Soo many choices

[TriStarGod]

Hi everyone,
I'm in the process of building a new computer since my last one was vaporized by lightening (via ethernet...). It will be used for everydays tasks (i.e. word, excel, programming) to gaming and watching movies.

I have decided on the following setup:
Intel Core i5-3570K
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
GeForce GTX 670
Samsung 830 256GB
SeaSonic X Series X650 Gold

I can't decide on the motherboard or case.
The options I've been considering are the following:
GIGABYTE G1.Sniper 3 LGA 1155 Intel Z77
ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77
ASUS P8Z77-V DELUXE
ASUS Maximus V FORMULA

I don't plan on overclocking (even though some mobos automatically OC from stock speeds) but all these motherboards are relatively close in price so the choices are difficult. I want the motherboard with the best performance but I can't find many performance reviews (especially for the Maximus V Formula).

My first choice was originally the Sniper 3 but I don't plan on getting 3 or 4 GTXs (maybe dual sli down the road but not anytime soon). I heard the PLX chip will slow down my setup with only one GTX by 5% (which isn't much but why be penalized by it). I love the creative sound chip and bigfoot add-ons they've included.

The Sabertooth seems to be a solid board but even with its military specs, it's stats don't seem to be as great as the P8Z77-V Deluxe.

The P8Z77-V Deluxe is the only motherboard I've seen a couple reviews on but the stats are measuring USB2/USB3 speeds and SATA3/6 speeds (which are close and don't seem as important to me). The only valuable stats I've seen are the DPC Latency and LAN write speed (no read ), both which the Deluxe wins.

The Maximus V Formula seems to have a lot of hype of being the best of the best but I've seen no stats proving it. I can't even tell if Supreme FX IV and GameFirst II/Intel LAN are better than rest of the motherboards.

Any help would be appreciated. Also, if the rest of my setup is off, please comment on it.

Thanks in advance.

 

[rgallant]

ASUS Maximus V FORMULA
-could be deemed a 2nd gen. z77 and why I picked it, along with maybe a less bios bugs, having the rog team having some input into it.
-also I had enough water cooling to bridge the vrm's into the loop.
-it's rock solid for me ,but I haven't had much time to take it over 4.6 for 7/24

" I can't even tell if Supreme FX IV and GameFirst II/Intel LAN are better than rest of the motherboards"
-I don't use any of those ,check the net.
-but their all good boards if your ocing or not.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

It's just my opinion, but I wager that you can compare the mid- to top-end P8Z77 model-line against more than one of the Maximus V's. [I think there's even an mATX version.] You may find an overlap or near-overlap in phase-power design.

At that point, you can choose to pay for more features (and good ones) on the Maximus V, or pick a P8Z77 [ . . . ] that will be a good overclocker and carrying enough features that it might just fit a well-drawn master-plan to build a PC, considering graphics, memory, disks, USB3 front-panel, etc.

 

[blastingcap]

If you don't plan to oc then you may as well get a vanilla 3570 or even a 3470 (both of which are partially unlocked anyway). You don't even need z77 mobo as that is for overclocking.

A good cheap case will probably run you about $50-75 depending on sales and rebates. A Corsair 300R for ~$65 is a decent deal and should be enough for your needs. An older case with USB 2.0 is okay, too if it's cheap--just add your own external USB 3.0 adapter or a hub from out the back for ~$15.

 

[SolMiester]

Hi,mi got for work i5 3470, with asrock pro4 m, and while the first board was DOA, the replacement runs well, and the BIOS non K OC gives me 4ghz just like that....

 

[coffeejunkee]

I want the motherboard with the best performance but I can't find many performance reviews (especially for the Maximus V Formula).

All H61/H67/P67/Z68/B75/H77/Z75/Z77 motherboards perform the same if you don't overclock.

 

[Pheran]

If you don't plan to oc then you may as well get a vanilla 3570 or even a 3470 (both of which are partially unlocked anyway). You don't even need z77 mobo as that is for overclocking.

I was going to say much the same thing, your config makes no sense for a non-overclocked setup. I use a cheap Gigabyte Z77-DS3H board in my non-OC setup, but you might want more USB or SATA ports depending on your needs. And as blastingcap points out, you don't need a 'K' variant processor.

 

[TriStarGod]

Starting from the top...
Based on rgallant and BonzaiDuck's input, I am going ahead and purchasing a Maximus V Formula board (hoping that price ~= quality). My entire philosophy when building my computer is I want the best bang for my buck, even if I am not going use some of the extra features anytime soon. I want every cent of my $1500 dollar budget to count. BlastingCap, the reason I picked the Intel Core i5-3570K is that due to several reviews, it currently has the best price/performance ratings. Even though I personally won't overclock to the extremes, the motherboards I've lately seen automatically overclock from stock speeds using the MultiCore Enhancement feature. I want to choose a great motherboard that will face any extremes gracefully. SolMiester, I've read some good and bad reviews on ASRock boards but when it comes to performance, it often lags behind Gigabyte and ASUS. Coffeejunkie and Pheran, I did glance at the other chipsets and lower end boards. In the end, I wanted the most recent tech on a high performing board. All the boards I've listed have sufficient number of ports. I especially like that fact that all the usb ports for the sniper 3 are usb3.

Thanks guys for your input.