Differences between Z87 and Z97 + Best choice for 200 and below?

swiftleeo · Sep 8, 2014

I have two questions.

My first question is what are the main differences between the Z87 and Z97 chipset(s)?

My final question being what is the best choice for 200 and under (give or take a few dollars) that is going to handle an i5-4690k or i7-4790k?

Note: I am looking at the Asus Maximus VII Hero board and it looks great but I feel like I'm paying a premium for the ROG gimmick... If there are any boards with most of the features with less of a price tag, please let me know.

terroralpha · Sep 8, 2014

z97 will have native SATA Express support. that's about it. the only potential problem with Z87 motherboards is that they MAY require a BIOS update to handle newer 4xxx series CPUs.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157503
this ASRock Z97 board is MUCH cheaper than the hero and has pretty much the same features. M.2 Socket 3 slot, 8 SATA ports, solid capacitor design, high quality MOSFETs, etc

feelingtheblanks · Sep 8, 2014

Z97 is kinda enhanced version of Z87 with brand new 10 gb/s m2 ports (and also sata express port) for faster ssd drives and support for intel's upcoming broadwell cpus. Well we still don't know if z87's will support broadwell or not though (actually there isn't any reason to not to support since the power department is exact same, but hey it's Intel and we all know how they act when it comes to new chipset...). There are also some optimisations here and there for drams and power regulation but the difference is reaaaaly negligable. But all in all Z97 is a better option, since it is tad future proof with guaranteed broadwell support and also the support for faster ssd drives.

About ROG... Well it's quite solid board, but you are right about the "gimmick".

MSI z97 Gaming 7 and Gigabyte z97 Gaming 7, for example, are as good as ROG Hero, at least. Similar build quality, similar overclock potential, similar onboard audio solution (msi and gb have better filter caps actually and msi has way better amp) and also same multi gpu support. Moreover MSI Gaming 7 looks a lot better imho if you have a fetish about the look.

So yes, unless you are an Asus fanboy and ready to pay more for gimmicks, MSI or GB Gaming board would be a better choice here.

Update: Also ASRock has some solid boards but i actually don't trust them, really, just because they shamelessly keep lying about their VRM design on their official website. They claim they use digital design while they keep using subpar analog/hybrid Intersil controllers.

spooky2th · Sep 8, 2014

The Z97 boards handle the newer CPUs better plus OC somewhat better too. And able to handle faster memory too. Z97 boards have the sata express and M.2 options which the Z87 boards do not.

That Maximus VII Hero board, is a decent MB but I would look at something like this. Its has been burned in for at least 68 hrs so you will be sure to get a good one with no problems. Plus some PCI slots for upgrades.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128722

This is the one I am looking at my self:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128703

terroralpha · Sep 9, 2014

@spooky, Z87 motherboards can handle ANY cpu that a Z97 motherboard can. all you need is a BIOS update. pretty much every decent modern motherboard supports flashing BIOS from a USB drive without even booting into the BIOS or the OS.

swiftleeo · Sep 9, 2014

spooky2th :

They both look very nice. Thanks!

I'm looking at this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130770&cm_re=msi_motherboard-_-13-130-770-_-Product

Is it any good? It has all the features I want and it's 50 cheaper than Asus. I kind of want the motherboard to have a red theme (I have a windowed case and OCD, so it's kind of a must.), so thats why I was taking a look at the Hero.. but if I can get a board like the one above in red, I'd probably be sold.

spooky2th · Sep 9, 2014

terroralpha :

I have a couple friends that purchased Z87 boards and both have major issues trying to run the new devil's canyon cpu's. Also, have read several threads here at Tom's where users have the same problems. Seems some boards are gonna require more BIOS updates.

spooky2th · Sep 9, 2014

swiftleeo :

spooky2th :

They both look very nice. Thanks!

I'm looking at this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130770&cm_re=msi_motherboard-_-13-130-770-_-Product

Is it any good? It has all the features I want and it's 50 cheaper than Asus. I kind of want the motherboard to have a red theme (I have a windowed case and OCD, so it's kind of a must.), so thats why I was taking a look at the Hero.. but if I can get a board like the one above in red, I'd probably be sold.

That MSI board is probably a decent MB. If it has all the features/options that you want. And at the right price, you might as well.

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Differences between Z87 and Z97 + Best choice for 200 and below?

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