Motherboard and Crossfire configuration

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stavros58

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Feb 18, 2012
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Hi I have a slight problem my Asus motherboard has to be sent back for a refund as the onboard sound has failed its an Asus P8Z77-V LX Motherboard (Socket 1155, 32GB DDR3 Support, ATX, Intel Z77 Express, USB 3.0, CrossFireX Support, Dual Intelligent Processors 3) its been a great motherboard up to now which is why I'm disappointed it has a problem. I'm undecided whether to go down the easy route and just order an identical replacement or change it for a MSI Z77A-G45 Motherboard which is a few pounds more at about £87 or the AsRock Z77 Extreme4 Motherboard ,the Asus was about £80. I could spend a little more but want to stay under the £100 mark.

The processor is the Intel I5 3570k with 8 gig Corsair Vengeance 1866 MSI Samsung Evo 250gig SSD and WD Caviar Black 1tb with 3 500gig storage drives. with 2 MSI AMD R7870 2GB DDR5 PCI-E in crossfire mode powered by an OCZ fatality 750w modular PSU which all runs very well on the Asus board but the only significant difference I can see is the MSI might be more compatible with the Graphic cards and it has 2 PCIE 3 x 16 slots where as the Asus 1 PCIe 3 x16 slots and the 1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (x4 mode) slot. I have tested both slots individually running unique valley benchmark and can see no difference at all with the Asus board so I do wonder if whilst cards are now designated as PCI-e 3 if they still don't use anything close to the bandwidth for it to make a real world difference.

Any advice would be welcome or perhaps even an alternative suggestion as long as it doesn't exceed the £100 as I'm perilously close to divorce if I get caught spending more. I use my computer for Gaming, Photography which is my work. My main focus is on gaming as that spec meets the needs of my leisure and work time on the computer and I don't want any more than dual cards on the system now or in the future. Thanks
 
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Vic 40
I've looked at the review and that guy (?) knows more about it than i do,that's for sure.

The main diffrence in the two boards is about this:Cons-D-PAK MOSFETs on the Extreme4 (from the conclusion),it is about overclocking and how far you will go.
From what i read is that with normal 24/7 overclocks there isn't a great deal of difference in results and that includes the difference in benchmarks.
If you're going for a 24/7 stable overclock and looking for 1ghz extra and maybe just a bit more,i think that the extreme 4 will already serve you well.
Which board in that perspective keeps on going longer,i don't know and if you are willing to pay $30 more for the extreme 6,and maybe/possibly some extra security when it comes to...
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stavros58

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Feb 18, 2012
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Hi Vic thanks for the input I have had a re-think and decided a little more cash can go a long way. I have come up with 2 alternative boards one is the ASrock Z77 Extreme 6 which has quite a few more features and better components than the Extreme4 and also the Gigabyte-GA-Z77X-UD3H both of which seem excellent boards price is almost identical at £116 but not sure which is best or most reliable. I like the idea of the dual Bios on the Gigabyte but like the sound of the x fast ram, Lan, USB etc Anybody any suggestions or should I just toss a coin
 
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Vic 40

Vic 40

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Oct 22, 2013
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A few more features yes,better components not as far as i know.
features are,
1 x Floppy connector
IEEE 1394,internal and via i/o
on the i/o 1 x DisplayPort extra
1 x mini-PCI Express slot

or you must mean by components the bigger coolers on the power phases and chipset.

and some extra goodies,
4 x SATA Data Cables instead of two
1 x Front USB 3.0 Panel
- 4 x HDD Screws
- 6 x Chassis Screws
- 1 x Rear USB 3.0 Bracket

if you want to pay ~£30 more for that that's fine with me,but the question is,are you really going to use these?

If your pc case already has usb 3.0 on the front i/o and this is internal connected you won't have use for the usb 3,0 brackets for instance.
Sata datacables don't cost that much.

I don't think that the gigabyte adds something besides the dual bios.

It's up to you.
 
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stavros58

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Feb 18, 2012
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Hi Vic my change of mind was based what appears to be a fairly detailed review of the Extreme 4 Against the Extreme 6 which although Im no expert does make me think buying cheap is not always the best option as if the review is correct the parts are not the same once you dig a little further and spending £30 more in the long run could be wiser. The review is at: http://www.overclock.net/t/1333812/asrock-z77-extreme4-z77-extreme6-review

See what you think.

My last machine I ran for about 5 years with only memory and GPU upgrades. I'm hoping this will last as long, ordinarily I wouldn't of changed my M/B but as it failed looking for an alternative option and improvement over the failed board seems to be a sensible thing to do. Having looked at the Extreme4 and then Extreme6 realising that some of the savings on the Ex4 are in cheaper on board components I looked for a comparison for the Extreme6 and came up with the Gigabyte which seems to be a good board also and equal or better in build quality. But you are right about the ASrock I don't need the extra front panel and I haven't used a floppy for 10 years plus.
 
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Vic 40

Vic 40

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Oct 22, 2013
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I've looked at the review and that guy (?) knows more about it than i do,that's for sure.

The main diffrence in the two boards is about this:Cons-D-PAK MOSFETs on the Extreme4 (from the conclusion),it is about overclocking and how far you will go.
From what i read is that with normal 24/7 overclocks there isn't a great deal of difference in results and that includes the difference in benchmarks.
If you're going for a 24/7 stable overclock and looking for 1ghz extra and maybe just a bit more,i think that the extreme 4 will already serve you well.
Which board in that perspective keeps on going longer,i don't know and if you are willing to pay $30 more for the extreme 6,and maybe/possibly some extra security when it comes to overclocking form the better vrm's,is up to you.
that price includes the extra goodies too,so it might just be worth it.
 
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