Choosing the right motherboard?

[DrZeto]

Hi! I’m building a new rig.

My priorities are:

- It must be future proof as I upgrade infrequently.
- I prefer the most bang for the buck.
- Good quality of the components.
- It must be quiet (no water cooling).
- Applications are primarily gaming (the latest games).

These are the components I’ve looked at so far:

CPU - Intel Core i5 3570K 3,4Ghz (Ivy Bridge)
Motherboard - Asus P8Z77-V
Graphics - ASUS GeForce GTX 670 2048MB DirectCUII TOP
RAM - Corsair 16GB (4x4096MB) CL9 1600Mhz VENGEANCE (low profile)
PSU - Corsair AX 750W 80+ Gold
Case - Fractal Design Define R4
CPU Cooler - Noctua NH-D14

Now for some questions.

The motherboard is a big question mark. I chose Asus P8Z77-V because I read that it’s a great choice. But perhaps there is better and cheaper out there? I do not really need a lot of features and functions such as WiFi Go! Bluetooth, eSATA or Thunderbolt. The most important thing is that it should be intuitive and easy when it comes to overclocking features, easy to control the fans, be of good quality, work well with SLI and not have any bottlenecks in my configuration.

The specifications for the Asus P8Z77-V that I have chosen is that it has 2 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (x16 or dual x8) slots. Here, I wonder if there are motherboards that can run x16 on both cards in SLI, or does SLI works so that the speed is always divided into two? Feel free to suggest other motherboard if there are ones with more bang for the buck.

Grateful for all answers, thanks in advance

 

[nxttruong]

I am considering the same problem with you. Is there anyone can give us the answer?

Thanks in advance!

 

[know of fence]

So, I wonder how is having the option to buy a 300+$ card future proofing? SLI is an option for people, not concerned with power consumption, noise or value proposition, it's certainly not a way to save money in the long or short term.

I wouldn't double down on Ivy, instead i'd just get a cheap board and an i3, then hand it down to family by sticking it into a cute little case, as soon as it's clear what the new generation of console brings with it. You can keep the video card/case and buy a second one along with an SLI board in the future, if SLI still strikes your fancy by that point.

There are also these performance per dollar graphs, so unless you have a specific game/resolution in mind, I would pick the card highest on that list. Which likely comes with a smaller Wattage (allowing for a ~500W PSU).

http://www.techspot.com/guides/519-intel-z77-panther-point-chipset/page2.html

 

[DrZeto]

So, I wonder how is having the option to buy a 300+$ card future proofing? SLI is an option for people, not concerned with power consumption, noise or value proposition, it's certainly not a way to save money in the long or short term.

I wouldn't double down on Ivy, instead i'd just get a cheap board and an i3, then hand it down to family by sticking it into a cute little case, as soon as it's clear what the new generation of console brings with it. You can keep the video card/case and buy a second one along with an SLI board in the future, if SLI still strikes your fancy by that point.

There are also these performance per dollar graphs, so unless you have a specific game/resolution in mind, I would pick the card highest on that list. Which likely comes with a smaller Wattage (allowing for a ~500W PSU).

http://www.techspot.com/guides/519-intel-z77-panther-point-chipset/page2.html

Hi, thanks for your reply. First of all what I mean by future proofing is a time span of 5-6 years of playing the latest games. I realize that playing the latest future games six years from now on a computer with the specs I've listed will not be as smooth (with everything set to high) as playing the games of today. But I want them to atleast run fairly smooth with the graphics set to a medium or low. My strategy for this is overclocking and SLI. Not right away, but say in 2-3 years, or when I feel it lags behind. So choosing a motherboard that's great for overclocking and SLI is essential.

Thanks for the link you provided, it shows clearly that the Z77 chipset is the way to go for me, since I'm interested in overclocking and running a multi-GPU configuration.

Getting a cheap board and an i3 and waiting for the new generation of hardware, like you say, is another strategy. But in my mind a more expensive one. Say you buy a cheap motherboard for 50+$ and an i3 for 120+$ and a good video card for 400$, then when the new generation hardware comes out you pay an additional 200-300$ for a new board and 300+$ for a CPU. Say you keep your video card, that's a total of around 1150$.

In my opinion it's smarter to pay around 210$ for a good board today (the cost of a ASUS P8Z77-V PRO for example), 230$ for a CPU and 400$ for a video card. Then in the near future (2-3 years) overcklock and buy an identical card for SLI. The card will then have gone down in price, probably half. Total amount spent will be around 1040$. And this setup will blow away the one above that uses only 1 graphics card. It's cheaper in the long run, it's future proofing (probably well beyond 5-6 years).

Another aspect is that I save additional money by the SLI strategy. I've read tests and comparisons that shows that 2 GTX670 in SLI have more or less the same fps output as a GTX690. So instead of coughing up 1000+$ for a GTX690, I can use the strategy described above which will cost me about 700$. That's a saving of about 300$ for really good graphics capabilities. Not bad

Finally I have a comment on my own question about x16/x16 and x8/x8 SLI configuration on motherboards. I've read that there are motherboards that has x16/x16 SLI output. But no graphics card today will come close in utilizing this bandwidth. SLI with x8/x8 is more than sufficient. So I'm not gonna let it be a deciding factor in my choice of motherboard.

 

[Rhezuss]

I'm no expert but here's my 2 cents on this.

With the i5 3570K you already have some "future proofing" in what i'd call "one of the best CPUs available right now". You have a power house of a CPU that'll last you 3-4 years easy. Plus getting the K version will let you OC the hell out of this CPU.

16gb of RAM is plenty for gaming and it'll serve you well for a long time. But, the only thing i'd change is 2x8gb instead of 4x4gb cause I heard it is a bit less stressful on the motherboard.

So, with a i5 3570K, 16gb RAM...you're left with a good video card to choose for your games. With that CPU I don't see a bottleneck for a few years so you could simply replace the GPU with a new one everytime you feel your games slow down and lag. A $200-500 per year and a half for the next 5-6 years and you'll be good to go.

Your PSU will be enough to power everything.

Concerning motherboards i'd look into ASRock and Gigabyte too. Those two with ASUS are among the best brands out there.

 

[know of fence]

If we were to get philosophical for a moment:
A broad perspective would be something like cost analysis, specifications, performance/$.
A broader perspective would include the technological context, environmental impact etc.
But the broadest perspective would be something very general: a strategy which involves other people, has always the potential of being more rewarding.

 

[DrZeto]

16gb of RAM is plenty for gaming and it'll serve you well for a long time. But, the only thing i'd change is 2x8gb instead of 4x4gb cause I heard it is a bit less stressful on the motherboard.

Ok, I'm choosing between:

Corsair Vengeance 2x8GB (CL10)
Corsair Vengeance 4x4GB (CL9)

You say that I should go with 2x8 due to stress for the motherboard. I haven't heard about this issue before, are you sure about this? The 2x8 has a higher cas latency, but from what I understand the difference is negligible.

Concerning motherboards i'd look into ASRock and Gigabyte too. Those two with ASUS are among the best brands out there.

I've narrowed it down to these candidates:

ASUS P8Z77-V
ASRock Z77 Extreme 4
MSI Z77A-GD55
Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H

Reading up on them they all seem more or less the same. None of the boards stands out as the ultimate choice. If you want control, go for ASUS; if you want mSATA, go for Gigabyte; if you want a full Z77 on a budget, go for ASRock; and if you want a very easy to use board, go with MSI. I guess I have to compare features, which I want and which I don't really need and consider my choice from this point.

 

[DrZeto]

If we were to get philosophical for a moment:
A broad perspective would be something like cost analysis, specifications, performance/$.
A broader perspective would include the technological context, environmental impact etc.
But the broadest perspective would be something very general: a strategy which involves other people, has always the potential of being more rewarding.

This is of course true In this egotistical throwaway society everyone has forgot the power and reward of making the right choises, right for the environment, right for the population at large and morally/ethically right. But this is a whole other discussion

 

[tweakboy]

Grab a P9 and a Ivy instead if this is a long term upgrade.

 

[LoveMachine]

Ok, I'm choosing between:

Corsair Vengeance 2x8GB (CL10)
Corsair Vengeance 4x4GB (CL9)

You say that I should go with 2x8 due to stress for the motherboard. I haven't heard about this issue before, are you sure about this? The 2x8 has a higher cas latency, but from what I understand the difference is negligible.





I've narrowed it down to these candidates:

ASUS P8Z77-V
ASRock Z77 Extreme 4
MSI Z77A-GD55
Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H

Reading up on them they all seem more or less the same. None of the boards stands out as the ultimate choice. If you want control, go for ASUS; if you want mSATA, go for Gigabyte; if you want a full Z77 on a budget, go for ASRock; and if you want a very easy to use board, go with MSI. I guess I have to compare features, which I want and which I don't really need and consider my choice from this point.

Regarding the memory configuration, here's my take. Running 2 sticks, it's easier for the memory controller to only be have to deal with one channel (2 sticks) than both channels active. Perhaps a slightly more stable system with 2x8 Gb vs. 4x4.

I've run both the Asus P8Z77-v and the ASRock Extreme4, with the same 3570K CPU in each. The ASRock is indeed cheaper, and if you don't need the extra features, certainly a better value, and highly regarded by OCers. I'm currently using the ASUS, because I found the extra features useful in my situation, and I slightly prefer the BIOS navigation. The Asus fan control utility, as well as the other utilities like the OC program, are easier and far more robust that the ASRock counterparts.

To summarize, I prefer the Asus' features and utilities and that makes it worth it for me. The ASRock is cheaper, but still a good board. Either way, a 3570K with a decent motherboard will be "future-resistant". "Proof" is but a dream...

Oh, and for the record, Asus often gets recommended because of a perceived sense of quality. While that may be true of the actual components and assembly, I had a terrible experience with their RMA department. If that makes a difference to you, don't spend more on a board with the same features thinking you are buying better service. I still recommend Asus, but don't spend more if the only thing you are getting is a better perception.

 

[TechBoy101]

Ok, I'm choosing between:

Corsair Vengeance 2x8GB (CL10)
Corsair Vengeance 4x4GB (CL9)

You say that I should go with 2x8 due to stress for the motherboard. I haven't heard about this issue before, are you sure about this? The 2x8 has a higher cas latency, but from what I understand the difference is negligible.





I've narrowed it down to these candidates:

ASUS P8Z77-V
ASRock Z77 Extreme 4
MSI Z77A-GD55
Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H

Reading up on them they all seem more or less the same. None of the boards stands out as the ultimate choice. If you want control, go for ASUS; if you want mSATA, go for Gigabyte; if you want a full Z77 on a budget, go for ASRock; and if you want a very easy to use board, go with MSI. I guess I have to compare features, which I want and which I don't really need and consider my choice from this point.

Hi DrZeto,

Regarding the Mobo, may I recommend either the GA-Z77X-UD3H (Currently $15 more due to rebate on D3H) or the GA-Z77X-UP4 TH ($35 more).

The reason I say this is because the UD3H has a little bit more features:
DisplayPort
Quick Buttons (power button, reset button, clear CMOS button)
2 eSata's

These are the additional features in the UD3H model.

However, I would personally go with the UP4. The reason behind this is it carries Dual Thunderbolt and it uses GIGABYTE's Ultra Durable 5. Basically what it is is, the chips used on the Power stages are IR's (Digital power vs Analog). The benefit from this would be if you ever switch to a water cooling solution. since there wouldn't be much airflow moving across these chips in this situation. This would be much later I suppose if you ever choose to upgrade portions of your system.

But if your not looking at something that fancy I would recommend you try to get the UD3H as its about the same price with more features.

Just my thoughts on the GIGABYTE boards, if you have any other questions feel free to let me know!

 

[Despoiler]

Hi DrZeto,

Regarding the Mobo, may I recommend either the GA-Z77X-UD3H (Currently $15 more due to rebate on D3H) or the GA-Z77X-UP4 TH ($35 more).

The reason I say this is because the UD3H has a little bit more features:
DisplayPort
Quick Buttons (power button, reset button, clear CMOS button)
2 eSata's

These are the additional features in the UD3H model.

However, I would personally go with the UP4. The reason behind this is it carries Dual Thunderbolt and it uses GIGABYTE's Ultra Durable 5. Basically what it is is, the chips used on the Power stages are IR's (Digital power vs Analog). The benefit from this would be if you ever switch to a water cooling solution. since there wouldn't be much airflow moving across these chips in this situation. This would be much later I suppose if you ever choose to upgrade portions of your system.

But if your not looking at something that fancy I would recommend you try to get the UD3H as its about the same price with more features.

Just my thoughts on the GIGABYTE boards, if you have any other questions feel free to let me know!

I'm going to say stay away from Gigabyte. My Z68X-UD4-B3 is getting RMA'd for the rear USB 3.0 headers burning out. Same thing just happened to another guy on another forum too. On top of that they still haven't fixed the intermittent boot loops. It also has graphical tearing issues with two non crossfired video cards installed. Pure garbage for a $225 enthusiast board. I just replaced it with an Asrock Z77 Extreme4. ~$90 cheaper and it's visibly more stable. I'm never buying an Gigabyte again.

My vote goes for and Asrock because they know their craft and don't charge a premium to get it. Asus is also great although they drop their BIOS update support far too early IMO even on ROG boards, which I have owned.

 

[WiseUp216]

+1 to the Asrock Extreme4.

I have very similar specs to the system you list, OP, and the Extreme4 has been rock solid for almost 5 months for me.

 

[cmdrdredd]

If you really want to future proof you need a motherboard with Thunderbolt. In the future, this will become as common as USB 3.0 for some usages.