~15+ years, now back to Intel. Help with Z97/H97

[zinfamous]

Hey all, I've slowly been re-parting my desktop over the last year or so, and for some reason, just picked up a Xeon e3-1231-v3. This will be my first intel-based system in, well, a very long time. I'm replacing a Phenom II 965 setup.

Now, I need a new mobo. I'm just learning about the H97/Z97 stuff, and it seems that most stick to H97 with Xeon chips because of no need to OC, and it seems that H97 boards are, on average, more stable with Xeon pairings? Any thoughts/recs on this?

I think I would be fine with either, but I really would like something with at least 6x Sata III (SSDs, HDDs, and my optical drive which I almost never use). Also, I'm leaning towards Z97 because of the more diverse options with DDR3. (currenlty have 4x4gb DDR3 1600 that I will plug in, so either works for now, but maybe I want to replace these if some deal pops up).

I'm used to Gigabyte and Asus, and really like their boards, and have been looking at these Z97 options:

Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI

ASUS Z97-E (currently $109 with rebate!)

My uses are, generally in this order:
--games
--video rendering
--trolling ATOT
--streaming Amazon/Netflix

I really want to keep the mobo close to $100, and this 129 price point is right at my maximum...unless I can be thoroughly convinced that the 140 price point is the way to go

Things I will be shoving into this box:
--newish R9 280x (October purchase)
--G Skill 4x4gb DDR3 1600
--new and currently unused 850 Evo 500gb
--90 gb Corsair something something SSD (had this for ~ 3 years now. figured I will keep it plugged in)
--750gb WD black HDD (now ~5 years old)
--630W Antec PSU (also ~5 years old)
--my current Win7 license

Any general tips regarding this kind of setup, and finally upgrading to now ~2 year-old tech? I am completely unfamiliar with UEFI and Sata express/M.2 or what any of this means, tbh. Also, am I setting myself up for some sort of colossal failure, for some reason?

I've been reading that the Xeons are excellent with heat, and that the stock heatsink is more than adequate, but I really don't like that jazz. I'm probably going to get another one of those Coolermaster tower-like dealies with the 120mm fan, like I have in my current system.

TIA!

 

[Puffnstuff]

I would get a z97 just to have the more capable chipset. As for brand asus and gigabyte both make good motherboards but you'll have to google each one that you're considering and see if any problems have been reported with them. I'm happy with z97, however I'm running a higher mid grade board.

 

[Ketchup]

One thing I like about the Z97 is the ability to use a pci-express slot that isn't up next to the cpu.

 

[zinfamous]

right on. I might be bumping up to ~$150 range...that didn't take long.

Any thoughts on potential issues with Xeon? Most reviews I have read suggest that it's generally no hassles, but a few Newegg types found that H97 were more forgiving--though I think those opinions are biased towards planning for H97 anyway.

 

[vailr]

Re: "630W Antec PSU (also ~5 years old)"=may not be 100% Haswell compliant, as far as sleep mode is concerned.

 

[zinfamous]

Re: "630W Antec PSU (also ~5 years old)"=may not be 100% Haswell compliant, as far as sleep mode is concerned.

OK, I was wondering about that--but for wattage/age purposes only. Guess I'll have to look up what Haswell needs in terms of sleep mode. Never realized that was a thing.

Thanks!

OK, checked it out:

http://techreport.com/review/24897/the-big-haswell-psu-compatibility-list

And I'm good: NeoEco C: Neo Eco 620C

Also, updated my PSU to 620, not 630. Eh, I was close.