ASRock Extreme 4 vs Asus P8Z77-V?

[sarosh]

Hey guys, is it worth spending the extra £28 and going for the Asus P8Z77-V over the extreme 4 ? I just want to overclock my 3570K to about 4.5ghz - 4.8ghz. Are the extra features worth it ? I am building a system for gaming. which motherboard is more futureproof because I usually buy my pcs which last about 3-4 years. Thanks

 

[tweakboy]

Yes, Asustek is budget line for ASUS.

Grab the ASUS,, P8 is solid board. gl

 

[LoveMachine]

I've had both, and I prefer the Asus. The extra features like fan control, BIOS updates, and the overclocking tools, are far superior on the Asus. I didn't like the slightly shorter dimensions on the ASRock, given that I have a good sized case. I always worried about cracking the board. As to whether the cost difference is worth it, only you can answer that. If you just want a cheaper, decent quality board for gaming, then the Ex4 will probably suit you well, and you can spend the extra cash on a better GPU. I don't game, and like the extra features, so the Asus was the board for me.

Future-proof? They both will have about the same lifespan in terms of upgradeability, so I wouldn't consider that a selling point. Another forum member's sig said it best: The only way to ensure futureproofing is to save your money now and buy something in the future.

 

[pauldun170]

I've had both, and I prefer the Asus. The extra features like fan control, BIOS updates, and the overclocking tools, are far superior on the Asus.

Whats the difference between the fan controls on the Asus and the fan controls on the Asrock? Are you talking about from within the bios or from the desktop? (What bios did you have when you had the Asrock? They changed the fan control in later revs)

Same for the bios updates...
How do they differ? With the Asrock its a fairly simple matter of doing it from the bios.

Can you clarify why they (Fan control, bios update and OC) are superior on the Asus?

 

[LoveMachine]

I had the ASRock about 4 months ago for about a week before switching back to the Z77-V, and don't remember what BIOS version it was. With the Extreme4, as I recall, the fan setting just had either a level or a target temperature to set for each fan header. With the -V, you can set curves for each fan to increase at whatever rate you want. e.g. I want my system as quiet as possible, so I only have one case fan running at the slowest speed possible, and it only speeds up a little as temps go up while I'm transcoding. The other 2 fans will start up on their own, but only at a set temperature. All this is adjustable on the fly with a windows utility, as is the overclocking, which lets you make a couple of clicks even while running programs, so you test for rough stability while the CPU is humming along. Same with BIOS updates, while in Windows, make a click or two, go get a beer while the system reboots a couple of times, and when you sit back down you're back in Windows.

I do wish there was a 2 digit debug light on the -V like there is on the Ex4. That was helpful.

 

[kleinkinstein]

E4>V

 

[Shephard]

well I have been reading more and apparently the p8z77-v lk has a good chance of bad memory slots or problems with certain memory.

I want the extreme 4 for myself but it never goes on sale.

 

[sarosh]

well I have been reading more and apparently the p8z77-v lk has a good chance of bad memory slots or problems with certain memory.

I want the extreme 4 for myself but it never goes on sale.

I am not talking about the 'LK' version though, I am talking about the more expensive '-V' version which is below the '-V Pro'. Also which motherboard would have better compatibility with memories ? I am going to buy this:
http://www.dabs.com/products/corsai...ue-ddr3-1600mhz-dimm-240-pin-cl9-lp-7KHN.html OR
http://www.dabs.com/products/crucial-8gb--2-x-4gb--tactical-ddr3-1866mhz-cl9-1-5v-240pin-7Y8V.html

with the CODE: CML8GX3M2A1600C9B OR
BLT2CP4G3D1869DT1TX0CEU

but on: http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z77 Extreme4/?cat=Memory

it is not listed so does that mean its not compatible ?

I dont know what your location is but if you are in the UK then this is the cheapest I have seen this board at:
http://www.dabs.com/products/asrock-z77-extreme-4-s1155-intel-z77-ddr3-atx-80XR.html

Thanks

 

[nature1ders]

The bios sucks on the ASRock, it has the same fan controller chipset I believe as the ASUS board but they don't offer the same control over the fans as ASUS does, it's crazy. Even ASUS isn't using it to it's full potential from what I hear.

 

[Vectronic]

I want the extreme 4 for myself but it never goes on sale.

It was on sale for the pre-black friday stuff at NCIX.ca (west coast Canada, but ship anywhere - at the time, $5 shipping anywhere in Canada) $140 - $20 mail-in... I know this doesn't help you, and I also don't know what you consider "on sale".

I've bought 2 Z77 Ext4s from them so far, both worked with no problems other than the ones that come "stock" with the board...

Regarding the thread question, if you plan on 4.5 to 4.8 GHz, probably go with the ASUS... you should get better voltages with that board, and like mentioned, way better fan control.

If you have a decent water cooler (or plan on getting one) then it really doesn't matter which board you go with... go with the one that has the features you want, ASUS has better BIOS/OC features otherwise they are basically the same for features.

I went with the Ext4, it was both cheaper, and looked better... not for any "good" reasons...lol

it is not listed so does that mean its not compatible?

I wouldn't worry about that too much, I know the Corsair memory works, not entirely sure about the Crucial... pretty much any 2xX DDR3 will work, it's usually only with 4xX you start running into problems... especially if you want to OC your memory.

I've got Patriot Viper 3 1600 2x4... it's not listed on Ext4 compatibility either... works fine, and will OC to 2200 (might go higher, other than quick 2400 testing, I haven't tried)... I run it 24/7 with these settings: 1800, 9/9/9/24/1 (stock @ 1600 but 1N instead of 2N) and undervolt to 1.450v (1.5v stock, I can go as low as 1.4v @ 1800)

 

[santilmo]

I haven't tried any Asrock mobo yet but I currently use P8Z77-V... it's a good mobo, just avoid updating your BIOS... I wish I didn't update mine... I don't know if it's Asus in general or the Z77 lineup, but the BIOS for P8Z77-V seems buggy and no details are being provided what has been changed or updated... just plain "improved system stability"... but heck no, it didn't improve stability, it even worsened...

 

[LoveMachine]

I haven't tried any Asrock mobo yet but I currently use P8Z77-V... it's a good mobo, just avoid updating your BIOS... I wish I didn't update mine... I don't know if it's Asus in general or the Z77 lineup, but the BIOS for P8Z77-V seems buggy and no details are being provided what has been changed or updated... just plain "improved system stability"... but heck no, it didn't improve stability, it even worsened...

What version did you change from and to? I'm on 1606 and tried upgrading to the latest version that came out about 2 months ago, but it didn't stick. Maybe a good thing?

 

[santilmo]

^^ I was with 1606 too before updating to the latest one (1805)... so yes, it's a good thing!

I've read from other site somewhere that 1504 was the best one so far... so if you're not having issues with 1606 (which I didn't have any and I partially regret why I updated), don't update (just yet) especially with 1805.