New Z97 Motherboard Questions

[WackyWRZ]

Hello all - I am in the process of buying a new Z97 motherboard to pair with a 4690K and think I have narrowed it down to an ASUS Z97-A or Sabertooth Z97 Mark 2. These both seem to be highly regarded, have plenty of features, and use digital power in the VRMs. Does anyone have experience with either board? The Mark2 seems like it has more "enthusiast" features on it as well as a better audio chip. The one odd thing is that it says the RAM speed limit is 1866 - I have 2133 RAM, so will it just downclock it?

I also see that Newegg has different boards "open-box" - is this a safe avenue to buy from? I'm concerned I will get something with bent pins - and I have read the Egg likes to get crappy even if it comes out of the box like that. Also - the Sabertooth MK2 is available for $99 refurbished which seems to be a great deal... I am assuming this is no different than what you'd receive when you get an RMA board correct?

 

[UsandThem]

I haven't used those particular boards, but the two PC components I wouldn't mess with being refurbished, open box, or used would be motherboards and hard drives.

There are different levels of being refurbished: Most of the time with retailers it is looking at the product and making sure nothing looks damaged. It is not the same thing as the manufacturer refurbishing it where they test and fix it.

Too big of a potential time waster for me to consider. I guess if they have free returns and pay return shipping you can test your luck.

 

[Puffnstuff]

Leave open box and refurbished alone unless you are a glutton for punishment!!! When you get a board back from RMA it's certified by the manufacturer and newegg open box has a very short warranty. I love asus motherboards but why have you limited yourself to those two in particular? I'd suggest you find a new Maximus vii hero which will make good use of your memory speed plus it offers 8 sata ports.

 

[WackyWRZ]

I should clarify that the refurb I am looking at is Asus certified from what I understand. I'm not really limited to those two in particular - but they stood out to be pretty well balanced in the price/features area. The Sabertooth has the thermal radar system which seems like it would be fairly useful to me and Asus in general seem to have some of the best fan control out there esp for 3 pin. The Hero looks nice but seems super expensive and availability isn't really great. And TBH - I would be fine with 2 SATA ports - I am only using one right now - and it's been that way for a good year. Anything I need for storage long term goes to my server shares.

My other options are MSI but they seem like they don't have much to pick from and ASRock which seem to have an iffy reliability as well as a shorter warranty. Gigabyte is out of the picture completely because of my last one.

 

[bonehead123]

FYI, Be prepared for a lengthy return/acceptance/testing/refund/rma period.

I bought a $200 board from the egg in January that arrived without the factory seal. I thought that was odd, but installed it anyways....DOA.... started the RMA process, 2 weeks later I finally got my money back.....

This is just unacceptable IMHO....especially considering that Amazon issues refunds as soon as the returning package is scanned by the delivery service as being picked up...

The 2nd board I got from them also did not have a factory seal but fortunately was actually BNIB and booted right up as soon as I installed it, after a bios update.

Probably will be the last thing I will but from them for a while...

 

[Leyawiin]

I have an ASUS Z97-A paired with an i5-4690k. Last summer the LAN failed and I had to start using an Intel PCI-E card (already had it and didn't want to deal with ASUS RMA process). May have just gotten a bum board, but the BIOS has always been finicky as well. It doesn't hold changes at times - especially when changing the global performance options (power saving/normal/performance). BIOS update didn't help. In spite of the horror stories I've heard about ASUS RMA I probably should go ahead and send it in.

I purchased a Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H last summer for an i7-4790k and really like it so far - totally trouble free.

 

[WackyWRZ]

FYI,
I bought a $200 board from the egg in January that arrived without the factory seal. I thought that was odd, but installed it anyways....DOA.... started the RMA process, 2 weeks later I finally got my money back.....

This is just unacceptable IMHO....especially considering that Amazon issues refunds as soon as the returning package is scanned by the delivery service as being picked up...

I think Amazon has spoiled myself (along with many others) with their excellent customer service and Prime shipping. I'm half tempted to just buy a board from them - even if it is more expensive - in the off chance I have an issue. I suppose it's not really being spoiled, but the way customer service SHOULD be. The only thing that Amazon is missing is a decent price match policy. The "report a lower price" is a joke - if I find it lower then let me just match it! It seems like the egg lately has just gotten beside themselves and their level of customer service has gone way down. I remember using them in the early 2000s and they were great. I've heard more stories recently about them sending used/open things as new which is completely unacceptable. Plus after reading their Open Box policy - they say even if it's missing an item critical to function too bad so sad - so that's no longer an option. I've bought plenty of other things from Amazon Warehouse deals - and "used" usually means damaged box - plus there's always an accurate description with it.

I have an ASUS Z97-A paired with an i5-4690k. Last summer the LAN failed and I had to start using an Intel PCI-E card (already had it and didn't want to deal with ASUS RMA process). May have just gotten a bum board, but the BIOS has always been finicky as well. It doesn't hold changes at times - especially when changing the global performance options (power saving/normal/performance). BIOS update didn't help. In spite of the horror stories I've heard about ASUS RMA I probably should go ahead and send it in.

I purchased a Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H last summer for an i7-4790k and really like it so far - totally trouble free.

It's funny you say that... I'm currently in the process of RMAing a GA-Z97X-UD3H that literally caught on fire (thread is in the General Hardware section). Like you, that may have been a bum board as well but it has left a burnt taste in my mouth (and my nose every time I walk in my house) with them. It's taken them literally a week to even get back to me with an RMA number - and there's plenty of RMA horror stories with them as well. I've RMAed a MSI board once and it was relatively painless. I would say RMA with Asus anyway - they owe you a working product!

 

[Ketchup]

I don't know about the Mark 2, but the Mark 1 has been a great board. The quick charge USB port works great too. The Mark 1 has the same audio chip, and I have no complaints. The dual lan is also good so as to have as a backup (although I think they cut this off on the Mark 2).