Need Z77 Motherboard Recommendations

[Patre]

Hi all,

I'm planning on building a rig that's going to be primarily used as a DAW and secondarily as a gaming machine. I'm going to build it around the i7 3770k cpu and would like to have a MB that's really simple to OC as well as being a quality build.

I'm trying to keep the MB price around $200 (or less if possible)......I've read the reviews on the AsRock Z77 OC Formula review (http://www.anandtech.com/show/6650/asrock-z77-oc-formula-review-living-in-the-fast-lane) and do like what that board offers (especially for all the features and being able to upgrade on it for the future) as I'd like this build to last for quite some time.
I'm planning on using Win7 (64) with about 16GB RAM and the DAW software will be Sonar X2 on a dual boot with the gaming being on the other.

My plan is to have:

1) SSD - OS and software drive
2) 1 HD - Synth Samples
3) 1 HD - Sonar (recorded) Projects

I haven't looked into GPU's yet as I do have an Nvidia GPU in my current DAW that I could possibly use, but I don't know enough on the details of gaming boards. I'm fairly new to building from the ground up so, any and all advice will be greatly appreciated.

TIA,

Patre

PS.

I'd like to know what your experiences using ASUS, Gigabyte, AsRock, MSI etc...MB's.

 

[TheGoat Eater]

With your needs you really can't go wrong with the MSI MPOWER, it will save you some over the AsRock Z77 OC Formula and will have all the features you require. You would be spending more on something that will be overkill, from the description of your usage. I love the MPOWER and have been happy with it since before day one. There is an extremely large thread of mine on the MPOWER at Overclock.net if you want to research it. I find it very easy to overclock and the board has been very stable and reliable for me. I definitely think that this fits the bill at the sub $200 range .

 

[Patre]

Thanks Goat Eater, I appreciate the reply.

I haven't looked at that HUGE thread yet, but will certainly do. Interestingly, I was on that forum yesterday looking at that "smaller" thread on the AsRock OC Formula.

I was also looking at the Gigabyte ga-z77x-ud5h as the reputation of GB boards being quite good and dependable, how does this MPOWER board compare? Longevity-wise? Are there any downsides or things I should be aware of (future upgrading) when using this board?

 

[biostud]

or maybe wait a couple of days and get a 4770K + z87 board?

 

[Rezist]

I think the msi z77-gd55 looked like a good value at 140ish

 

[Patre]

or maybe wait a couple of days and get a 4770K + z87 board?

As much as I'd like to get the "latest/greatest", I'm not sure how well it would get along with Sonar X2 as well as the Z87 board.

I'm certain that it works really well with the Z77/LGA1155 boards.

 

[Sentrosi2121]

I got the Z77-GD45 for about $105 shipped to me a couple of weeks ago. The only complaint I have is that it only has 6 SATA ports (four are SATAII 3GB, two are SATAIII 6GB). Other than that, it's a real solid board.

 

[rolli59]

Two good budget options would be Asrock Z77 extreme4 or Asus P8Z77V-LK if you are not going for max overclock. The Asrock extreme6 is a good option if you want to step a little higher.