Which 1150 z97 motherboard with PLX PEX8747 chip should I get?

[norwester]

Hello, I'm considering an upgrade from the Q6600.

If I want trifire+ capability and m.2 on pci-e (2-3,2x-4x) which boards should I be looking for?

I have a few sticks of DDR3, some SS 1250XM power supplies and a few R9 280x sitting unused for almost a year now.
Long story, some of you know probably know it all to well.

Liquidating it would net enough to build a new 2011 x99 system with the proper amount of lanes, newer gpus and a 4k monitor to make it worthwhile.

Of course those funds are going to something else, so I'm trying to go the least expensive route for now.

The Asrock extreme 9 would be great, if it wasn't Asrock.

Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, EVGA?

Anyone care to point me in the right direction here?

 

[Spanners]

GIGABYTE Z97X-G1 Gaming GT or MSI Z97 MPower Max AC? I have no personal experience with either but they might be right for you?

 

[VirtualLarry]

If I want trifire+ capability and m.2 on pci-e (2-3,2x-4x) which boards should I be looking for?

I really feel that if you want tri-fire, AND M.2 x4 PCI-E, then you want X99. Even with one or two PLX chips, Z97 is going to be bottlenecked with those, I think.

Though, if someone has benchmarks to the contrary, I would love to see them.

I don't have any actual experience with tri-fire, although I do own a mobo with four PCI-E x16 2.0 slots (running at x8), with NV cards doing CUDA work.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

Liquidating it would net enough to build a new 2011 x99 system with the proper amount of lanes, newer gpus and a 4k monitor to make it worthwhile.

Unless you're dead set on going Z97, go X99.

Of course those funds are going to something else, so I'm trying to go the least expensive route for now.

The Asrock extreme 9 would be great, if it wasn't Asrock.

Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, EVGA?

Anyone care to point me in the right direction here?

Firstly, "trifire+" and "budget" don't belong in the same sentence. Either do it right from the start, or you end up being unhappy with the system you've built in the future.

Secondly, what's wrong with Asrock?

 

[PhIlLy ChEeSe]

X99 you wont need an upgrade for a long time, if not then you wont be able to use trifire with out spending a lot on old tech that is soon to be outdated.
If you just wanna get by for the time, I'd get a dual core and motherboard for less then $100. Then use your memory you have already, save a ton and your poised for the next gen.
The M.2 is new on a Z97, you'll be better off waiting for the next plate form which will soon drop. I say wait then, see what new stuff comes out.
You used to mine huh?

 

[norwester]

Consensus says wait for x99 and understandably so.

Nothing really wrong with Asrock I guess, the failure rate with the 970 extreme 4's was approaching 50% albeit after several months of use for which they were probably not intended. The ones that didn't fail did great though.

I am tempted by the Asrock z97 extreme9, though I see DDR4 prices dropping and with boards like the Gigabyte GA-x99-UD3 being $170.0 after rebate that makes another strong case for x99.
-Initially thought the GA-x99-UD3 had M.2 PCIe 2.0 x4, now Im not so sure..

X99 prices will continue downward I'm guessing, but it kind of seems like I'm waiting for M.2 PCIe 2.0 x4 just as a future upgrade option since I won't be starting out with one.

Hard to wrap my head around all this since I don't really keep up.

 

[Shmee]

Have you considered X99 + tri fire + an add in PCIE ssd? x4 card, not m.2.

The intel 750 seems very good, and pcie NVMe SSDs should get better as new ones mature and come out.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

I am tempted by the Asrock z97 extreme9, though I see DDR4 prices dropping and with boards like the Gigabyte GA-x99-UD3 being $170.0 after rebate that makes another strong case for x99.
-Initially thought the GA-x99-UD3 had M.2 PCIe 2.0 x4, now Im not so sure..

X99 prices will continue downward I'm guessing, but it kind of seems like I'm waiting for M.2 PCIe 2.0 x4 just as a future upgrade option since I won't be starting out with one.

Like Shmee suggested have you considered an M.2-to-PCIe adaptor?

Nothing really wrong with Asrock I guess, the failure rate with the 970 extreme 4's was approaching 50% albeit after several months of use for which they were probably not intended. The ones that didn't fail did great though.

I think you'll find that related to people running 125W+ (high-end Vishera has an unofficial TDP of 140W) CPUs on a board whose VRMs weren't designed for it...