Need advice on a Gaming Motherboard

[Patre]

I'm helping out my nephew build a gaming machine and his budget (for the whole system) is around $1500.

Would like some recommendations on a MB that's solid and will possibly last him a good 3-5 years. I'm a bit partial towards AsRock as I've been extremely happy with the MB I have, but of course open to all brands/suggestions.

Also, would like to know any compatibility issues (if any) these MB's have and anything else you might think is helpful.

I doubt he'll try to OC (unless it's very simple to do and won't end up frying his system :O)....

I haven't been keeping up to date with all the latest/greatest technology out there, so I'm hoping all you guys can point me in the right direction in selecting a good quality MB as well as CPU, RAM, Graphics card etc....

TIA,
Patre

 

[UsandThem]

I haven't been keeping up to date with all the latest/greatest technology out there, so I'm hoping all you guys can point me in the right direction in selecting a good quality MB as well as CPU, RAM, Graphics card etc....

Nobody can really recommend a motherboard until you decide on what CPU you want. PM a moderator and ask them to move it to general hardware, where there is already a lot of previous 'build my computer' posts.

http://www.portvapes.co.uk/?id=Latest-exam-1Z0-876-Dumps&exid=thread...-input-on-your-projects-please-tell-us.80121/

 

[Patre]

Sorry, I was thinking about the i5 6600k.
(Just incase he may want to OC in the future....)

 

[Puffnstuff]

(Just incase he may want to OC in the future....)

If he wants to OC then something based upon the z170 chipset is what you're looking for but if gaming is the purpose for the machine then it needs to based upon a core i7 cpu and a strong enough gpu such as a gtx 1070 or higher..

 

[Patre]

Yes, I've been looking at some z170 boards and trying to find one that has a lot of features and is solidly built.
Why do you say i7 cpu? Wouldn't an i5 6600k be more than enough for gaming purposes?

 

[Puffnstuff]

Core i7 6700k offers better performance for gaming than the i5 and is cheaper than the 6 core 6800k. You should take a look at some comparative benchmarks between the cpu's and see which one best suits your needs.

 

[Patre]

Thanks Puff......I just looked at some of the benchmarks and see what you mean. So (now), the i7 6700k is my starting point. Now for a MB.....I'm liking the specs/build of the Gigabyte GA-Z170X-UD5, but their support is a bit crappy (to say the least).

Any other boards you can recommend?

 

[Puffnstuff]

I would recommend the Asus Maximus Hero VIII as a starting point. You could go up to the alpha if you want built in Wi-Fi but Asus has consistently been the best for me over the years. Its also the only motherboard I know of that has an optional fan extension header on it so you don't need a third party fan controller if you exceed the built in motherboard fan headers.
https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/MAXIMUS-VIII-HERO/

 

[UsandThem]

Thanks Puff......I just looked at some of the benchmarks and see what you mean. So (now), the i7 6700k is my starting point. Now for a MB.....I'm liking the specs/build of the Gigabyte GA-Z170X-UD5, but their support is a bit crappy (to say the least).

Any other boards you can recommend?

Like Puffnstuff suggested, Asus generally makes very good products. I built my first computer with an Asus motherboard back in the late 90's. But if you think they in someway provide better service than the other remaining manufacturers, be prepared to be disappointed if you ever need technical support or a RMA. Asus and Gigabyte are the #1 and #2 manufacturer of retail motherboards.

http://www.portvapes.co.uk/?id=Latest-exam-1Z0-876-Dumps&exid=thread...s-in-the-customer-service-department.2462599/

They pretty well all stink anymore. There are some higher-end boards where they will do an advance RMA, but that is the exception. The key is to get the computer built and tested for as long as you can, and if you have any issues, it would be in your best interest to deal with the retailer rather than any motherboard manufacturer RMA department.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Like Puffnstuff suggested, Asus generally makes very good products. I built my first computer with an Asus motherboard back in the late 90's. But if you think they in someway provide better service than the other remaining manufacturers, be prepared to be disappointed if you ever need technical support or a RMA. Asus and Gigabyte are the #1 and #2 manufacturer of retail motherboards.

http://www.portvapes.co.uk/?id=Latest-exam-1Z0-876-Dumps&exid=thread...s-in-the-customer-service-department.2462599/

They pretty well all stink anymore. There are some higher-end boards where they will do an advance RMA, but that is the exception. The key is to get the computer built and tested for as long as you can, and if you have any issues, it would be in your best interest to deal with the retailer rather than any motherboard manufacturer RMA department.

Now I'm at a crossroads, wondering if I don't want to go to the trouble of RMA'ing my Sabertooth Z170 S and exchanging for the Maximus Hero Whetstone. The Maximus and Z170 Deluxe boards have 16-phase power design, which probably allocates 4 phases to onboard graphics whether you use it or not.

The Sabertooth has 8+4, but two different reviews from different established sites confirm that it competes between 2nd place and 4th with two Maximus models (Assembly and Formula) and the Z170 Deluxe through a set of benchmarks like AIDA64, Cinebench and Sandra. So it OC's as well as any good gaming board out there, and the two reviews indicated they had processors of different potential: One would clock to 4.92 on a Maximus board, the other would only clock to 4.8. At least -- the way I remember it.

So the Sabertooth will clock the better chip to 4.8, and the other chip to 4.7. The board has aspects of reliability, durability and warranty that some people prefer.

 

[UsandThem]

Now I'm at a crossroads, wondering if I don't want to go to the trouble of RMA'ing my Sabertooth Z170 S and exchanging for the Maximus Hero Whetstone. The Maximus and Z170 Deluxe boards have 16-phase power design, which probably allocates 4 phases to onboard graphics whether you use it or not.

The Sabertooth has 8+4, but two different reviews from different established sites confirm that it competes between 2nd place and 4th with two Maximus models (Assembly and Formula) and the Z170 Deluxe through a set of benchmarks like AIDA64, Cinebench and Sandra. So it OC's as well as any good gaming board out there, and the two reviews indicated they had processors of different potential: One would clock to 4.92 on a Maximus board, the other would only clock to 4.8. At least -- the way I remember it.

So the Sabertooth will clock the better chip to 4.8, and the other chip to 4.7. The board has aspects of reliability, durability and warranty that some people prefer.

I think it's a toss up. I've seen mainstream motherboards get within overclocking striking distance of the much more expensive boards. I'd just go with whichever one has the best reviews, and has the features/looks you like. A lot of time it just comes down to hitting the silicon lottery.

I might be the only one here who thinks this way, but it is insane how many different motherboard models manufacturers release today. Back around 2000, each company would release probably around 6 or so different boards around a particular chipset. Now Asus has 20 different boards around the z170 chipset, and Gigabyte has 30! That's craziness.

 

[nerp]

It is overwhelming. And sometimes, the boards all have nearly identical specs and it's very hard to determine what is actually different. In those cases, I try to go for the one with the most ratings and most sales since that's the one that would get the support over the long haul over a model that had a short life in the market and not many users.

 

[Puffnstuff]

I know that we all have different experiences with products and what might be great for one person turns out to be a pain in the butt for another. Many years ago I did have an issue with Asus rma and my xonar dx2 sound card when the optical port died. I sent it in and they replaced it and sent it back to me to the wrong address and then when I finally did receive it the port still didn't work. I never got that resolved but the analog ports still work today. They did me right with my t100 transformer earlier this year.

I've only had one gigabyte motherboard and it had to be rma'd and the replacement had a coil whine. I had to call them up and speak to them about it before they agreed to replace it with another board. Once that was done that board worked great and I sold it last year on Craigslist along with a q9550.

 

[Patre]

Will definitely take a look at that Maximus Hero VIII.....what do you guys think of the AsRock Z170 Extreme 7+?
http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z170 Extreme7+/

Initially, I doubt he'll be OC'ing his machine, but possibly might want to do it sometime in the future and the AsRock boards seem to be built well for this.
Like IMB stated above, a lot of these boards have very similar specs and for a general consumer, it's tough to differentiate.

 

[UsandThem]

It's comparable to pretty much every mid-range and above z170 board out there, but do you really need a $200+ motherboard?

One of the main selling points of the Z170 Extreme7+ is the ability to have three M.2/U.2 drives based on PCIe and put them into RAID, but how many users are realistically going to set out and buy three SSD 750s or three SM951s/950 Pro M.2 drives either as a JBOD or as a RAID-0? That answer is probably nearer 10 than 10-thousand, but would be a bit excessive to say zero.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/9817/the-asrock-z170-extreme7-review-triple-m2-x4-in-raid/8

 

[Patre]

Good point UsandThem......to be honest, I hadn't looked too far into all the features of this board and just went with the reviews I read. I appreciate this kind of advice and glad you guys are here to set things straight......will keep looking.

 

[UsandThem]

Good point UsandThem......to be honest, I hadn't looked too far into all the features of this board and just went with the reviews I read. I appreciate this kind of advice and glad you guys are here to set things straight......will keep looking.

I'd just get a well reviewed board, with ALC1150 audio or similiar.

Don't care about overclocking:

https://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=N82E16813132575

Maybe want to try overclocking:

https://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=N82E16813128837

 

[Patre]

Thanks U&T!!

Of note, I spoke to my nephew (who's just about to go to college) and he's thinking of looking into doing graphics design/light video editing etc...and I realize a decent GPU + the i7 6700k will be a must, but will the MB selection be a factor in this?

 

[UsandThem]

Thanks U&T!!

Of note, I spoke to my nephew (who's just about to go to college) and he's thinking of looking into doing graphics design/light video editing etc...and I realize a decent GPU + the i7 6700k will be a must, but will the MB selection be a factor in this?

Keep to these two nuggets of advice, and they will be fine:

-If they buy a 'K' CPU (6600k or 6700k) and want to overclock or run multiple video cards (SLI or Crossfire), buy a Z170 chipset motherboard.

-If they aren't going to overclock or aren't running multiple video cards (SLI or Crossfire), buy a H170 chipset motherboard.

Outside of the overclocking capability and SLI or Crossfire support, the Z170 and H170 chipset features are very similiar.

http://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/2099-intel-chipset-comparison-z170-h170-h110

Of course sometimes there are really good sales, so if a Z170 motherboard is cheaper than a H170 motherboard at any given time, it's not going to hurt anything going with it even if they aren't overclocking. For example, the Asus Z170-A was on sale a few days ago for around $120 after MIR.

 

[xLegenday]

if your happy with Asrock, they have quite few very attractive options one being the Z170 Extreme that was mentioned before, but perhaps not the 7+ which is the top one of their Extreme series, maybe the 4+ is enough?
Also a viable option if he doesnt overclock is their H170 Hyper series, cheaper, good features and also allows overclocking.. one of the few that does for the H170 chipset.

 

[Patre]

Yeah, I've been very happy with AsRock in quality/features/price, but still won't disregard the other excellent board makers.....that Asus Maximus has got very good reviews everywhere.

Will definitely keep an eye out for the best deals on a Z170 (looks like he'd like to do some OCing.....if it's easy to do). Possibly, a midrange gaming MB should serve him well.

 

[legolas_tk]

ROG Asus Maximus VIII Hero is very good in overclocking capability. I recommend a good liquid cooling solution for OC. Intel Core i7 6700K with Asus Maximus VIII Hero will be really good for gaming. The CPU is very fast (4.2Ghz)

 

[wingman04]

I think it's a toss up. I've seen mainstream motherboards get within overclocking striking distance of the much more expensive boards. I'd just go with whichever one has the best reviews, and has the features/looks you like. A lot of time it just comes down to hitting the silicon lottery.

I might be the only one here who thinks this way, but it is insane how many different motherboard models manufacturers release today. Back around 2000, each company would release probably around 6 or so different boards around a particular chipset. Now Asus has 20 different boards around the z170 chipset, and Gigabyte has 30! That's craziness.

I seem to find the same thing my Gigabyte Z170 HD3 overclock the i5 6600k to 4.5GHz just fine. Luck of the draw from what I see in the forums for overclocking when you purchase a Possessor. Some people cant make it past 4.4GHz with a i7 6700k and a great motherboard.

 

[GilmaSusan]

ROG Asus Maximus VIII Hero is very good in overclocking capability. I recommend a good liquid cooling solution for OC. Intel Core i7 6700K with Asus Maximus VIII Hero will be really good for gaming. The CPU is very fast (4.2Ghz)

"I recommend a good liquid cooling solution for OC. Intel Core i7 6700K with Asus Maximus VIII Hero will be really good for gaming.".........
I have the same opinion with you
Many thanks friends
We receive many info during this group
keep great publishing & wonderful pict

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I seem to find the same thing my Gigabyte Z170 HD3 overclock the i5 6600k to 4.5GHz just fine. Luck of the draw from what I see in the forums for overclocking when you purchase a Possessor. Some people cant make it past 4.4GHz with a i7 6700k and a great motherboard.

Nobody has "dissed" me for ordering a binned 6700K @ 4.8 chip from Silly Lotts. And it may be binned as capable for that speed, but I don't think I'm going to run it faster than 4.6. So far it looks as though the extra $50 CLU-re-lidding saved me a bundle in cooling expense and complexity. For sacrificing warranty, even so.

. . . . and I thought my old Sandy Bridgers were "fast."

The Sabertooth Z170 (S) for its second-tier 8+4 phase-power seems more than adequate, and I'm beginning to think I wouldn't be that much happier with a Maximus or Deluxe.

I'm wondering how long it will take before I get used to the speed of this system as "nothin' special."