Cpu/mobo choice (micro center combo deal!)

[tential]

Hey I need some help on my new pc. I need a mobo and cpu to start and micro center has a great deal well below msrp for the 4770k and 4670k here:
www.microcenter.com/site/brands/intel-processor-bundles.aspx
4770k is 270
4670k is 200
There are some ivybridge chips as well.

This pc is primarily for gaming, hptc, and some encoding once I get a ceton quad tuner.

I can't look at this too deeply because I'm on my ohone and I really don't know much of anything on mobos. I'll probably over clock but im a noob at that and it's not my primary concern.

Can you guys help me make a choice, I'd like to get this deal(unless it's not a deal then lemme know!)

Thanks!

 

[tential]

Z87-G41 PC Mate LGA 1150 ATX
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.aspx?sku=614982
Z87-A (SLI) LGA 1150 ATX
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.aspx?sku=614826
Z87-Extreme4 ATX LGA 1150
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.aspx?sku=607911
GA-Z87X-UD4H ATX LGA 1150
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.aspx?sku=614941

These are the boards in my price range that I'm able to bundle with. The Gigabyte board is a STRECH and I don't want to purchase it unless it's absolutely necessary. I'd prefer to get the MSI, but if it isn't good I'm ok with the other 2 choices.

 

[krnmastersgt]

If you're not an enthusiast overclocker I'd say just get whichever i5 4670K + cheapest board combo with it possible is. The chipset has the bulk of the features that matter, and almost all the launch Z87 boards are pretty high quality, look getting budget chipsets so they spend more time on QC with these. You won't notice differences really between the boards for a medium tier gaming system, put the money towards a better video card.

 

[tential]

I only wanted the 4770k because of HyperThreading and Encoding Performance. I'm going to Overclock because I never got to overclock Core2Duo. Or ANY of the intel chips after that so I at least want to break 4 Ghz (which should be easy). I want this PC to be able to encode video fast and get it out of the way and the Ceton Quad Tuner I plan on getting can record 4 shows at once. I want that out of the way. Also I thought that games might be able to utilize 4 cores starting next year given Xbox1 and PS4 both have 8 core systems and the 4770k can handle 8 threads so that was my little future proof.

I wanted the cheaper MSI board though (340 for a 4770k and a Mobo that normally is 140? STEAL!) and then a 7950 Sapphire card for 270.

Unless they give me trouble (since I've heard it's a typo) I'm going to try the 4770k and then if not try the 4670k.

The MSI board should be OK though? I want to fire up some new 2009+ games with my little bro soon. Borderlands 2 in splitscreen on PC will NOT run on my laptop haha.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

You can bundle with ANY 1150 board. Confirmed in store this afternoon when I picked up my two 4770K + Z87-GD65 combos.

Also, there are a lot more boards available than the 12 listed on the MC site. Their inventory system is a little messed up.

Edit : Be sure to ask for the Haswell coupon sheet since it looks like you're picking up additional items. A little discount on RAM and vid cards

 

[tential]

You can bundle with ANY 1150 board. Confirmed in store this afternoon when I picked up my two 4770K + Z87-GD65 combos.

Also, there are a lot more boards available than the 12 listed on the MC site. Their inventory system is a little messed up.

Edit : Be sure to ask for the Haswell coupon sheet since it looks like you're picking up additional items. A little discount on RAM and vid cards

The thing is, the ones online are misprinted prices. It's a bundle with the MSI for 340 dollars. The 4770k is 280, the MSI board is 140. The price SHOULD be 380, but it actually is listed as 340 online. When you go in store (confirmed by slick deals), they will charge you 380, but if you show them the online bundle, they will price match it. That's why I wanted to pick between those boards. Unless there is a deal for under 340, or there is a significant difference, I'd rather pay 340, than 380.

I really know next to nothing about MOBOs so I'd rather have a selection now, and know what I'm spending than go in there and try to make a selection. Last time I selected a board I ended up with a bottom of the line ECS board haha. Lets just say it takes me 20 tries to start my Athlon 64 up.

Unless even a monkey can't pick a bad 1150 board, I'd rather have a selection now so I don't pick something retarded and have to drive an hour back to return it

Edit: I'll certainly make sure to ask for the coupon sheet though and I'll have my handy amazon price app to see their price haha. I shop way too much...

 

[PG]

Hardocp did a lot of their testing for their review with the Asus Z87-A. I think that would be a solid choice.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

The thing is, the ones online are misprinted prices. It's a bundle with the MSI for 340 dollars. The 4770k is 280, the MSI board is 140. The price SHOULD be 380, but it actually is listed as 340 online. When you go in store (confirmed by slick deals), they will charge you 380, but if you show them the online bundle, they will price match it. That's why I wanted to pick between those boards. Unless there is a deal for under 340, or there is a significant difference, I'd rather pay 340, than 380.

Gorram it, you're right. Saw it on SD shortly after I got back :|
On the bright side, now I can get the Z87 Sabertooth for the same price I paid for the Z87-GD65

Edit : Me bad @ math. The Sabertooth would still be an additional $45 + tax for me.

 

[spartan805]

Wish I was near a MC, DAMN U!!

 

[tential]

Hardocp did a lot of their testing for their review with the Asus Z87-A. I think that would be a solid choice.

Can you give me any differences I would see vs the MSI? That extra money while not necessary (I'm spending probably around 1k) would help me get a larger SSD or something else I don't really need haha.

Right now I'm using my kitchen PC with 2GB of ram it's so slow. I came home went to my room and my laptop was just missing. Come downstairs and my bro is playing darksouls on it hooked up to the TV. This HTPC gaming PC needs to be built asap haha so trying to figure out what I'm doing.

I REALLY like that Asus look, but obviously I'm purchasing for performance so differences between the MSI board I posted, which I can't seem to find ANY review about?

Gorram it, you're right. Saw it on SD shortly after I got back :|
On the bright side, now I can get the Z87 Sabertooth for the same price I paid for the Z87-GD65

Edit : Me bad @ math. The Sabertooth would still be an additional $45 + tax for me.

I'm a shopping whore lol it's almost a hobby it's bad. I did the math wrong a ton of times in my head at dinner. Couldn't wait to get this stuff haha. Worst part is I'm only probably getting a mobo/cpu. No Ram, Case, SSD, yet. Video Card is picked out at least though. HTPC case is going to take me a week or two I'm going to be picky about that.

I hope the deal holds up though. SD is so helpful when you purchase stuff. It's how I got my 70 inch Sharp. If I hadn't go that then, I'd be stuck with Edge Light LED at the same price point. Talk about horrible.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Use the hardware.info link I posted to make a comparison table for the boards you're interested in. Was very helpful, especially since some manufacturer's sites (I'm looking at you MSI) were down for extended periods today while they added their Haswell lineups.

 

[PG]

Can you give me any differences I would see vs the MSI? That extra money while not necessary (I'm spending probably around 1k) would help me get a larger SSD or something else I don't really need haha.

My opinion is that Asus would be better quality and is better designed and would last longer and have fewer issues. I would trust Asus more. These are my opinions, but are based on some facts.

I know I will probably get burned by mentioning AMD boards, but check out this list:
http://www.overclock.net/a/database-of-motherboard-vrm-failure-incidents
That is a list of burned up AMD motherboards that people have reported. Note that most of the list is made up of MSI boards. I know most of them are 8 series chipset boards, but still, there are dozens of MSI boards and one Asus.

Also read the HardOCP article. The editor there said Asus has tested hundreds of Haswell cpus. I can tell Asus put some serious time into testing these new cpus, and probably also tons of time on their board and BIOS designs.
Maybe MSI has done this as well, but I am not sure. I have no proof.

Warren Buffett has said that he invests in things he understands. I think that is a good policy.
I understand that Asus has a good track record and has done a lot of work testing these cpus. I also understand that the reviewer on that other site did a ton of testing with an Asus board and he had no problems.
What do we know and understand about MSI? Nothing. Simple choice to me.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

I know I will probably get burned by mentioning AMD boards, but check out this list:
http://www.overclock.net/a/database-of-motherboard-vrm-failure-incidents
That is a list of burned up AMD motherboards that people have reported. Note that most of the list is made up of MSI boards. I know most of them are 8 series chipset boards, but still, there are dozens of MSI boards and one Asus.

Part of the reason is that ASUS and Asrock boards implement VRM protection that throttles the CPU if the VRM is overheating, which can be annoying (eg. when I tried to OC a 2500K on an Asrock Z77-Pro3).

MSI is happy to let it keep running till it blows up. If you know and you're doing and cool the VRM adequately, MSI should be fine.

 

[PG]

I somewhat disagree. Many of the MSI boards that burned up in that list were running at stock speeds. Also note that MSI used to have a scary warning on many motherboard pages. They said not to run cpu stress programs because it could damage the board.
Think about it, they were specifically warning people their boards could burn up. It's hard for me to trust a company's products after that.