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Looking for a good value motherboard for i7 4790k

Tags:
  • Overclocking
  • Intel i7
  • Motherboards
  • MSI
  • CPUs
Last response: in Motherboards
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October 1, 2014 6:46:34 PM

http://www.ncix.com/detail/msi-z97s-sli-plus-atx-96-970...

I'm looking at this motherboard for my new system, and I want to make sure I get it right this time. My CPU is an Intel i7 4790k (devil's canyon) that I intend to overclock.

Firstly and most importantly, will this mobo work with this cpu, out of the box, without requiring any bios update or ritual to cthulhu or anything? The last cpu/mobo combo I got, despite being advertised as compatible, was not without a bios update that I had no means of performing.

Next, I notice that a lot of motherboards nowadays let you charge USB devices even when the computer's power is off. Gigabyte specifically advertises this feature on their boards but I know that other brands support it too. Does this particular model support this feature? If not, is there a similar-quality motherboard at a similar price point that does?

Also, I cannot for the life of me find this on MSI's website, but what is the maximum weight for CPU heatsink/fan supported by the motherboard? I have a Zalman CNPS9900 Max that I want to use, which weighs 755g and comes with it's own back plate. Do I have anything to worry about?

Finally, overclockability. I'm not an overclock junkie, I'm more concerned with stability than achieving the maximum possible frequency in my chip. I know a lot of people are seeing 4.8 or 4.9 ghz out of their 4790k, but I'd be happy with 4.6 or 4.7 ghz. Will this motherboard and the previously-mentioned cooler be able to handle a 4.7ghz overclocked 4790k and keep it under 72c in a stress test?

Is this motherboard good for what I need? If not, are there similarily-priced motherboards that are?

EDIT:

After some investigation I've come upon a better alternative, the Asrock z97 Exteme4.
http://www.ncix.com/detail/asrock-z97-extreme4-lga1150-...
After more research the answer to my first 2 questions are yes and yes, but I still don't know about max weight. Overclockability seems to be pretty stable with this board from my impressions.

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October 2, 2014 1:05:31 AM

After even more investigation, no. If you're worried about weight, which can be a concern, you don't want either MSI or ASRock. Both tend to use thinner boards that are prone to damage from weight and warping, plus they seem to have a higher likelihood of heat issues when overclocking to any serious degree on both those boards. If you want a rock solid board that overclocks great, has no issues with weight and supports Haswell refresh out of the box (And even if it didn't somehow, which it does, it has ASUS flashback which allows you to flash the BIOS even with no cpu installed.) then you really want a Sabertooth or ROG board. The Sabertooth Z97 Mark 2 or Maximus VII Hero would be excellent choices and are superior to either the ASRock or MSI board.

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October 2, 2014 2:45:58 AM

The Most important thing you have not mentioned is your Budget and what size of motherboard you will prefer anyways i am giving you an ATX board z97 chipset Good OC capable and you dont have to worry about the weight of the heat sink on the mobo they are build strong.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($144.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $144.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-02 05:45 EDT-0400
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October 2, 2014 9:38:06 AM

My budget is 100-160$ (Canadian), so the Asus Hero is beyond my budget. For size, ATX. I don't plan to overclock my CPU to it's absolute hardcore limit, I'll be happy at whatever gives me a stable 72 celcius. If one board can give me a faster clock / more voltage than another and maintain that tempurature, I'll take that into account. As far as weight... I know my heatsink isn't nearly as heavy as some of the Noctua ones, but it's no lightweight either.
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October 2, 2014 9:54:18 AM

Motherboard doesn't gives you any type of performance in games on other stuff and also a good motherboard doesn't control the CPU temperature plus every board is strong enough for handling a heatsink either noctua or anything light i have not heard about any incident of motherboard breaking because of weight.

I will still refer the same board for you its 164$ in Canada.http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-ga...


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October 2, 2014 10:10:53 AM

yes asrock extreme 4 is also a great board but my first two personal preference is asus and gigabyte you can go with asrock extreme 4.
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October 2, 2014 5:03:55 PM

From reading reviews and comparing benchmarks, I'm still leaning towards the the Asrock Extreme4. Is there a particular reason why I should go with Gigabyte or Asus instead? If I do go with Asrock, are there are any surprises that I might have to deal with down the line?
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October 2, 2014 5:10:32 PM

candlemaster said:
From reading reviews and comparing benchmarks, I'm still leaning towards the the Asrock Extreme4. Is there a particular reason why I should go with Gigabyte or Asus instead? If I do go with Asrock, are there are any surprises that I might have to deal with down the line?


Not really the Asus and Gigabyte are the 2 most trusted and reliable brands when it comes to motherboard.
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October 2, 2014 5:32:25 PM

How about warranty or customer service?
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October 2, 2014 7:33:20 PM

A few links for you. Notice ASUS ranks 8 out of the top 10 boards, and way more highly ranked boards than any other manufacturer. There's a reason for that too. It's called overclocking and reliability. IF you want the best board in any given category, or a high end board in general, you buy ASUS. If you need to meet a budget or you want a particular color, you buy anything else.

Best boards of 2014:
http://www.futuremark.com/hardware/mobo

Most reliable hardware of 2013 as ranked by Puget systems (ASUS has 3 of the 4 motherboards that didn't have failures.):

http://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Most-Reliable...

Z87 Motherboard Charts: 23 Models tested (ASUS has so many models listed it's hard to tell if anybody other than Gigabyte in the #1 slot even makes the list.):

http://www.ocaholic.ch/modules/smartsection/item.php?it...

I could keep going for days, but you get the idea. And it's not just for any given year. It's year after year. And if you look at Amazon's best sellers profile for motherboards (And we all know Amazon sells more of, well, everything, than anybody else.) it's once again dominated by ASUS. That's also for a reason. There is a lot to be said for personal preference and eye candy though. Since ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte and ASRock pretty much rule the motherboard sales rankings, and they all make pretty high quality components, the biggest question may just be what suits you better.

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October 2, 2014 8:04:01 PM

Thanks for all the advice, everyone. I ended up ordering the ASRock Extreme4. The side-by-side benchmarks for it impressed me, and it had more rear panel USB ports than either the Asus or Gigabyte board which might seem superficial to some, but an extra 2 ports makes a big difference to me personally. Perhaps my next motherboard will be Asus, but this time I feel like the ASRock was the best choice for me.
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October 2, 2014 8:27:21 PM

candlemaster said:
Thanks for all the advice, everyone. I ended up ordering the ASRock Extreme4. The side-by-side benchmarks for it impressed me, and it had more rear panel USB ports than either the Asus or Gigabyte board which might seem superficial to some, but an extra 2 ports makes a big difference to me personally. Perhaps my next motherboard will be Asus, but this time I feel like the ASRock was the best choice for me.


Then you picked the correct board. Hope it serves you well as I'm sure it will. Good luck to you with your build.
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