Most Trouble-Free 9-Series Board

[crashtech]

I have had some quirky issues with an H81 board, and I want to replace it with something rock-solid reliable in µATX with an H97, Z97 or maybe even C22x chipset, as long as it supports Haswell Refresh. Overclocking support not at all necessary, though Z97 won't necessarily be rejected since OC boards are easier to re-purpose later. But I need it to be perfectly reliable and free of driver issues and any quirks. Quality is paramount. Was leaning toward server stuff, but may as well see what you all have to say.

P.S. I also prefer an Intel NIC.

 

[Ketchup]

I have generally been a Gigabyte fan, but I am very please with the Asus I have now (I have an older one in a desktop for my parents). Asus has really improved their BIOS interface.

But I have built more with Gigabyte. Over a dozen builds for myself and others with not a single issue.

Edit: and if you combine what I like with what you want, we are down to three:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132130
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132119
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132133

 

[crashtech]

I used to build with Asus all the time, but they got ugly (to my eyes) and I started using Gigabyte more. But the board that is giving me trouble is a Gigabyte H81M-DS2V. I am not terribly fond of Gigabyte's low-end stuff, and it looks like I have to go pretty high up the chain to get something that I think is good.

This intrigues me, but it's probably just consumer-level and not related to their server stuff:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182954R

 

[crashtech]

I was getting close to buying the Supermicro linked above, until I discovered what the "drivers" link for the board leads to:

https://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Core/Z97/C7Z97-M.cfm

 

[Ketchup]

I was getting close to buying the Supermicro linked above, until I discovered what the "drivers" link for the board leads to:

https://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Core/Z97/C7Z97-M.cfm

Yeah. Did you look up the compatibility page? I am going to guess it is due to limited testing they did on a "lower level" board, but it was ridiculous.

You can download the driver DVD which seems to have all the drivers and software (but showing a 2 Hr download for me (of course, you would have it with the board.)

 

[crashtech]

I don't think Gigabyte even offers a µATX board with Intel LAN.

Maybe one of those Asus offerings will be the best possible option.

 

[Ketchup]

Yeah, I was surprised when I did the search. Not sure why Gigabyte is going that direction.... well, it is probably cheaper, but you'd think there would be at least one. The only thing small I could see was a mini-ITX.

 

[crashtech]

An update. After getting a defective Gigabyte Z97M-DS3H on ebay to replace the first Gigabyte H81 board that has been flaky, I went ahead and got an Asus Z97M-Plus like I should have done from the very start. It has been perfect so far.

I really liked Gigabyte's higher-end stuff, but my luck with their cheap stuff has been really bad. I guess I need to switch back to Asus.

 

[Ketchup]

Good to hear. Did it come with a good bios, or did you go ahead and upgrade to the latest?

 

[crashtech]

It had a pretty old BIOS, so I updated it to be ready for Broadwell if needed.

I had been giving the advice that it's always good to buy memory from the QVL if possible, but had finally been convinced by the repeated rebuttals of respected members here that such attention to detail is not required for consumer level boards. But wouldn't you know, this Asus was finicky about what memory it liked, crashing repeatedly until I swapped in the good stuff out of my gaming rig.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

It had a pretty old BIOS, so I updated it to be ready for Broadwell if needed.

I had been giving the advice that it's always good to buy memory from the QVL if possible, but had finally been convinced by the repeated rebuttals of respected members here that such attention to detail is not required for consumer level boards. But wouldn't you know, this Asus was finicky about what memory it liked, crashing repeatedly until I swapped in the good stuff out of my gaming rig.

It's important to keep in mind the expected costs of production for boards, which includes the marketing and spec-testing. All manufacturers, if they have half a brain, maintain a testing lab. The QVL list is only the list of RAM that they've tested. Obviously, they cannot test all makes and models.

Working with just the QVL list, you can print it and make a note of the models for different RAM brands of whatever lower or higher RAM speed-spec the manufacturer chose to test. If the speed you want is not in the QVL list, but the model is basically the same, you can extrapolate a fairly good guess as to whether the RAM you have in mind will work. So, for instance, if you wanted G.SKILL "GBRL" DDr3-1600s, but the QVL listed DDR3-1333 GBRL's, you could pretty safely say the 1600's would work if the board offered up a 1600 (OC) spec. This should apply to the more recent high-performance RAM that added value for Z77 and later chipsets.

You're other option is to find the RAM-maker's web-site after making note of your motherboard's model-code, and use their configurator link to find their models and speeds which work with that motherboard.

Short of doing that, you can also do some general forum searches and reseller-site searches for comments or customer-reviews for either the board or the RAM, and see if you find a confirmed intersection of compatibility.

 

[ehume]

Gigabyte does sell versions of some of their boards that have been burned in -- you know they are good. They cost a bit more. Too bad I can't recall what they are called. But they are a black-something version of each of the boards.

 

[crashtech]

Not any of the lower-end stuff, afaik, but I would be quite attentive if proven wrong. For me it's back to Asus or ASRock in a pinch when looking for a lower end board. On the higher-end stuff, it's a lot more ambiguous because many of the major manufacturers boast burned-in boards with nice features. My Gigabyte Z97X-UD5H-BK is among the nicest boards I've ever owned. If Gigabyte sold an H81 board with the same level of detail, I'd look at it.

 

[ehume]

Not any of the lower-end stuff, afaik, but I would be quite attentive if proven wrong. For me it's back to Asus or ASRock in a pinch when looking for a lower end board. On the higher-end stuff, it's a lot more ambiguous because many of the major manufacturers boast burned-in boards with nice features. My Gigabyte Z97X-UD5H-BK is among the nicest boards I've ever owned. If Gigabyte sold an H81 board with the same level of detail, I'd look at it.

In the past I used the UD stuff, but when the Devil's Canyon came out I got a GA-Z97X Gaming-7. Loved it. When I killed it recently, I got another just like it as a replacement.

 

[crashtech]

"Killer LAN" ticked me off way back when, and now I avoid it out of spite. Totally irrational, I know, because no doubt there is a native driver these days that obviates the need to use Atheros' software.

 

[escrow4]

I still recommend Gigabyte, but one of their Z87 boards gave me the shits as it came with ALC 898 as opposed to ALC 1150 and DPC latency is crappy. UD is very very well built though and certainly has more copper layers than something Asrock on the flip side.

Right now as I type I'd say Asrock for cheap and Asus if you want to spend up. I don't think I'll be going Gigabyte anymore.

 

[nenforcer]

I've got 2 MSI Z87-GD65 Gaming ($30 each after Fry's promo and rebate) and 1 MSI Z97-GD65 Gaming (eBay).

There are a slew of complaints on these MSI boards for such things as the PCI-E connectors coming off.

I've had good luck with MSI boards (which is why I bought 3 more) so I will reserve comment until I have a chance to use mine. (Waiting for Broadwell chips to be released).