A good motherboard to OC an i5 4670k?

[Nirvanaosc]

Hello everyone.

I have been reading reviews and forum posts for many days already and I still don't know which motherboard would fit my needs.

I bought an i5 4670k (because it had the same price as the i5 3570k) and I'm planning to use my new PC for gaming with one graphic card (I won't go for SLI nor crossfire in the future).

I saw few very good motherboards for OC (like the latest gigabyte reviewed by Ian) but I think all them are overkill for what I need. Actually I just need a good MB able to OC, but I don't need sub-zero stuff, SLI/crossfire nor all the stuff for hardcore overclocking.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Techhog]

How high do you want to OC?

 

[CakeMonster]

The Gigabyte Z87-D3HP is among the cheaper and a decent performer.

It really doesn't matter much since all Z87 mobos will overclock, and there's practically no difference in results between them unless you go crazy with the hardcore stuff you've already stated you aren't interested in.

 

[Nirvanaosc]

Hi again,

First if all I want to thank you both for your replies, they are much appreciated.

I've seen that the average OC for a i5 4670k is around 4.4-4.6GHz (more if you are lucky of course) and I think I'd try to achieve 4.4 or 4.5 at most. I don't want to push the CPU to its limits, I'll try to find how high it can be OCed and then I'll lower 100-200 Mhz.

If the motherboard has any feature that truly helps OC I would consider it, but so far I have the feeling that you can achieve a reasonable OC with any medium - high priced MB. I've seen that asus has interesting OC features but all of them seems to me useless if you go for manual overclocking, am I right?

That Gigabyte Z87-D3HP seems very interesting for that price, I wonder if the quality of the components are as high as other priced motherboards (that has more features). I appreciate high quality components because I want it to last as long as possible and don't want to have any hardware issues for at least 5 years.

Thank you again in advance.

 

[tweakboy]

ASUS all the way! If not then Gigabyte all the way!.


Everything else is cheap cra* to me.

 

[Techhog]

Hi again,

First if all I want to thank you both for your replies, they are much appreciated.

I've seen that the average OC for a i5 4670k is around 4.4-4.6GHz (more if you are lucky of course) and I think I'd try to achieve 4.4 or 4.5 at most. I don't want to push the CPU to its limits, I'll try to find how high it can be OCed and then I'll lower 100-200 Mhz.

If the motherboard has any feature that truly helps OC I would consider it, but so far I have the feeling that you can achieve a reasonable OC with any medium - high priced MB. I've seen that asus has interesting OC features but all of them seems to me useless if you go for manual overclocking, am I right?

That Gigabyte Z87-D3HP seems very interesting for that price, I wonder if the quality of the components are as high as other priced motherboards (that has more features). I appreciate high quality components because I want it to last as long as possible and don't want to have any hardware issues for at least 5 years.

Thank you again in advance.

Hm... The quality is fine, but you might want a few more VRMs. This one seems pretty good: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157372

 

[BallaTheFeared]

mobo doesn't matter for haswell oc

Just get a board that has the features, branding, price range that you want.

 

[Nirvanaosc]

Hm... The quality is fine, but you might want a few more VRMs. This one seems pretty good: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157372

10 years ago Asrock was not a good motherboard manufacturer and I still have that stigma, but since few years ago they seems to make damn good MBs. I guess that I have to forget the history and see what they offer now, plus they have very good prices too. Is their quality and customer service as good as they claim?

 

[Techhog]

mobo doesn't matter for haswell oc

Just get a board that has the features, branding, price range that you want.

It still matters to a degree. Not nearly as much, but it makes a small difference from what I know. The board I suggested is a bit cheaper anyway.

 

[Techhog]

10 years ago Asrock was not a good motherboard manufacturer and I still have that stigma, but since few years ago they seems to make damn good MBs. I guess that I have to forget the history and see what they offer, and they have very good prices too. Is their quality and customer service as good as they claim?

I can't say for sure myself, but most people here say they're good. I asked about them, and I was told that they're top-tier. Also, looking around, most tech sites and YouTube channels mention them right alongside the big guys.

Even looking at Newegg user reviews, that board has a great rating for its price range, beating two Asus boards.

 

[BallaTheFeared]

It still matters to a degree. Not nearly as much, but it makes a small difference from what I know. The board I suggested is a bit cheaper anyway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeuJAOVRoA0

 

[Nirvanaosc]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeuJAOVRoA0

I agree with that video in my situation. I just want to make sure that the motherboard won't fail in the long term since I plan to have my CPU OCed since first day, and I've read that the number of phases and the quality of the components (VRMs, MOSFETs...) may affect the durability. I don't mind to spend extra money on that, just want to make sure I don't pay for features I don't need.

Thank you everyone again for your replies.

 

[Techhog]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeuJAOVRoA0

Funny, I just recently watched that video. Still, I'm suggesting a well-priced board based on his needs which happens to have more power phases than the other suggestion, along with gold caps for greater reliability. It's a win-win! :thumbsup:

 

[Nirvanaosc]

Funny, I just recently watched that video. Still, I'm suggesting a well-priced board based on his needs which happens to have more power phases than the other suggestion, along with gold caps for greater reliability. It's a win-win! :thumbsup:

Just want to comment that the number of phases don't have to do necessarily with the overall quality, since a MB manufacturer may choose less phases and higher capacity MOFSETS to delivery the same power (although this use to be more expensive, that's why usually they go with more phases and lower quality MOFSETS).

I found this article very handy: http://www.overclock.net/a/about-vrms-mosfets-motherboard-safety-with-high-tdp-processors

Also worth to mention that here in the UK the Asrock extreme3 and 4 has the same price currently.

 

[Techhog]

Just want to comment that the number of phases don't have to do necessarily with the overall quality, since a MB manufacturer may choose less phases and higher capacity MOFSETS to delivery the same power (although this use to be more expensive, that's why usually they go with more phases and lower quality MOFSETS).

I found this article very handy: http://www.overclock.net/a/about-vrms-mosfets-motherboard-safety-with-high-tdp-processors

Also worth to mention that here in the UK the Asrock extreme3 and 4 has the same price currently.

Good point. Also, didn't realize you were in the UK. I'd just go read/watch reviews.

 

[schmuckley]

I would say this board : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138380 IF you can find it there
It's full-featured,solid 12-phase VRM system;sound is good, too! :thumbsup:
unless you want a slightly greased up Giga z87x-OC for $205 shipped..
then you'd have to find my fs thread on OCN or [h] :sneaky:

 

[JimmiG]

The Gigabyte Z87-D3HP is among the cheaper and a decent performer.

It really doesn't matter much since all Z87 mobos will overclock, and there's practically no difference in results between them unless you go crazy with the hardcore stuff you've already stated you aren't interested in.

This. Your max overclock will be determined primarily by the CPU itself (silicon lottery), and secondly by the cooling you use (without delid, only the very best liquid and air coolers will keep your CPU below 100C). Even motherboards without beefed up power delivery can supply the CPU with enough current to hit the power/thermal wall.

However do consider other features such as BIOS features, the number of USB 3.0 and SATA3 ports, built in wifi, audio and anything else you might consider important.

 

[Nirvanaosc]

First of all thank you for the replies guys.

The Biostar here is sightly more expensive than similar products of gigabyte or asrock, but thank you for the recommendation.

I think I'll take the Gigabyte Z87X-D3H that is similar priced to the Z87-D3HP but with better VRMs cooling and with better positioned SATA ports to me. Or maybe I go for the Z87X-UD3H that has better audio but it's a bit more expensive...

Thank you everyone again.

 

[Johnny4]

ASUS MAXIMUS VI HERO, it's an absolutely beast motherboard and it's compatible with the i5 4670k

 

[Morbus]

I do my calculations as follow:
- lastest chip (that's Z87, currently)
- price in my price range (which is usually sub 150$)
- do not features that I don't need (dual BIOS, many PCI-e 16x slots, many USB or SATA ports, etch)
- good brand (usually prefer Asus but I went with MSI the last time - I know, I know... - and it didn't disappoint me)
- reasonable support for overclock.

Because of that, I went for an Asus Z87-A for my personal gaming rig a couple weeks ago. It probably isn't the best motherboard for its price, but it's Asus (which is a plus), and it has 8 phases for the CPU, has all the features I need and little more, and it was on sale and I saved 10 bucks. So it was good for me.