Asus Z87, Z97 or P9X79 opinions please, for i7 build

Nuklearpuppy

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Jan 8, 2010
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Hi there,
I'm building a music production PC and looking for a motherboard that will be high performance in terms of music DAW and instrument VSTs, reliable and stable, and be as future proof as possible... I'm happy to spend anywhere between £100 - £200, if need be, but am aware that the upper end of that may be over kill.

I'm pretty set on an ASUS as a lot of studio PCs I see have them, and a few producer friends have them. I've narrowed my list of possibilities down to these:

. Asus Z87 K 1150
. Asus Z87-Pro
. Asus Z97-A S1150
. Asus Z97-PRO WI-FI
. Asus P9X79 2011

I've settled on these parts for the rest of the build:

CPU:
Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor

Memory:
Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory

Storage
Crucial 512GB M550 SATA 6GB/s 2.5" 7mm Solid State Drive

Additional Storage:
Seagate 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive

Case & CPU Cooler bundle:
Cooler Master 690 III ATX Mid Tower Case
& Cooler Master Seidon 120V 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler

Power Supply:
CoolerMaster 650W VS Series

Optical Drive:
Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer

No gaming will be done, this will be used purely for music production... Thanks :)
 
Solution
From what you describe, avoid the x79 based setup. It looks like you won't need it. I'd stick with the z97 chipset in your place, especially when you say "as future proof as possible". Also, go with a Core i7-4790k instead of the 4770k. They basically identical, but the 4790k has higher base clock rates and better cooling, and they're pretty much the same price.

As for which Z97 board, that's your preference. If you want wireless, go with the Pro. If not, then the A.

6R1M01R3

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Socket 2011 is only for the Sandy and Ivy Bridge Extreme series, so remove that from the list. The 4770k uses 1150 Socket.
You wont be overclocking so no need for a K unlocked processor, the non k variant should be enough.
H97 chipset motherboards should be good enough since you wont be overclocking either.
 

dgingeri

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From what you describe, avoid the x79 based setup. It looks like you won't need it. I'd stick with the z97 chipset in your place, especially when you say "as future proof as possible". Also, go with a Core i7-4790k instead of the 4770k. They basically identical, but the 4790k has higher base clock rates and better cooling, and they're pretty much the same price.

As for which Z97 board, that's your preference. If you want wireless, go with the Pro. If not, then the A.
 
Solution