Better temps and/or overclock with Z97

[Magic Carpet]

Read somewhere that people are getting lower temps and / or better overclock with the Z97 chipset on existing Haswell chips (i.e. 4770K, etc) over the Z87. Any truth to this? Thanks.

 

[blackened23]

The short version is this. You will not get better 4770k overclocks on Z97. I'm basing on this on several Z97 mobo reviews i've read. I've read quite a few reviews and the gist is:

Z97 handles voltages "differently" due to differences in VCIN. Because of this, the vcore you can use on Haswell CPUs is higher but again - the CPU is agnostic of this. Z97 just handles voltages differently somehow, so you might be able to get a higher vcore such as 1.3 or 1.35V which as anyone who uses a 4770k, is a NO GO on Z87.

HOWEVER, you will not get a better overclock on Z97. This is a common theme i've seen in many Z97 motherboard reviews. A good start would be HardOCP Asus Z97 deluxe review. They mention this topic - their vcore is higher, but their overclock is exactly the same as Z87. Essentially, voltage is handled differently somehow on Z97 (I don't have a technical explanation) but your overclock WILL NOT be different.

So don't buy Z97 just for the hope of a higher overclock. Buy Z97 if you want Devil's Canyon or if you're upgrading a 3-5 year old platform. Cuz you can't use Devil's Canyon on Z87, only Z97 fully supports it. Essentially, Devil's Canyon is designed from the ground up for Z97's voltage changes. The old Haswell isn't. Don't expect a better OC for your old 4770k on Z97.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Thanks for the in-depth, very detailed answer. Well, I need to change my buggy MSI board (B85-G43 GAMING), so might as well get one based on the newest chip with native OC capabitilities, hehe (I was able to OC my 4770K on that board until they released a newer bios). And in case, what's so buggy about it, I'll tell you. My PS/2 Microsoft Natural Elite keyboard did not get detected from cold boot (and tested another PS/2 keyboard just to be sure), I had to restart it every time. Annoying as hell, to the point that I decided the change was needed.

Now, it's time to try some of the ROG boards from ASUS, I think. Set on the new Gene mATX model so far, unless I find something sexier in the same form factor.