Question about Z87 mobos

[gammaray]

I am wondering if they make high-end z87 mobo with only 1 pci-e lane and no extras pci lanes and what not.

by high-end i mean, very good sound, intel NIC, 6 sata 6gbs ports etc.

Because all the boards i see have 2 or more pci-e for xfire or sli. But why pay for that when i know i will only use 1 high-end video card? or when i know i won't use any of the pci lanes ?

So to sum up, i'd like to find a high-end mobo, with no extras i will never use, just a video card and 16 or 32gbs or ram, with 1 or 2 ssds.

Does it exist?

 

[VirtualLarry]

mini-ITX Z87?

 

[Demoralized]

ASUS makes one, can't remember the name but it's from the ROG line.

 

[Demoralized]

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX47594

Here it is.

 

[crashtech]

I can see wanting such a board as an exercise in intellectual purity, but from a practical standpoint it makes no sense. the mini-ITX board linked above is costlier than many other very nice Z87 boards. So what if a board has an extra feature you don't need, if it is just as nice and costs less? For instance, a Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD4H costs about $30 less and has lots of useful features, including 4 RAM slots.

To me it makes more sense to decide what form factor, features, and budget are desired, and find something that fits those parameters without being hung up on extraneous features.

 

[Demoralized]

I agree but he wanted a smaller, minimal feature board.

 

[gammaray]

I can see wanting such a board as an exercise in intellectual purity, but from a practical standpoint it makes no sense. the mini-ITX board linked above is costlier than many other very nice Z87 boards. So what if a board has an extra feature you don't need, if it is just as nice and costs less? For instance, a Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD4H costs about $30 less and has lots of useful features, including 4 RAM slots.

To me it makes more sense to decide what form factor, features, and budget are desired, and find something that fits those parameters without being hung up on extraneous features.

i agree with you, if i can buy a full atx with more features for less, i will. What i do not understand is WHY do they make z87 boards with 2-3-4 pci-e lanes, while most of the buyers only use 1 video card. And the pci(s) what are they used for? i mean i never used a slot ever.

Could not they build for example a GA-Z87-UD something high end with only 1 pci-e and no pci? so we could have a high end board for less $$$ ?

or with the extra space saved, they could add plenty of button for OC purpose, temperature gauge and what not...

 

[gammaray]

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX47594

Here it is.

very nice board!

 

[VirtualLarry]

Could not they build for example a GA-Z87-UD something high end with only 1 pci-e and no pci? so we could have a high end board for less $$$ ?

or with the extra space saved, they could add plenty of button for OC purpose, temperature gauge and what not...

I think you over estimate how much those slots cost.

 

[gammaray]

I think you over estimate how much those slots cost.

perhaps, but even so, why not get rid of them and make a pure gamer z87 board for those who only use 1 video card? the extra space could be used, like i said, for OC stuff or sensors, whatever!


or, space for ram! you know those huge cpu coolers...

 

[coffeejunkee]

I think you over estimate how much those slots cost.

The slots themselves are not expensive no, but creating the tracing for x8/x8 operation somewhat is. Also, no money needs to go to Nvidia.

On the other hand, having just one pcb template design and one production line will save costs.

 

[crashtech]

Somehow I think if the manufacturers thought there was a market for the product described, they would be making it, at least I think one would try and the others would rush in if it was successful. So what is being asked for is likely a niche within a niche, just not worth the effort.

 

[coffeejunkee]

I don't know, I often have the feeling they live in their own bubble. They do seem to think there is a need for 10 different H81 boards among consumers.

I do know I had 6 empty slots on my mobo's for years. Now just 3, but that's because I went matx.

 

[gammaray]

Somehow I think if the manufacturers thought there was a market for the product described, they would be making it, at least I think one would try and the others would rush in if it was successful. So what is being asked for is likely a niche within a niche, just not worth the effort.

a niche? maybe, but how many of z87 owners have crossfired or sli on them?

 

[crashtech]

I don't know, but I would guess that few complain about having the capability. I used to think that I would never want run two GPUs again, but the technology keeps improving, so to me it's a plus to be able to try again if I want.