Best z170 Mobo for overclocking?

KieranPCGamer

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Nov 4, 2015
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Alright guys,

i just want to know whats the best z170 motherboard for overclocking as i am going to be getting a i5 6600k as i dont need an i7 just for gaming, plus would 2x r9 390x bottleneck the CPU?
 
Solution
If you look at Z170 motherboard reviews, you will see very little difference in overclocking capabilities.
Yes, the enthusiast motherboards with Ln2 cooling capabilities might have higher limits.
But for a normal gamer most any midrange Z170 motherboard will oc as well as another.
You might look at the sound chips, or other characteristics.


The I5-6600K with an overclock is as good as it gets for gaming today at any price.
Few games can make use of more than 2-3 threads.

How high you can OC will be determined by the quality of your chip.
As of 2/16/16
What percent can get an overclock at a somewhat sane 1.40v
I5-6600K
4.9 3% when delidded
4.8 38%
4.7 70%
4.6 83%

And... 14nm runs cool. You will run out of safe Vcore before you...
If you look at Z170 motherboard reviews, you will see very little difference in overclocking capabilities.
Yes, the enthusiast motherboards with Ln2 cooling capabilities might have higher limits.
But for a normal gamer most any midrange Z170 motherboard will oc as well as another.
You might look at the sound chips, or other characteristics.


The I5-6600K with an overclock is as good as it gets for gaming today at any price.
Few games can make use of more than 2-3 threads.

How high you can OC will be determined by the quality of your chip.
As of 2/16/16
What percent can get an overclock at a somewhat sane 1.40v
I5-6600K
4.9 3% when delidded
4.8 38%
4.7 70%
4.6 83%

And... 14nm runs cool. You will run out of safe Vcore before you need exotic liquid cooling.

As to graphics vs. cpu, there will always be a limiting factor.
I am not much in favor of planning on dual gpu.
See my canned rant at the end.
If you are gaming at 1440P or 1080p then a single gtx980ti will be about right.
If you are planning on 4k monitor or triple monitor gaming then sli would be appropriate.
I would be cautious about committing to any high end graphics cards today. Rumors are that pascal will launch in May with significantly higher performance on a single gpu. I can't imagine that AMD will be left without a response.
If you must buy today, I suggest a EVGA GTX980ti. They have a 90 day trade up program in case pascal becomes available.

Here is my canned rant on planning for dual cards:
-----------------------------Start of rant----------------------------------------------------
Dual graphics cards vs. a good single card.

a) How good do you really need to be?
A single GTX750t1 or R7-265 can give you decent performance at 1920 x 1200 in many games.
Yes, you may need to be satisfied with less than high settings.

A single GTX970 or R9-390X will give you excellent performance at 1920 x 1200 in most games.
Even 2560 x 1600 will be OK with lowered detail.
A single GTX980ti is about as good as it gets for a single card.

If you are looking at triple monitor gaming, or a 4k monitor, sli/cf will be needed for excellent frame rates.
A single GTX980ti or Furyx will give good frame rates in many games.
Next year, it looks like single card performance will go up by 50%

b) The support costs for a single card are lower.
You require a less expensive motherboard; no need for sli/cf or multiple pci-e slots.
Even a ITX motherboard will do.

Your psu costs are less.
A card as good as a R9-FURY or a GTX980ti will need only a 620w psu.
When you add another card to the mix, plan on adding 200w to your psu requirements.
75w for the slot, 75w for an extra 6 pin connector or possibly more.
Here is a chart:
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

Case cooling becomes more of an issue with dual cards.
That means a larger and possibly expensive case with more and stronger fans.
You will also look at more noise.

c) Dual gpu's do not always render their half of the display in sync, causing microstuttering or screen tearing. It is an annoying effect.
The benefit of higher benchmark fps can be offset, particularly with lower tier cards.
Read this: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,2995.html

d) dual gpu support is dependent on the driver. Not all games can benefit from dual cards.

e) dual cards up front reduces your option to get another card for an upgrade. Not that I suggest you plan for that.
It will often be the case that replacing your current card with a newer gen card will offer a better upgrade path.
-------------------------------End of rant-----------------------------------------------------------
 
Solution