Motherboards I find interesting (Intel socket 1150 and AMD FM2+)

[coolpurplefan]

I looked at motherboards from Asus, Gigabyte, MSI and Asrock (both socket 1150 and 1155). Anyway, in the end I found there were at least 3 socket 1150 motherboards that were interesting. This is if you believe that Realtek audio and Intel LAN is more compatible. Also, some other factors were complete rear panel and expansion slots. Depending on budget and personal choice these were: Asrock Fatal1ty H87 Performance, Gigabyte GA-H87-D3H and the Asus GRYPHON Z87.

For an AMD platform, I quickly found the ASUS A88X-PRO. I compiled this list to save people time if you have the same criteria. People say the Realtek ALC1150 audio is good enough to avoid buying a sound card. And an 8 phase motherboard gives you "cleaner" electricity to your CPU for a longer lasting computer even if you don't overclock. (That's the impression I got from what I read even though they say now the voltage regulation is now on the CPU. I also have a Tripp-Lite OmniVS 1500 battery backup with Automatic Voltage Regulator.) I added the Gigabyte because it's cheaper. It may have acceptable but not "great" audio and the number of phases is not indicated on the Gigabyte web site.


Asrock Fatal1ty H87 Performance
USB 2.0 rear panel: 4
LAN: Giga PHY Intel® I217V
audio: Realtek ALC1150
complete rear audio panel: yes
Blu-ray audio content protection: Blu-ray audio content protection 7.1 channel
expansion slots:
- 1 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 slot (PCIE2: x16 mode)
- 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot (PCIE4: x4 mode)
- 2 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots
- 3 x PCI slots
DVI output: yes
MVP: not on page
phases: 8
durable capacitors:
digital VRM:
flash BIOS through flash drive:
form factor: ATX

Gigabyte GA-H87-D3H
USB 2.0 rear panel: 4
LAN: Intel® GbE LAN
audio: Realtek® ALC892
complete rear audio panel: yes
Blu-ray audio content protection: not indicated
expansion slots:
1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16)
1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x4 (PCIEX4)
2 x PCI Express x1 slots
2 x PCI slots
DVI output: yes
MVP: not on page
durable capacitors: Ultra Durable™ 5 Plus
phases: not indicated
digital VRM: not sure
flash BIOS through flash drive: yes
form factor: ATX

Asus GRYPHON Z87
USB 2.0 rear panel: 4
LAN: Intel® I217V
audio: Realtek® ALC892
complete rear audio panel: yes
Blu-ray audio content protection: BD Audio Layer Content Protection
expansion slots:
2 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (x16 or dual x8)
1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (x4 mode, black)
1 x PCIe 2.0 x1
DVI output: yes
MVP: not on page
durable capacitors: TUF components
phases: 8
digital VRM: not sure
flash BIOS through flash drive: yes
form factor: micro ATX
ESD Guards, no PS/2 port, no VGA

 

[escrow4]

The Gryphon is just poor compared to higher end Gigabyte Z87 models - Z87X-UD4H has 16 phases, quality Realtek 898 and an Intel Nic, all with black caps and a massive amount of features and ports.

 

[TheGoat Eater]

I have been testing the MSI A88X-G45 GAMING for a few weeks, and I must say that I am impressed by the board. It is a 4+2 board, but it is performing very well with my OC testing. I also have had a Z87 MPOWER that I have had to test since pre-release ,and it is just as impressive and strong as its predecessor the Z77 MPOWER. As for you talking about the sound I would strongly recommend an external DAC and AMP - you will not be let down by the step up in sound quality.

 

[you2]

On paper i prefer the asrock z87 extreme6 for the following: realtek 1150; 10 sata ports; 2 pci slots.