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Comparing two motherboards

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  • Motherboards
  • Intel i5
  • ASrock
Last response: in Motherboards
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August 8, 2014 5:47:26 AM

I'm deciding between the Asrock Z97 Pro4 and the Extreme4...
I'll use a i5-4690K and a R9 280X.

I got that comparison from the Asrock website but it's hard to interpret all this data:
http://www.asrock.com/mb/compare.asp?SelectedModel=Z97+...
Can you explain it, please?

More about : comparing motherboards

a c 79 V Motherboard
August 8, 2014 6:42:14 AM

Firstly, what is the price difference?
Are you going to overclock with your cpu?
Are you looking to go SLI or crossfire?
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August 8, 2014 6:45:20 AM

Firstly, what is the price difference?
- 30$
Are you going to overclock with your cpu?
- Yes
Are you looking to go SLI or crossfire?
- Crossfire
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a c 79 V Motherboard
August 8, 2014 6:51:14 AM

Go with the extreme 4. It is a premium board and is better than the Pro4. Whilst the Pro is crossfire compatible, the pcie speed on that board isn't great.
Overclocking is better on the extreme since it has a 12 power phase design.
It has a slightly better sound chip but probably not noticeable.
The extreme has some buttons to start your pc or reset it when testing outside the case or when you don't have the front panels connected.
It has a debug codes shown on the motherboard so it help troubleshooting.
The 30$ justify this difference.
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August 8, 2014 6:56:40 AM

Suztera said:
the pcie speed on that board isn't great.

Suztera said:
Overclocking is better on the extreme since it has a 12 power phase design.

Can you explain these two statements please?
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a c 79 V Motherboard
August 8, 2014 7:01:34 AM

The pcie speed when crossfire on the extreme 4 is x8 and x8 mode which is better than on the pro4 (x16 and x4)
The 12 power phase design is better than the 6 power phases on the pro 4 since power is distributed across more phases. This helps overclocking.
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August 8, 2014 8:29:15 AM

Suztera said:
The pcie speed when crossfire on the extreme 4 is x8 and x8 mode which is better than on the pro4 (x16 and x4)
The 12 power phase design is better than the 6 power phases on the pro 4 since power is distributed across more phases. This helps overclocking.

So I'm paying 30$ more for improved overclocking and crossfire, right?
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a c 79 V Motherboard
August 8, 2014 8:48:35 AM

Corprive said:
Suztera said:
The pcie speed when crossfire on the extreme 4 is x8 and x8 mode which is better than on the pro4 (x16 and x4)
The 12 power phase design is better than the 6 power phases on the pro 4 since power is distributed across more phases. This helps overclocking.

So I'm paying 30$ more for improved overclocking and crossfire, right?


yes. Overclocking will depend on your choice of cpu cooler as well.
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August 8, 2014 9:01:18 AM

Suztera said:
Corprive said:
Suztera said:
The pcie speed when crossfire on the extreme 4 is x8 and x8 mode which is better than on the pro4 (x16 and x4)
The 12 power phase design is better than the 6 power phases on the pro 4 since power is distributed across more phases. This helps overclocking.

So I'm paying 30$ more for improved overclocking and crossfire, right?


yes. Overclocking will depend on your choice of cpu cooler as well.

212 EVO.
Can you explain a bit more how does it affect overclocking?
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a c 79 V Motherboard
August 8, 2014 9:28:30 AM

Cpu cooler will cool your cpu. No matter how good your motherboard is good at overclocking, if you can't cool your cpu, it will ruin your cpu.
212 EVO is ok for mild overclocking. Ideally you want your cpu to be under 80 C under 100% load.
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August 8, 2014 9:43:53 AM

Which cooler would you recommend?

Hypothetically, if the cpu doesn't generate heat, how different will it be the overclock between the Pro4 and the Extreme4? (eg: "It'll let you push your cpu 0.2 GHz further)
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a c 79 V Motherboard
August 8, 2014 10:16:51 AM

The whole point of the 12 power phases is to reduce strain on the VRM meaning less heat thus cleaner voltage so you can have less actual voltage going into the cpu.
So it may require less voltage to run at a certain speed so you can then push the clock speed. Difference will vary. The cpu you get may require more or less voltage than other similar batches. It's based on a silicon lottery. If you got a good chip possibly it can push 0.2 GHZ further depending on the cooling.
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August 8, 2014 10:20:18 AM

Any recommendations about the cooling?
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a c 79 V Motherboard
August 8, 2014 10:41:09 AM

212 EVo is a good decent cpu cooler. You could do 4- 4.4 GHZ just fine. For higher overclocking, you probably want a more premium cpu cooler.
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August 8, 2014 12:38:43 PM

How much will the Crossfire's performance increase with the Extreme4?
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a c 79 V Motherboard
August 8, 2014 12:55:55 PM

Corprive said:
How much will the Crossfire's performance increase with the Extreme4?


average 10% performance increase if crossfire. Can range from 0 -24% depending on what games.
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August 9, 2014 3:09:02 AM

Someone told me that the Extreme3 is better price/performance than the Extreme3.

The Extreme3 costs 25$ less than the Extreme4.

Is it worth getting the Extreme4?
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a c 79 V Motherboard
August 9, 2014 3:13:26 AM

Extreme 3 is still fine. I would choose the Extreme 3 over the 4 if you thinking about the budget.
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August 9, 2014 3:28:35 AM

Which differences are between them?
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a c 79 V Motherboard
August 9, 2014 4:36:53 AM

Corprive said:
Which differences are between them?

The extreme3 has 8 power phases but that is decent enough.
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August 9, 2014 5:47:19 PM

So it only affects the overclock? How much?
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a c 79 V Motherboard
August 9, 2014 6:20:37 PM

Corprive said:
So it only affects the overclock? How much?


Not too much. Just go with Extreme 3. it is already a decent motherboard.
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