a better GPU that WILL bring some noticeable gains when it comes to gaming.

 

[StrangerGuy]

I'd like your input on motherboards, especially with the use of of the words 'gaming' vs boards marketed without those specific words.

I've always built my last several systems focusing on (in this order) the (1) motherboard chipsets design, (2) the specific cpu processor design and socket size, (3) gaming DDR memory design and maximum allowance, (3) expansion card placement, (4) number of sata connector provided

After looking at boards I've purchased in the past, I've always noticed the same exact boards sold later on with the same exact chipsets and memory capacity, but marketed as a "Gaming Board".

How much difference in performance do these 'gaming boards' provide over my system build methodology?

I've never bought a 'gaming board' outside of Intel's Bad Axe D975XBX2.

Thanks for your valued input.

Zero.

It costs next to nothing for mobo makers for make "gaming" mobos over standard ones with a xtreme paintjob and heatsinks and charge you through the nose assuming you are suckered into that. And also, notice mobo reviews these days only focuses on these outrageous boards?

 

[pcunite]

It is sad when the marketing dept of the motherboard companies do this. I've always tried to avoid anything pitched this way, it always seems to just be a paint job or different color heat sink. Sometimes I suppose it could be the only board with the features you want in stock. Like another poster said ... why don't they use "gaming" GPU? Because ... then "gaming" is revealed to be the stupid term it is.

 

[Zap]

How much difference in performance do these 'gaming boards' provide over my system build methodology?

Generally speaking, performance-wise all motherboards using the same chipset will perform near identically to each other (within margin of error).

 

[JimKiler]

Generally speaking, performance-wise all motherboards using the same chipset will perform near identically to each other (within margin of error).

Are you trying to talk me out of paying more than $125 for a new mobo? Actually I have not paid more for that since I bought a NForce 4 mobo for $190 and realized I do not need anything on a mobo that costs more than $125. I even see crossfire and SLI support on the cheap offering from quality companies like Asus and Gigabyte.

 

[yottabit]

Well, look at the number of VRMs too (or "phases" of power) as that's a pretty good indicator of quality

I do a lot of overclocking, so I the more VRMs the merrier

That's how I usually differentiate the good from the cheap. Cheap boards have 4-5 VRMs, good ones will have far more

But for a stock or stock volt OC those boards are fine

The most "gamer" board I ever bought was the DFI Lanparty UT nf3, but there was good reason... it was one of the best overclocking A64 boards and one of the first to feature PCI and AGP clock locks

Also on the "crossfire" ready boards look at the rated speeds for the PCIe slots, often times they are awful. For example 16x 4x split.

 

[Rvenger]

Oh man, these gaming boards are starting to pose an issue now too. Motherboard companies seem to be getting smart in reeling the overclockers to spending more. I have a perfectly good example here too.

Back in March, I purchased my first P67 board. An MSI P67A-C43. (Bottom of the barrel MSI) Came with Bios 1.8 which had vcore settings up to 1.5v. I noticed that version 1.9 released and wanted to give that a try to see if I can obtain a more stable overclock. I noticed the file size of the bios was smaller. (Didn't think anything of it) Loaded up 1.9 and found that MSI shaved the Vcore down to 1.35v max and removed some of the VDroop, turbo overclocking options as well. I seen people complain about this in the MSI German forum and they keep on releasing newer bios' with the same changes. Others with the more expensive MSI boards (P67A-GD65) with a newer bios do not have this issue. hmmm

 

[bntran02]

The term "Gaming" has no relevance to actual gaming performance. It's basically another lie cooked up by marketing guys.

How about we tack on the word "Gaming" onto USB drives, watches, cars, sunglasses, nail clippers, etc...

 

[bntran02]

Oh man, these gaming boards are starting to pose an issue now too. Motherboard companies seem to be getting smart in reeling the overclockers to spending more. I have a perfectly good example here too.

Back in March, I purchased my first P67 board. An MSI P67A-C43. (Bottom of the barrel MSI) Came with Bios 1.8 which had vcore settings up to 1.5v. I noticed that version 1.9 released and wanted to give that a try to see if I can obtain a more stable overclock. I noticed the file size of the bios was smaller. (Didn't think anything of it) Loaded up 1.9 and found that MSI shaved the Vcore down to 1.35v max and removed some of the VDroop, turbo overclocking options as well. I seen people complain about this in the MSI German forum and they keep on releasing newer bios' with the same changes. Others with the more expensive MSI boards (P67A-GD65) with a newer bios do not have this issue. hmmm

You can always roll back your BIOS revision. That's what i would do

 

[Rvenger]

You can always roll back your BIOS revision. That's what i would do

Yes but if they start doing this from the initial release of a new motherboard, you can't roll it back, especially for new CPU support.

 

[drizek]

OK, so the Asus Sabertooth is mostly identical to the M5A99X, but as a "gaming board" it is a 990fx chipset instead of 990x, and so it supports dual x16 PCIe instead of x8. The Sabertooth has 8+2 VRMs instead of 6+2. It also comes with a 5 year isntead of 3 year warranty. Is that worth an extra $35? I think if you are spending hundreds on top end video cards, or if you want the best possible overclock, it might be.

And then the Crosshair V Formula adds support for 3-way SLI, something you will almost never find on a non-gaming board.

 

[nitromullet]

I think with motherboards you get what you pay for in terms of quality and features in the $100-250 price bracket, but once you get to $300 it's just gimmickry. Performance wise at stock settings most motherboards with the same chipset will perform about the same at any price.

 

[Zap]

Are you trying to talk me out of paying more than $125 for a new mobo?

No. More expensive boards may have features that you want (more robust VRMs, extra NICs or SATA controllers, etc.) however the word "Gaming" in the product name is not a feature. Nor is "Military Grade," "1.92834 ounces of copper" or whatever other fancy marketing terms they come up with.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I paid $260 (each) for a pair of DFI X48 boards. That's the most that I've ever spent on a motherboard, and now I kind of regret it. They are very solid boards, though, and one of them got my Q6600 G0 chip stable at 3.6 with minimal volts, with LLC enabled. Very nice board.

The reason that I regret it, is because I could have just purchased a pair of EP35-UD3P boards (which will go to 500Mhz FSB even on a quad), and saved about half of my money. My X48 purchase was due to an apparently-flawed review, that showed crossfire performance losing about 10-20% performance with x8/x8 over x16/x16. Later reviews (after I purchased), showed that not to be the case after all.

Oh well. If I ever need to run two graphics cards at x16/x16, I can. Although, by the time graphics cards require that, the S775 CPUs that this board supports won't be enough.

Anyways, $130-160 for a mobo is enough.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

you don't necessarily need MORE phases.

Gigabyte's X58-OC board is extremely stable and has excellent electrical components and only uses 6 phases. It kills their old "24 phase" marketing crap. This whole phase business is as bad as "wattage" in the speaker industry.

 

[StrangerGuy]

Are you trying to talk me out of paying more than $125 for a new mobo? Actually I have not paid more for that since I bought a NForce 4 mobo for $190 and realized I do not need anything on a mobo that costs more than $125. I even see crossfire and SLI support on the cheap offering from quality companies like Asus and Gigabyte.

The more you spend on a mobo means less money going to the video card. It is always better to choose $125 mobo with a $275 video card rather than the other way round.

 

[drizek]

Except you upgrade video cards once a year whereas motherboards can be used reasonably for 3-5 years.

 

[Zap]

Except you upgrade video cards once a year whereas motherboards can be used reasonably for 3-5 years.

By 3-5 years it is still an outdated heap.

For the same money it is usually better to buy something at half the price, and upgrade twice as often, especially on something that doesn't really add much measurable performance.

 

[drizek]

But motherboards aren't about performance, they're about stability and features. A good board stays a good board. An $80 motherboard won't have eSATA today, it won't have it two years from now.

 

[drizek]

you don't necessarily need MORE phases.

Gigabyte's X58-OC board is extremely stable and has excellent electrical components and only uses 6 phases. It kills their old "24 phase" marketing crap. This whole phase business is as bad as "wattage" in the speaker industry.

From the same company, an 8+2 is better than a 6+2 with the same components. If nothing else, it lets you just spread the load out a little more to keep things cooler.

 

[Gigantopithecus]

"Military Grade,"

Haha, that's my favorite marketing term. My question is 'whose military?'

 

[exdeath]

"gaming" means:

Cases made out of the cheapest metal and plastic available, shaped like monsters and skulls adorned with 5348234234 LEDs and 500 lbs of excess plastic. Causes epilepsy.

Memory with gun or castle grayskull shape heatsinks.

Motherboards with colored plastic connectors and cables and gun shapped heatsinks and 50 lbs of misc extra accessory junk you don't want or need. But that's ok you'll have a 3x size "special edition gamer" box to store it all in and fight off dust for the next 5 years. Lets not forget you have 32 SATA channels... even though 28 of them are on a third party parallel PCI chip... which likely the person who bought the board hooked their new SSD up to because they just picked a port at random or whatever their neon SATA cable could reach.

Neon colored 10,000 RPM 105 db CPU fan that hooks up to your sound card and flashes color changing LEDs with the mad tyte muzix beats... oh and it keeps your 2 Ghz Pentium 4 cool when playing CS @ 24 fps and keyboard turning in WoW.

Eg: the Fast and the Furious "ricer" garbage of the IT world. Most of the actual components underneath aren't even top of the line (eg: cas 9 instead of cas 7 ram, etc). What people call "gaming" components I call "rice". Neon LED illuminated fans are as gay as neon underglows on a 70 HP Civic... or any car really.

The best "gamer" part ever is that stupid $200+ Killer NIC. Because PCI bus and the world beyond your wall jack totally don't matter... Killer NIC will get you 2 ms ping and 150 MB/sec download from a sever in China over 150 hops even when they are on dial up.

People (dumb kids) spend all this money on fancy expensive "gamer" shit, when the actual components underneath all those neons are mediocre at best. It's a great marketing scheme. Take a $100 CPU, thrown in a skull shaped heatsink with neons on it that cost 5 cents to mass produce in China, a loud colorful red black and radioactive green ADHD box adorned in giant "X"s and "GameR!!!!!!1!" all over it, and sell it for $350. Probably the same kids who spend $350 on a plastic pipe...er cold air intake for their Scion and think it adds 50 HP.

Ok I'm going to stop now before I piss myself... I'm laughing so hard.

 

[Zap]

But motherboards aren't about performance, they're about stability and features. A good board stays a good board. An $80 motherboard won't have eSATA today, it won't have it two years from now.

And two years from now it won't have whatever else is new. An expensive motherboard from just over two years ago won't have USB 3.0 or SATA 6Gb/s. Today's motherboard in two years won't have PCIe 3.0.

"gaming" means: Buying computer gear branded Fatal1ty

Fixed! :sneaky:

 

[drizek]

Cheap motherboards today don't even have features like gigabit ethernet. USB 3.0 will be around for a decade probably before you NEED USB 4.0, PCIe 3.0 is only twice as fast as PCIe2.0. A 16x PCIe2 slot is the same as the 8x PCIe3 slot you will be using in a cheap motherboard in SLI 2 years from now.

Don't get me wrong, I agree with you about everything else, but I think motherboards are an exception. A cheap CPU is just slower than an expensive CPU. With motherboards though, a cheap one will be a constant source of headaches. There is good value between $100 and $150, but I think there are valid technical reasons to spend up to around $230.