Which is a better Z87 Motherboard?

resurrection64 · Jun 17, 2013

Hi,

Is the MSI Z87-G41 (http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130695&nm_mc=AFC-C8junctionCA&cm_mmc=AFC-C8JunctionCA-_-Motherboards+-+Intel-_-MSI-_-13130695&AID=10592396&PID=3938566) better?

Or the Asus Z87-K (http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131983&nm_mc=AFC-C8junctionCA&cm_mmc=AFC-C8JunctionCA-_-Motherboards+-+Intel-_-ASUS-_-13131983&AID=10592396&PID=3938566)

Or the ASRock Z87 Pro3 (http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157370&nm_mc=AFC-C8junctionCA&cm_mmc=AFC-C8JunctionCA-_-Motherboards+-+Intel-_-ASRock-_-13157370&AID=10592396&PID=3938566)

Also, what is the difference between the MSI Z87-G41, the MSI Z87-G43 and the MSI Z87-G45?

Thanks!

sourodip · Jun 18, 2013

the asus one would be the best.the differences between them are:
MSI Z87-G41-supports 2800+(O.C) Dram freq. and two pci-e slots,the 3.0 running at x16 and the 2.0 running at x4
same with the Asus Z87-K but it supports 2933+(O.C)
and the ASRock Z87 Pro3 is the worst among the 3,it has 2600+(O.C) and only one pci-e slot running at x4
therefore asus would be the best choice.
by the way the three listed are not upto the mark,u can get 3pci-e slots running at x8,x8,x4 in a mobo.how much are u willing to spend?
*-all the three supports Haswell processors(4th gen.)

resurrection64 · Jun 19, 2013

sourodip :

What do you mean by 2933+(O.C)?
Thanks! And not too much... Maybe like $100-120? Around there!

sourodip · Jun 19, 2013

well u won't be overclocking that much and would definitely not get a ram of that freq.,i was just pointing out the differences...
do u want a mobo within 120$?then go with the MSI,it;s the cheapest and will give similar performance like the Asus one..

resurrection64 · Jun 19, 2013

Okay! Thank you! I probably won't be overclocking the Ram so... But, the overclockability for all motherboards are the same with the chipset Z87 right?

sourodip · Jun 20, 2013

yeah it' more or less the same,don't bother that,get the cheapest one like the msi i recommended and msi is very known for overclocking.They always make products meant for O.C ing...

Madn3ss795 · Jun 20, 2013

OC ability on those boards are not the same. Power design and heatsink plays the main role here. Out of the 3 MSI boards, G45 is OK for OC-ing, G43 does this decently and as for G41, it depends on your luck to be able to OC your 4670k/4770k to a noticeable amount on that board.

sourodip · Jun 20, 2013

but within the three board's he listed,the msi would also be a good one for O.C ing and the cheapest and if u want that much good O.C ing then,the GD65 would be the best but it is quite costly

Madn3ss795 · Jun 20, 2013

When saying "all motherboards" I think he meant all Z87 boards including the 2 MSI below and even boards not mentioned here.

Anyway, if it's just about the 3 board linked, then they're all "meh", with Asus one mgiht lead over a bit. I'm just curious that they're at different price ranges. 121$ for MSI G41, 111$ for Pro3 and 141 for Z87-k ( squared the numbers, included shipping fee ). If 140$ or less is still acceptable then MSI Z87-G43 is the best one that offers actual OC ability. Plus getting G43 + i5 4670k combo saves him 25$:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($249.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G43 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $354.98
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-20 02:08 EDT-0400)

sourodip · Jun 20, 2013

actually the msi-g41 is 109$ and for the build, for O.C'ing i would recommend at least a g45 not a g43,if a g43 then why not a g41?the g45 would be the best.if u go with g-43 at that price range,then why don;t u go with the Asus?asus always has better stability for overclocking.
the g41 and g43 are same priced:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130695
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130695
and here's the g45 which is better than the two:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130647 and it would be the best

Madn3ss795 · Jun 20, 2013

You posted G41 link twice...

1/ G41 vs G43: G43 has more phases in its power design, plus bigger heatsink than G41. Not to mention high-quality SFC ( super ferrit choke ) used.

2/ Z87m-G45 is not the mATX version of Z87 G45 ( gaming ), with its power design on par with ATX G41 and even worse than ATX G43. The only thing that makes that board has G45 in its name was 2 PCI-E 3.0 slots for proper SLI/Crossfire support. Other features of z87ma g45 is very far from ATX G45's level.

In general, MSI boards with different form factors but same ending in names don't have matching features.

sourodip · Jun 20, 2013

but i saw the g-41 and g-43 prices evenly and of course the g45-gaming would be better but the g43 is not that much better than a g-41 and is 20$ more which u(Madn3ss) listed,i think the asus one would be the best if you say within the budget of G43

Madn3ss795 · Jun 20, 2013

As said above, Z87-k is only comparable with Z87 G41. Z87 G43 is quite close to Z87-C in term of performance and G43 is that much better than G41. Asus LGA1150 boards seem overpriced there.

Again, I have to point out that Z87mG43 =/= Z87-G43. Z87M-G43 is closer to a MATX version of Z87-G41, only has more connectors.

sourodip · Jun 20, 2013

true bro,but don't u think that the asus would be the best choice?

Madn3ss795 · Jun 20, 2013

No, unless it's 15$ cheaper.

sourodip · Jun 20, 2013

yeah u are right the g43 is better for overclocking than the asus,the asus should have been cheaper but they are always overpriced.
after all u(Madnss795) are more experienced than me

resurrection64 · Jun 23, 2013

Thank you both very much! I guess i'll go with the Z87-G43!

But, what's the difference between the G43 and G41?
Thanks

sourodip · Jun 23, 2013

G43 has better power phase design than the G41 and a good board for O.C ing

Madn3ss795 · Jun 23, 2013

Better power design.
Better board layout.
More connectors on the back of the board.

Which is a better Z87 Motherboard?

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