i3 6100 / Z170 or something else?

[WTT0001]

I'm having issues and could use some advice... I'm rebuilding my desktop (bringing it forward from the core 2 duo era) and I'm having trouble finding a motherboard...

I'm set other than motherboard / CPU / Ram (I have a case, Radeon HD 7950, EVGA G2 550w, CM 212 Plus, etc.). I have ~$325 or so for the combo. Light gaming (warframe being the most intensive game I'm playing) / normal web, email, office stuff. No overclocking (other than memory? See below). Purchasing in the US over the next couple weeks (black friday / cyber monday at the latest).

The plan was to go with an i3 6100 / Z170 / DDR4 2666 or 2800 to take advantage of the reveiws showing a substantial increase in performance with the higher ram speeds. It also gives me an "easy" upgrade to an i7 in the future. But... From everything I'm reading, it seems like most of the lower end to midrange z170 boards are having stability issues (boot / memory speed problems).

So, should I stick with the i3 / z170 route? If so, any recommendations on a decent stable motherboard?

Thanks for any and all help

 

[Burpo]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132566

 

[Ken g6]

From everything I'm reading, it seems like most of the lower end to midrange z170 boards are having stability issues (boot / memory speed problems).

Where are you reading that?

 

[Termie]

He's referring to RAM speeds of 3000MHz and above not working properly on Z170 boards. Ironically, a prime suspect in this behavior is the very Z170-A board linked to in this thread.

Here's more info: http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015...151_skylake_motherboard_review/7#.VklDnegrIuU

I wouldn't worry about any board if the OP is going for 2666MHz, but above that and he's going to run into far more trouble than it's worth for use with a non-overclockable dual-core processor. This behavior is not limited to Z170 boards. X99 boards also exhibited it. Basically, full qualification of DDR4 memory is still a work in progress.

 

[happy medium]

See signature, up and running with no problem. That's g skill ripjaws ram @ 3013 right now. Make sure you turn on XMP in bios.

 

[WTT0001]

Sorry about the delay in responding (I forgot to set the email notification) but thanks for the replies

Memory Reviews:
Legit Reviews - Memory Scaling
EuroGamer - i3 6100

The "everything I'm reading" is primarily coming from reading the forums (primarily Hardocp and here) and newegg reviews (which are going to be biased toward "problems"). Some examples:

Gigabyte issues / Asus "bashing"
Asus Bios Issues / Booting Issues

Anyway, it sounds like I may just be overthinking it...