Does Z97 have any advantages over H97?

Woody1999 · Feb 27, 2015

I will be building a new gaming and general use PC in the future, using a locked multiplier i5 4570, and I have a lot of choice over the motherboard. I would like to keep it in the £60-£65 range because I'm on a super tight budget and I would like to know what motherboard I should go for. Looking for ATX form factor, not Micro-ATX.

I know that Z97 can overclock and H97 cannot, but that is not important for me because of the locked processor. Does the Z97 chipset have any other advantages over its kind of handicapped little brother?

I could get this MSI Z97-GD65 Gaming board, for £64 (https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-motherboard-z97gd65gaming) or this ASRock H97 Anniversary board for £64 (https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-h97anniversary)

Which one would you recommend?

Thanks.

Woody

Suztera · Feb 27, 2015

Most Z97 will have SLI support. I believe none of the H97 will have SLI support.
You may also find extra features on Z97 like mSata, Sata express and M.2 slots.
ASRock H97 Anniversary board is fine for your cpu if you not looking for SLI.

Also the MSI Z97-GD65 no longer cost £64.

TechyInAZ · Feb 27, 2015

SLI and a few extra sata ports are the only thing.

I'd stay away from the Anniversary edtition motherboards from asrock, they are basically striped down h97 boards. They have nearly 0 features besides overclocking compared to b85.

So get the gaming Z97 board.

Woody1999 · Feb 27, 2015

Well I have a single hard drive, and will probably get a 256GB SSD in the future. Don't think I'll need the extra SATA ports. Crossfire could be useful, but I don't know if my 260X would benefit too much from having another one.

Also, I've just checked the price of the board - PCPartPicker lists it at £64, but on the Dabs website it's at £139.

I guess the main question now is - is the H97 Anniversary any good at all?

Woody

Suztera · Feb 27, 2015

Woody1999 :

H97 Anniversary is fine with the i5 4570. I would not bother crossfire R7 260X plus it not supported with H97 Anniversary .
Other alternatives:
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/parts/motherboard/#c=88,92,90&sort=a8&l=1000&f=2

Woody1999 · Feb 27, 2015

I will be case modding to incorporate an acrylic window and LED lighting into my NZXT H230 White, so the board has to look pretty decent. Would stretching to the H97 Pro4 be worth it? It's a helluva lot better looking.

Woody

Suztera · Feb 27, 2015

Woody1999 :

H97 pro4 is fine to use with a i5 4570 .Whether it is worth it is down to you for aesthetics.

Woody1999 · Feb 27, 2015

Fair enough then, it's done. The blue and black colours will contrast well with the rest of my build. Already got some BitFenix white cable extensions and will be ordering the case this weekend.

By the way, the build for anyone interested: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/PXBDXL

Woody

Suztera · Feb 27, 2015

Woody1999 :

Are you buying the XFX 550W from Amazon?

Woody1999 · Feb 27, 2015

Suztera :

Nope, Aria PC, why?

Woody

Suztera · Feb 27, 2015

Woody1999 :

Aria pc doesn't have any in stock.
Want to know if amazon will give you the new revision of the XFX TS550W or the old version XFX 550W.

Woody1999 · Feb 27, 2015

It says TS XFX 550W, is that a bad thing? I heard it was a very high quality power supply.

Woody

Suztera · Feb 27, 2015

Woody1999 :

No. It is a high quality psu. But the model number used with the TS 550W is the same with the old Core edition.

Woody1999 · Feb 27, 2015

Great. Thanks for your help guys. I've decided on the H97 Pro4.

Woody

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