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Basic Motherboard Questions

Tags:
  • Overclocking
  • Chipsets
  • ASrock
  • Foxconn
  • ECS
  • Biostar
  • Motherboards
  • Basic
  • Socket
Last response: in Motherboards
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August 6, 2014 8:06:39 AM

Just got a few basic questions:


    Lets say I want to overclock. What motherboard pairs well with an unlocked CPU? Should I care about the socket type and Chipset? I hear a lot of people talking about Z87 and Z97 and that people should take Z87 over Z97? It seems like Z97 is newer but I don't know what exactly is new about it.



    Can I overclock with a Q87, H97, H87, H81, or B85? Is it only Z87 and Z97 boards that support overclocking?



    Is ASrock, Biostar, ECS, or Foxconn motherboards reliable? What is in your personal opinion the motherboards that you should avoid at all costs and boards that you should always pick?



    What does Onboard Ethernet mean specifically things like 1 x 10/100/1000 Mbps?



    Is this a good motherboard? http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-z97kcs...

More about : basic motherboard questions

a c 166 K Overclocking
a c 1169 V Motherboard
August 6, 2014 8:15:30 AM

What board to get depends on the CPU you select, Z87 and Z97 are the overclocking boards but with the introduction of the new unlocked pentium G3258 there are some lower chipset boards that will allow OC appearing. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pentium-g3258-b81-c...
If you are going with I5 or I7 "K" series CPU I would get Z97.
Ethernet means built in LAN (wired) network adapter with speed up to 1Gbps, pretty much a std feature on all boards.
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a b K Overclocking
a b V Motherboard
August 6, 2014 8:25:12 AM

Overcloking is an exclusive feature. It needs a K series CPU and a P67, Z68, Z77 (For Core I series 2nd and 3rd generation) Z87 and Z97 (For Core I series 4th and 5th generation). There are some motherboards outside of those chipsets that support overclocking, but those are not motherboards that are going to handle much.

If I have to rank motherboards manifacturers and put the top 3 together - Asus, ASrock, Gigabyte. Have been owning using and building with couple of ASrock motherboards for the past 7-8 years, since the G31 chipset (for the old Pentium 4) and I still have not had a board to fail. Asus is the top dog definately, but they are too pricy. Somethimes for simmilar features and same build quality, you can get more out of an ASrock board than an Asus one. I am not a particular fan of Gigabyte, but certain models at certain price points, they can't be beat. If you have one of those 3 brands, it depends more on which model for what price you take, then which brand it is.

Biostar and ECS are trying to up their game, but they are still far behind. I avoid Foxconn at all costs.

MSI is another big player after Asus,Asrock and Gigabyte, but I had too many problems with MSI, so I avoid them. I know there are a lot of happy MSI users out there, but that is just my experience.

EVGA has very limited motherboard porfrollio and they are a very mixed bag.

In the end - decide how much you would like to spend and do a bit of research. Then when you have some questions - feel free to bring them to the forum. Cheers.
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