Motherboards for Intel i5 4690k or i7 4790k

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rupert413

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Dec 11, 2013
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Hi. These are the four motherboards I am looking at getting for my gaming pc.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=%2D1&IsNodeId=1&Description=ASRock%20Z97%20Extreme4&bop=And&CompareItemList=%2D1%7C13%2D132%2D118%5E13%2D132%2D118%2DTS%2C13%2D130%2D770%5E13%2D130%2D770%2DTS%2C13%2D128%2D708%5E13%2D128%2D708%2DTS%2C13%2D157%2D503%5E13%2D157%2D503%2DTS&percm=13%2D157%2D503%3A%24%24%24%24%24%24%24

They are offered as bundles at Microcenter with the i5 4690k and i7 4790k. Which do you think is better and why? I want to do some overclocking and I want it to have decent audio. Also, would and i5 be able to handle a bunch of mods on games like Skyrim? I know the two processors can handle vanilla Skyrim about the same but I was just wondering about extensive modding.
 
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sincreator
You can't gp wrong with the Asus or the MSI board IMO. They both get awesome reviews. I was actually considering buying one or the other for christmas, but they sold out. Then I upped my budget and grabbed the board I have now. MSI renamed the z97 GD-65 to the gaming 7 and added a few features.

In a nut shell, the MSI board has more sata 3 ports(6), and better onboard audio. The Asus board has arguably better networking with the intel lan vs. killer lan found on the MSI board. The Asus board also supports sata express, and the MSI board does not. The MSI board also has more USB 3.0 ports(4 vs 2 on the Asus board )They both support sli/crossfire in a two way configuration as well.

Here is a review for each:

MSI z97 Gaming 5...
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andy_Man

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Nov 17, 2014
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Go with the i5 4690k with the Asus Board.
For gaming the i7 will not give your much more performance.

I personally just like Asus board features more. They usually have plenty of fan headers, speeds can be controlled in bios. They do variable voltage overclocking so you can have an overclock that drops down when pc is idle. (Example, my i5 ivy bridge goes from 1.6ghz @1volt idle to 4.7ghz @ 1.2 volts when it ramps up).
Good customer support.
Etc
 
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sincreator

sincreator

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May 27, 2009
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You can't gp wrong with the Asus or the MSI board IMO. They both get awesome reviews. I was actually considering buying one or the other for christmas, but they sold out. Then I upped my budget and grabbed the board I have now. MSI renamed the z97 GD-65 to the gaming 7 and added a few features.

In a nut shell, the MSI board has more sata 3 ports(6), and better onboard audio. The Asus board has arguably better networking with the intel lan vs. killer lan found on the MSI board. The Asus board also supports sata express, and the MSI board does not. The MSI board also has more USB 3.0 ports(4 vs 2 on the Asus board )They both support sli/crossfire in a two way configuration as well.

Here is a review for each:

MSI z97 Gaming 5: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/Z97_GAMING_5/12.html

Asus z97-A: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/Z97-A/13.html

They both earn awards. :)

PS: @andy_man: I'm pretty sure the features you speak of are available from most if not all motherboard manufacturers now. I have the MSI z97 GD-65(MSI gaming 7) and all of those features are there.
 
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andy_Man

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Nov 17, 2014
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Variable voltage overclocking wasn't last time I checked, but that is when I did the research for my own build. (z77 board)
I just prefer Asus boards, if you ever have to flash their bios it's so easy. (Usb stick and hold a button) I had to fix my friends z77 MSI board, MSI website had no bios updates and all their flashing tools didn't work. (Had to use third party bios and tools)
 
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MrJagsterS

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Dec 26, 2014
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If you want great performance and excellent over clocking ability's with many more features, you cant go wrong with the MSI z97 gaming 5. You can also do SLI if you want to.

Be warned. don't get a z87 for devils canyon cpu chips as it will mess them up.
 
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