ASRock Z97 Killer vs MSI Gaming 5

BlueBoat · Mar 27, 2015

Titles says it all folks. Which one?

UPDAYE: Is there a difference between the Z97X Killer and just the Z97? If there is sorry for the confusion.

Archaic59 · Mar 27, 2015

ASRock Z97 Killer has 8 phase power VR...average. No SLI support. 2 wasted slots for legacy PCI. Only 1 pci-e 3.0 slot. 6 sata ports. Not a bad board but I recommend the AsRock Z97 Extreme4 over the killer. Has 12 power phase VR, support SLI and crossover. Has 3 pci-e 3.0 and 3 pci-e 1.0 slots. 8 sata ports. About same price.

UnderAttack · Mar 27, 2015

MSI Z97 GAMING 5 for sure
I use this on my new gaming pc, and it works great!
and it also support M.2 and get many gaming feature if you are looking for

Archaic59 · Mar 27, 2015

UnderAttack :

Your MSI board also has only 8 power phase VR and lacks many features of other Z97 boards making it just an average board. The AsRock Z97 Extreme4 I recommended above is superior to the MSI in several ways and a better choice for the OP. I'm glad you like your board but that does not mean it's the best choice for someone else.

BlueBoat · Apr 4, 2015

Archaic59 :

really?
http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Fatal1ty%20Z97X%20Killer/
It says sli, and more pci-e3.0 than one... i think you should read over the link
and if it is as bad as it says you are, then why are

Archaic59 · Apr 4, 2015

I didn't say it was a bad board. I said the Extreme 4 was better than the Z97 Killer and the price difference was very small. You changed the board to X Killer Since my original post and now argue my info was incorrect. Nice try.

MeteorsRaining · Apr 4, 2015

This may help you with your confusion:

Z97 Motherboard tier list

BlueBoat · Apr 5, 2015

Archaic59 :

Wait is there a difference with the Z? I was rushing the title in the first place so I didn't notice.

MeteorsRaining · Apr 6, 2015

Z97 Killer lacks SLI capability. Z97X Killer has that feature.

BlueBoat · Apr 9, 2015

BlueBoat :

MeteorsRaining :

Thank you, I was wondering, you seem like you know an awful lot about mobos. Do you think I should get the Maximus Formula or the Hero? Is the budget worth it?

MeteorsRaining · Apr 10, 2015

If you looked at the Z97 Tier list you'd see that Asus M7 Hero and Formula are in the same tier as MSI Gaming 5, there's reason behind it. If you're looking for a high quality board with all premium features like M.2, SLI ability, good VRMs and power phases for OCing, any Tier 1 Class B board will do the job just fine.

Now, The Hero and Formula do have some really good features for OCing and for audio as well, but unless you know you're going to utilize those, you will be wasting their potential, and your money. If you are dead sure to get an AIO for CPU and/ or GPU cooling, you can go for the Formula as it has that setup integrated in it's armour.

But I wouldn't consider anything higher than Hero for a motherboard personally, the money can be spent better in other parts. Comparing Hero vs Gaming 5 can get tricky, but for most part, as far as OCing is considered, Hero is an amazing board for that purpose, Gaming 5 is no less, but you will get an awful lot of tweaks with the Hero.

BlueBoat · Apr 10, 2015

MeteorsRaining :

Kay so I got you. Would Z97-WS be better than the Hero? And would you mind telling me (or leading me to a post) that describes what m.2, sata, and pcie is? I am a noob when it comes to that.

MeteorsRaining · Apr 11, 2015

Not really, you wouldn't need 4 way SLI capability, and in terms of OCing, Hero is better anyways. Give this articles a read:

PCIe: http://www.directron.com/expressguide.html

SATA is basically a connection to connect storage drives to the Motherboard. This is a great guide to learn about SATAe, M.2, mSATA:

http://rog.asus.com/308552014/labels/guides/ssd-guide-pci-express-m-2-msata-and-sata-express-the-differences-explained/

BlueBoat · Apr 11, 2015

MeteorsRaining :

I have heard that the WS had more higher quaility parts that more than make up for the lack of audio stuff(supreme FX I mean). Is this true? I am not a hardcore "OH I NEED EVERY KIGABYTE OF POWER MY CPU CAN GIVE ME, AHH THIS HOBOARD IS TRASH!!!!" (get the pun? hoboARD). I get this from linus and he says that he is currently using the WS in his system.

MeteorsRaining · Apr 12, 2015

The Z97 WS is currently around $250-300 in the US. The Hero will overclock better, has better audio, more tweaks for $100-120 less while still having all the stuff you require. Again, you wouldn't do a 4 GPU setup and so you won't need the WS. It does use high quality components but what's the point in having something you won't need?

BlueBoat · Apr 12, 2015

MeteorsRaining :

Gotcha, thank you!

MeteorsRaining · Apr 13, 2015

No worries, glad to help.

ASRock Z97 Killer vs MSI Gaming 5

Reputable

Polypheme

Reputable

Polypheme

Reputable

Polypheme

Champion

Reputable

Champion

Reputable

Champion

Reputable

Champion

Reputable

Champion

Reputable

Champion

Share this page