Is it worth spending more for Z77 chipset motherboard than stick to budget H77

[jag007]

Hi,
I will be building a budget machine for my brother primarily made for 3D rendering work (Mostly 3DMax,Vray etc.) with no intention for gaming at all.
For CPU I have chosen Intel i7 3770K, but confused which ASUS board to go.
Is it really beneficial to go for Z77 chipset rather than H77 when it comes to work related to 3D rendering, as this will be the sole purpose of this machine.
As of now I have three options :
1)ASUS P8H77M
2)ASUS P8Z77M
3)ASUS P8Z77M - PRO.

We are on tight budget now.
(We won't be having SSD and won't use SLI or CrossFirex, will use one graphics card only and will not be overclocking cpu or gpu).

Please advise so that we can build decent machine within our budget and won't be spending on features that won't be used.

Thanks & Bregds...........
jag007

 

[Insert_Nickname]

If you don't plan either overclocking or using the advanced features of the Z77, like SRT, then go with the H77. Spending money on features you do not use is kind of pointless...

You could also save a few bucks and use the standard 3770non-K, if you don't overclock anyway.

You should seriously consider an SSD though, it will make a huge difference in how fast you feel your computer is...

 

[BonzaiDuck]

If you don't plan either overclocking or using the advanced features of the Z77, like SRT, then go with the H77. Spending money on features you do not use is kind of pointless...

You could also save a few bucks and use the standard 3770non-K, if you don't overclock anyway.

You should seriously consider an SSD though, it will make a huge difference in how fast you feel your computer is...

since Z68, I've been impressed with the ISRT feature. A good caching SSD will cost about $90+. You should still come close to 80% of native SSD performance using an SATA-II HDD off the same controller. But the "80%" is not the only advantage. The drive caching saves power, and there's less wear and tear on the HDD.

So I would say "Nix the H-series motherboard and chipset."

 

[blastingcap]

SRT seems silly to me. I WANT more wear and tear on the cheap HDD than on the limited-lifetime SSD which needs to be big enough to not get worn out by the continual read/writes. The easier thing to do is to simply use a SSD as an OS drive and a HDD for stuff that doesn't need to be fast, just capacious.

 

[Binky]

You're buying an overclockable chip. I'd still buy the Z77 even if you don't intend to overclock (now). Plans change. Flexibility is good.

 

[jag007]

Thanks guys for your comments. They will help me deciding my final buy.

 

[silveryhat]

Both H77 and Z77 support Intel Smart Response Technology

Going with H77 loses you the ability to fine tune the processor (overclocking ofc !) and a limited bandwidth on the PCI lanes.

The Z77 supports One PCIe x16 plus Two PCIe x8 by default (or One x8 and Two x4).
The H77 has only a faithful love for One PCIe x16.

If you live nearby a Microcenter, stop by us we run the Ivy Bridge K-series with $50 Off any Z77 motherboard, which makes it cheaper than most H77 at original price.

 

[danjw]

Wikipedia is your friend, a comparison of the Ivy Bridge chipset features: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGA_1155#Ivy_Bridge_chipsets

 

[BonzaiDuck]

SRT seems silly to me. I WANT more wear and tear on the cheap HDD than on the limited-lifetime SSD which needs to be big enough to not get worn out by the continual read/writes. The easier thing to do is to simply use a SSD as an OS drive and a HDD for stuff that doesn't need to be fast, just capacious.

Well, you bring up an interesting point, but there are factors to consider. Supposedly an SLC SSD can last 200 years; the MLC devices we mostly find at resellers are supposed to last at least 10 years.

How much in "reads" will be done through the SSD cache as opposed to "writes?" If data-storage is on a network or other drive, you eliminate a pile of writes. In my case as example, I cache the drive with the OS and program files; I have a second uncached HDD for Media Center buffer and DVR recording; I use a WHS folder for personal documents, accounting data and so on.

Right now, I'm using a Patriot Pyro 60GB SATA-III for the ISRT caching, and it's been running that way 24/7 since about August, 2011. No change in performance; no "hiccups;" no crashes -- nothing. I even set it for "maximized" mode, because this rig never seems to crash or freeze.