Looking for a good quality gaming motherboard ($120 or less)

alwyn_42 · Dec 2, 2015

Good day, I'm looking for a good quality motherboard for my budget gaming PC build. I'll be using an i5 4460, though I might upgrade to an i7 in the future. I also won't be overlocking. The budget will be about $120 or less, and of course the cheaper the better.

Now here are the choices I have:

Gigabyte H97M-D3H
Gigabyte H97 GAMING 3
Gigabyte H81M-Gaming 3

Asus H97M-E
Asus B85M Gamer

Asrock H97M
Asrock H97M Anniversary
ASRock Fatal1ty B85 Killer

I'm looking for something that can support the i5 4460 without flashing the BIOS, as well as the best "bang for the buck" motherboard that doesn't have unnecessary features. I'm also looking for a motherboard that can support extra fans, as it gets a bit hot here in the Philippines, so I wanna avoid overheating issues.

I know some of the gaming edition motherboards have some superfluous stuff, but I'm new to PC building so I don't really know which features are useful, and which ones are just to hike the price up.

Anyway, I hope you guys can help me out. This is the first time I'm building a PC, and I'm pretty strapped for cash, so I need as much value I can get.

Victorion · Dec 2, 2015

alwyn_42 :

About fan connectors. Usually the fans comes with a molex connector, that can be inserted directly into the PSU - so you don´t need to worry about running out of fan connectors on your motherboard. Usually motherboards that has 4 fan connectors are expensive

Gigabyte´s H81M-S2PV for $30 is a good choice to start.
Has 2 fan headers and does support overclocking via the UEFI. I think it´ll suit your needs just fine.

alwyn_42 · Dec 2, 2015

Victorion :

Thanks for clearing that out with the fan connectors.

Also, would I need a BIOS update if I wanted to use that with my i5-4460? I read somewhere that some boards might need a BIOS update for haswell refresh cpus, though I'm not sure which ones.

Victorion · Dec 2, 2015

Well first of all, is your CPU specifically titled Haswell Refresh. If not, there´s no worries.

If it is a Haswell Refresh chip (and not one of the chips from the original line), then you would need to update bios on all motherboards with 8 Series chipsets. It´s a pretty easy task though.

If you have a haswell refresh chip, and you don´t want to update bios, you would need to look for a 9 series chipset mobo (Z97 or H97), they are more expensive, i.e. Gigabyte GA-H97M-HD3 for $75. Thats good budget board too, it comes with a few USB 3.0 headers and sata 3.0, only 1 sysfan and its a bit crammed for larger videocards.

I

amir_1991 · Dec 2, 2015

alwyn_42 :

I think the best brand is ASUS so if you don't have problem with Micro ATX size I suggest you these models:
1- Asus B85M-G R2.0
2- Asus H97M-E
and if you need ATX size:
1- Asus B85-PLUS/USB 3.1
All of them supports 2x4-pin chassis fan

alwyn_42 · Dec 2, 2015

Victorion :

Yeah, it's a Haswell Refresh i5-4460 that I'm planning to get. That being said, the GA-H97M-HD3 looks pretty good. Though, I'm looking at the Asus H97M-E as well; looks pretty solid, and it's only a $10 difference at the shop where I'm buying it.

How about the gaming motherboard solutions? Are those ones too pricey for the extra "features"?

alwyn_42 · Dec 2, 2015

amir_1991 :

Hmm, the H97M-E looks pretty nice. And I'm looking for a Micro ATX one since I won't really have too much use for a larger board, plus it would also give some space for airflow.

Victorion · Dec 2, 2015

amir_1991 :

I think the best brand is ASUS so if you don't have problem with Micro ATX size I suggest you these models:
1- Asus B85M-G R2.0
2- Asus H97M-E
and if you need ATX size:
1- Asus B85-PLUS/USB 3.1
All of them supports 2x4-pin chassis fan

[/quotemsg]

Asus is good brand and they produce overall some excellent products. They are just on the pricier end. - Strapped for cash, I´d look elsewhere. I.e. the H97M-E board is a really great board, but you are paying for lots features, like m.2. support, which OP probably never gonna buy or use.

Asus B85M-G R2.0 // 8 Series Chip
Price : $65.99 Newegg

ASUS B85M-D PLUS // 8 Series Chip
Price : $73.00 Newegg

Asus H97M-E // 9 Series chip
Price : $104.99 Newegg

Gigabyte´s H81M-S2PV for $30 is the best budget buy.

amir_1991 · Dec 2, 2015

Victorion :

Asus is good brand and they produce overall some excellent products. They are just on the pricier end. - Strapped for cash, I´d look elsewhere. I.e. the H97M-E board is a really great board, but you are paying for lots features, like m.2. support, which OP probably never gonna buy or use.

Asus B85M-G R2.0 // 8 Series Chip
Price : $65.99 Newegg

ASUS B85M-D PLUS // 8 Series Chip
Price : $73.00 Newegg

Asus H97M-E // 9 Series chip
Price : $104.99 Newegg

Gigabyte´s H81M-S2PV for $30 is the best budget buy.[/quotemsg]

I think Asus B85M-G R2.0 is the best choice, I also supports DDR3 1066 and you don't pay for rai support or additional features

alwyn_42 · Dec 2, 2015

Oh, there's one minor problem regarding the H81M-S2PV, I don't think it's for sale in my country. lol

Though, I found the following that are for sale:

Gigabyte GA-H81M-S2PH
Gigabyte GA-H81M-DS2
Gigabyte GA-H81M-Gaming 3

All of which are way cheaper. Do any of those seem alright?

Victorion · Dec 2, 2015

amir_1991 :

Why would you buy DDR3-1066 ??

Gamers today buy DDR3-1600+ with lowest cas latency or DDR4.

Other than that, I think it´s going to be hard to find any DDR-1066 sticks at all in shops today, and if you may find some old sticks, they aren´t gonna be cheaper than the faster and newer 1600 sticks.

Victorion · Dec 2, 2015

alwyn_42 :

They are all good boards, but there´s a difference in price. Where are you located?

alwyn_42 · Dec 2, 2015

Victorion :

I'm in the Philippines. Upon checking the prices here are the costs converted into usd:

Gigabyte GA-H81M-S2PH - $60
Gigabyte GA-H81M-Gaming 3 - $59
Gigabyte GA-H81M-DS2 - $49

Fairly cheap compared to the H97s I was planning on getting.

amir_1991 · Dec 2, 2015

Victorion :

yes but it's not a new gaming pc!
maybe works with ddr3 1066

Victorion · Dec 2, 2015

alwyn_42 :

Gigabyte GA-H81M-DS2 will do fine. It´s sturdy board with sufficient ports for general use and gaming.
It´s a very tiny card - so that means 2 ram slots, and 2 pcie-slots - not meant for SLI.
On the other hand, it has multiple Sata ports, for connecting SSD drives.

alwyn_42 · Dec 2, 2015

Victorion :

alwyn_42 :

Gigabyte GA-H81M-DS2 will do fine. It´s sturdy board with sufficient ports for general use and gaming.
It´s a very tiny card - so that means 2 ram slots, and 2 pcie-slots - not meant for SLI.
On the other hand, it has multiple Sata ports, for connecting SSD drives.

Yeah, that seems like the top contender. I'm not gonna SLI, and I plan on using just 8 gigs of ram. Out of curiousity, what would you recommend on the higher end? Like for H97 chips?

Victorion · Dec 2, 2015

alwyn_42 :

Gigabyte GA-H97M-HD3 for $75, however it really comes down to what you need. Motherboards are important, but only by the features they provide, assuming the build quality is good and there´s no reports of common issues with the board.

ASRock H97M PRO4 is also worth to consider. It has a few more ports, and slightly lower in price.

Looking for a good quality gaming motherboard ($120 or less)

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