ASRock Z97 Pro4 ATX Motherboard

Shadowblade2652

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Hi all,
I'm thinking of getting the title motherboard because I want to buy a Pentium G3258 and just overclock the hell out of it. I have a corsair H55 so cooling shouldn't be too bad, and I'm looking to keep my budget for the motherboard and processor < $200. I need a Z97 motherboard because I want to overclock it to high levels. Is this a good motherboard to use? I've heard mixed reviews about ASRock motherboards, so I'm a bit wary at the moment.
 
Solution
At $130 is the Z97-C....MSI used to be in the top 3, a few years back, and ASRock started off making entry level mobos for Asus then broke away on their own, that all changed years ago, the Rock passed MSI to become the #3 manufacturer around the end of 2009...MSI sales have been dropping going back to around 2008 and continue to, the Rock continues to increase sales. Their mobos are top notch, I started using them quite abit with the P67, then alot when the Z77s came out their Z77 eXtreme 4 was the best rated and best selling mobo of the Z77s

Tradesman1

Legenda in Aeternum
What you've heard is probably years old, originally the Rock was a little brother to Asus and it's primary purpose was to make low end mobos for entusiast sales as well as for prebuilt computers, they broke away from Asus some years back and since then have been steadily climbing the laddre, they passed MSI in total sales around 2010 and have been continuing to distance themselves as sales continue to increase, when IB was released the Z77 line of mobos the Rock really stepped up, their Z77 eXtreme 4 is the best selling and best rated mobo of the Z77s....I use many of them for client builds and have had no problems with any in the last 3 years or so. Very good mobos.
 

Shadowblade2652

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okay :)

What about OC'ing? Will it be fairly straightforward with the CPU I want (the Pentium G3258)? I'm somewhat new to overclocking.
I've heard people say that all you have to do is raise the CPU multiplier and it should do the rest. Do I need to adjust anything for a stable overclock? I know you have to adjust CPU voltage at certain overclocks when it gets too high, but if I just raise the multiplier and the CPU clock about 1GHz (to 4.2) will I need to up the voltage? I'm worried I'll do something to the processor if I don't do everything right.
 

Tradesman1

Legenda in Aeternum
Ocing is generally fairly easy in the lower end, as you take it higher you start getting into voltage changes, balancing DRAM to the OC and all kinds of things can play in....would suggest looking for some OC guides for your CPU and take it from there - keep lots of notes as you go so when you hit a wall or crash you know the settings to head back for and can then take things further
 

Shadowblade2652

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I also found the MSI Z97 PC Mate. I'm a bit more comfortable with MSI boards as I'm using one now and I've used them in the past. It's close to the same price ($10 cheaper) so does that sound like a good price? It's a Z97 so it should be good for OC'ing right?
 

Shadowblade2652

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I'm really confused now. I've heard that MSI boards are typically some of the higher end, and ASRock are some of the lower end. I'm not sure whether to buy the ASRock board of the MSI board because each has their own mixed opinions.

Can you suggest me a board that's made by someone who's the most reputable like Asus that's within the $120 price bracket? (Or Gigabyte)
 

Tradesman1

Legenda in Aeternum
At $130 is the Z97-C....MSI used to be in the top 3, a few years back, and ASRock started off making entry level mobos for Asus then broke away on their own, that all changed years ago, the Rock passed MSI to become the #3 manufacturer around the end of 2009...MSI sales have been dropping going back to around 2008 and continue to, the Rock continues to increase sales. Their mobos are top notch, I started using them quite abit with the P67, then alot when the Z77s came out their Z77 eXtreme 4 was the best rated and best selling mobo of the Z77s
 
Solution

Shadowblade2652

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http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-DDR3-Motherboards-Z97-K-CSM/dp/B00K2R6E60/ref=psdc9_t1_B00K2MAU5Q_B00K2R6E60

Found this. Seems like the best thing I can buy. Are ASUS motherboards the highest end mobos? I know the UEFI bios is very intuitive and easy to use, and I've seen that it has 1 click OCing that's supposed to be better. Is this the best motherboard I can get at the moment?