Looking for an 1150 board with good OC and crossfire support

[area51wolf]

Hi, i will be upgrading to a 4690k and i will be overclocking the chip. Also i would like the pci-e slots to run at least in 8x mode when in crossfire. im new to intel so i dont really know what to look for.
thanks

 

[DonkeyOatie]

ASRock Fatal1ty Z97X Killer, will support OC and x8 + x8 SLI/Crossfire inexpensively.

 

[Math Geek]

i like the msi z97 gaming 5. not overly expensive but priced about right.

though the fatality z97x killer above me is a solid board as well and cheaper by about $20 i believe

 

[area51wolf]

this may sound a bit picky but im looking for a little less red and more black haha. That board does suit my needs but it would look completely out of place in my current build. current builds colour scheme is white, black. but i dont mind a little bit of red or small amounts of other colours

hopefully you understand haha

 

[area51wolf]

oh my budget is $200 australian dollars

 

[babernet_1]

ASUS Z97-A

 

[geofelt]

To overclock a "K" you will want a Z97 based motherboard.

Planning for sli or cf will add cost.
Is there really a need for dual cards?
For most, playing on a single monitor(excepting 4k) a good single card will do the job, and there are stronger single cards coming in the future.

If you will plan for dual cards, you will want a full ATX motherboard so there can be some separation between the X16 graphics slots to allow extra cooling for the top card.

Past that, all brands are good and will do the job.
Pick your favorite brand.
Here is an ASUS Z97-E for example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132287

All such motherboards will overclock to the same conservative limits.
No need for an expensive enthusiast version which caters to record seeking overclockers.

I have become a bit jaded on the subject of haswell cooling for overclocking.
How high you can OC is firstly determined by your luck in the bin lottery.
I had high expectations from the Devil's canyon parts and their better thermals.
I found out that the thermals really do not matter unless, perhaps, you are a competitive overclocker.
Haswell runs quite cool, that is, until you raise the voltage past 1.25v or so.
Once you go past 1.3v, then you really do need very good cooling to keep stress loads under say 85c.
But, the consensus is that voltages higher than 1.30 are not a good thing for 24/7 usage.
I have been unable to find any official Intel recommendation on what is a safe vcore limit.
If you are an enthusiast, you can go higher.
Even if you can handle the heat, how much do you really need that extra multiplier from say 4.4 to 4.6?
My thought is that it is better to use the exotic cooling funds for a quieter and less expensive air cooler.
I suggest a good tower air cooler like noctua or phanteks with 140mm fans.

 

[Math Geek]

ASUS Z97-A

exactly what came to mind when you said black.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Black MOTHERBOARD.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H-BK ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($135.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $135.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-01 11:59 EST-0500

 

[area51wolf]

ASUS Z97-A

cheers. the heatsinks put me off a little a first but ill get used to them.

thanks for the help everyone

 

[Tradesman1]

Yep, the Z97-A is the best I've worked w/ in that price range, have 7 builds with it and all the clients are thrilled with it, OCs well, good BIOS, runs cool and handles DRAM well

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Z97 AR.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: Asus Z97-AR ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($152.82 @ Amazon)
Total: $152.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-01 12:05 EST-0500

 

[Math Geek]

^^^ love the storm trooper, if it comes with the board, i'll order 2 right now

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Comes with 2 Troopers.....lol

 

[area51wolf]

Black MOTHERBOARD.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H-BK ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($135.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $135.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-01 11:59 EST-0500

Z97 AR.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: Asus Z97-AR ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($152.82 @ Amazon)
Total: $152.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-01 12:05 EST-0500

love the silver on that board but sadly no one stocks it in Aus and the Gigabyte board that you posted earlier is $205 over here