Difference between H97 and Z97.

BigBossMan883

Honorable
Jun 7, 2014
37
0
10,530
I am going to build a new system. I'm not going to be overclocking CPU but Graphics card I will. So can someone tell me the difference between H87 and Z97, which do you prefer and suggest a good board $100 and under that will support later upgrades.
 
Solution
You can use a K series chip with a H97 I have a MSI H97 Gaming 3 with a I5-4690K and it does support multiplier OC'ing but not Base clock :( which was fine as mines happy at 40x100 4GHz on air

Leonell12

Honorable
Apr 8, 2013
629
0
11,360



the main difference is the ability to overclock. Z97 motherboards are for 'k' series cpus, they allow full oc abilities, H97 are 'non-oc' motherboards, they do not support oc features, even if the cpu being is used is a 'k' series (i'm not even sure if u can actually use a 'k' series cpu with a H97 board)...the MSI Gaming 3 is a very good choice http://www.msi.com/product/mb/H97_GAMING_3.html#hero-specification ...this one is also good http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4962#ov

 

Natoar

Guest
Jun 12, 2010
4
0
18,520
You can use a K series chip with a H97 I have a MSI H97 Gaming 3 with a I5-4690K and it does support multiplier OC'ing but not Base clock :( which was fine as mines happy at 40x100 4GHz on air
 
Solution

Kuf___

Commendable
Jan 21, 2017
1
0
1,510


This seems extremely counter-intuitive. Purchasing a high-end 4690K cpu(~$250) just to throttle it on a (~$50) motherboard with no oc'ing capabilities.. If you're building a computer for your child, perhaps?

I thought it worth mentioning the opposite is also possible. An i5/i7 (non-K) for instance i5-4590 cpu on a Z97 mobo also has some overclocking potential. Its not a whole lot as the BCLK only has so much wiggle room, but a stock 3.3(3.7 turbo) GHz i5-4590 can be oc'd to ~4.0 GHz on proper cooling. If your buying new components, it definitely not the best as far as oc'ing potential, but if you have a non-k lying around, picking up a Z97/Z170A, saving up some $$ and then upgrading the processor to one with an unlocked multiplier is not a bad way to go. Personally, after a decade of unlocked amd/775 overclocking, I found the locked i5 provides awesome performance as far as single/multi-core applications and less stressful to boot. Going from an phenom x4 965 to 4590 was a ridiculous improvement, while providing all of the virtualization features with great longterm stability/reliability as a SOHO server. And on the next round of upgrades, it'll make a great htpc platform.



http://hwbot.org/benchmark/cpu_frequency/rankings?hardwareTypeId=processor_3635&cores=4#start=0#interval=20