Need help identify the differences between these matx boards

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MaseWiN

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I am building a gaming pc and would like to know which of these boards is the best ?
GIGABYTE GA-G1.Sniper M5 LGA 1150 Intel Z87

MSI Z87M Gaming ( to be released soon )

Asus TUF Gryphon Z87

I am new to pc building and can't identify the major differences. Is the killer Ethernet on the msi board faster than the other 2 ?

Thanks
Mase
 
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Beezy
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Beezy

Beezy

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idk about the ethernet, but i noticed that MSI is up to 1000mbps! wow. But the MSI's fatal flaw is its lack of PCi slots! thats kinda a big deal if you ever want to SLi your video card(s) (running 2 video cards at once). The ASUS is better in every way except the ram speed and the Ethernet speed...but realistically ram past 1866 is doesnt get much noticeable gain, and do you have internet that fast? Google fiber in your area OP?
 
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MaseWiN

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Wow so I can't crossfire/sli on the new msi z87m ?? I was under the impression you could.

The only reason I have the gigabyte board listed is because I was going with a green theme. What is the biggest difference between that one and the asus ? It's more expensive than the other two by about 40 dollars and I can't figure out why.

Thanks
 
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Beezy

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Im sorry i wasnt very clear, yes they both can crossfire, but the msi board has one 2.0 and one 3.0, so you have the bar set "lower" itll only perform as well as the weak link kinda deal. It does it at dual x4, wheras the ASUS board does so at at least dual x8. I dont have personal experience with crossfire, but im not fully behind it yet until developers are. BF4 i hear loves Xfire GPU's, as it was optimized for it when they made it.

furthurmore the ASUS i think is better for overclocking, has better quality plastic, metals, etc means the parts wont fry on you as easily down the road. The price reflects that too, although i think it should be like 15 bucks cheaper..
 
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MaseWiN

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What about the gigabyte board ?
 
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Beezy

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which gigabyte board?...honestly dont cut corners with the motherboard...try to save money in other departments..
Dont plan on overclocking with a cheapy gigabyte board
The best brands for motherboards are ASUS, MSI Asrock, gigabyte

Oh i see it up there in the OP, idk about that board for the price..it has 1 of each on the Pci idk how to feel about that
 
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MaseWiN

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It's the most expensive of the 3 and has favorable reviews but now that you mention the PCI slots on the msi compared to the asus, I am concerned about the gigabyte one.

Seems the gigabyte as 1 slot at x16 or 2 by x8 then 1 2.0 and 1 other one
 
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Beezy

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me too, i cant say with confidence that board was designed with crossfire..now that i think about , i dont know if any miniatx size board are going to be optimzed around that since GPU are pretty big. They focus more on variety. One pci slot for you wifi adapter, one for this, the heavier ones for the graphics card (x16). You may want to double check. What your budget? whats are you planning to do with this computer?
 
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MaseWiN

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A gaming pc with a budget of around 1500-2000. Using the green bitfenix prodigy modded to house a matx board. I was going to put a r9 280x or r9 290 and down the road crossfire it. Don't need wifi I don't think and onboard sound should be enough
 
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Beezy

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how did you get your hands on that case? Only reason i ask is your budget is big...your PC will be big too..Might get a lil cramped in there IMO.
With that budget you can buy a case to accomodate a full size ATX board, then you can easily Xfire at dual 8 or 16. But building around that case is certainly possible..just understand the sacrifices that come with it.

 
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MaseWiN

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I was just stuck on getting that case. The green really stuck with me. I saw a few examples of that gigabyte board fitting pretty easily and I bought a lian li motherboard tray and basically just cut out the opening and slid it right in. I has my cousin weld it for me.

 
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Beezy

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Well if you want a really future proof PC, it appears newer games like BF4 are running crossfire setups like a dream, as they are intended. It will be there by the end of next year, all the big games will know that ppl need Xfire support. i like that ASUS the most for the price...look for ones like that, that can do 2 GPU at x8 pci
 
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