Should I get a Z or H Motherboard

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Tweed

Tweed

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Aug 14, 2014
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I plan to do graphic designing, video editing, and gaming. Adobe Photoshop, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Cinema 4D, etc. Call of Duty Black Ops III, Battlefront, League of Legends, Minecraft, CS:GO, etc. <- thats all I can think of for now.

And the CPU I choose will depend on the motherboard I decide going with. H-97 with i5-4690, Z-97 with i5-4690K, H-170 with i5-6600, Z-170 with i5-6600K
 
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Geekwad

Geekwad

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Sep 25, 2015
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With design and editing thrown into the mix, and CS being able to make great use of hyperthreading, I'd also consider the H97 with a Xeon:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H97M-E35 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($84.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($87.90 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($309.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Xion XON-560 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($53.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($89.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1050.39
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

It's a great way to get i7-like performance on a i5 budget, and a solid gaming performer too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usvHezHmCJ4
 
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Geekwad

Geekwad

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Sep 25, 2015
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This may be a helpful link:

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Z97-vs-H97---What-is-the-Difference-562/

Z vs H really may come down to (no matter which processor it may have; i5, i7, Xeon) if you want to have the possibility to SLI/CF your GPU in the future.....
 
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Geekwad

Geekwad

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Sep 25, 2015
2,368
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Haswell, in my opinion, offers better value for the performance. Skylake isn't significantly different (incrementally better, as opposed to drastically better), so if you're on a budget, then Haswell lets you spend more money elsewhere in the system.....for now. H is fine for single GPU systems, but if you do think a second GPU may be in your future, better to go with a Z board now (even if just a bit extra).

I chose a 970 here just because it's in the middle of the road, and a common starting point for 1080p gaming. Radeon (390 here) is a fine choice too, and often flip-flop on the advantage depending on the game or application. If you use one specific program or two that really requires a feature (CUDA or OpenCL, for instance), then the decision gets clearer, but for general use, and general use that evolves over time, it's often hard to pick a clear winner. Prices (promotions), existing equipment, and future expansion plans/resolution requirements all play a part.

As for manufacturers.....I've tried them all over the years, and have ended up agnostic. I look at features/specs of course, and build quality (and all manufacturers make a range, so it really comes down to price allocated for that part), but then after that often just choose on which 'look' I or whomever I'm building for wants.
 
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