Gigabyte Z170 ultra gaming

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deevam

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Aug 24, 2016
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Hi
I am building a desktop with the i7 6700k.
I am confused about the selection of motherboards because of a huge choice. I have narrowed down the manufacturer to Gigabyte.This is because of the Intel Alpine Ridge Controller.
Initially I was going to go with Gigabyte Z170 Gaming 7 EU but the price of this has gone up significantly. So now I was looking at the newer model Z170x Ultra Gaming or G1 sniper.
http://uk.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5808#ov Ultra Gaming
http://uk.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5564#ov G1 Sniper

Ultra gaming is the more expensive and newer model with a U2 connector.It's also Thunderbolt 3 certified(don't know if it is any use to me yet) but the audio codec is an older one: the ALC 892.
G1 Sniper on the other hand is slightly cheaper without a U2 connector and a Thunderbolt 3 cert but has a better audio codec:the ALC 1150.

At the moment I can get a better deal on Ultra Gaming as there is offer of free Hyper 212x cooler which will bring the price equal to G1 sniper.
Computer would be used for gaming and normal desktop operations. I plan to overclock up to 4.5 or 4.6, whatever I can manage with air cooler.

Should I be concerned with Audio codecs or not? I do listen to music on Pc.
Am I wrong to lean towards alpine ridge controller?
So can you guys help me to select the motherboard. If you have suggestions for other brands in the range of £140-160, can you please suggest


P.S. Gigabyte is giving free USB 3.1 front bay with type c with Ultra Gaming.

 
Solution
notlim981
Onboard sound has gotten significantly better over time so you shouldn't be concerned with that. And as you plan to OC you should definitely go with a good third party heat sink, the Hyper 212x is a good one, so balancing all that the way to go is Ultra Gaming because of the combo MB+Hyper 212.
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notlim981

notlim981

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Jun 8, 2012
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Onboard sound has gotten significantly better over time so you shouldn't be concerned with that. And as you plan to OC you should definitely go with a good third party heat sink, the Hyper 212x is a good one, so balancing all that the way to go is Ultra Gaming because of the combo MB+Hyper 212.
 
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deevam

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Aug 24, 2016
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Thanks notlim981.
So I should not be concerned with the audio codec.
The other question is that Ultra gaming and even the more expensive Designare has only one internal USB 3.0 header. Gigabyte is offering free Front bay USB 3.1. Would it connect to the usb 3.0 header or sata express.
The case I am going to use has 2 front usb 3.0 ports. Would I be able to use both ie the ones on the case and the front bay supplied by Gigabyte or would I have to discard one of them.
 
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deevam

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Aug 24, 2016
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notlim981, I was thinking to post this in the cpu forum. Since you are cpu expert, I think you may be able to help me on this.
I am going with i7 6700k. I don't do any video rendering or other 3d applications. Main use will be gaming, some usuall desktop work, internet browsing. My brother is going to use this pc for programming and coding.

Would I get any advantage from i7 6700k or i5 6600k would be enough for me. If there is any performance drop then I would keep the i7
 
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notlim981

notlim981

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If you're only gaming then an i7 6700K is gonna be too much for you, even the i5 6600k, I'd go with an i5 6600. It's a good CPU, non overclockable, however it has a lower TDP and has Intel Turbo Boost,will handle your tasks just fine.
 
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deevam

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Aug 24, 2016
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Thanks. The reason I am going with the K version is that I want to learn the overclocking. So from your answer I gather that i7 won't give me any advantange over i5.
So this is my final list
i5 6600k with Hyper 212x cooler
Gigabyte z170x Ultra Gaming
Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB DDR4-3200
EVGA GQ series 750W Gold semi modular.
GTX 1060( Have to decide between EVGA and MSI)
Already have Samsung Evo 850 ssd and Western Digital blue hdd, dvd writer and CiT Spectre case(I know it is not that good) I have plan to get Thermaltake Chaser A71 Gaming Tower later on.

I am thinking to spend the money I will save by downgrading the processor on G.Skill Ripjaws V Black 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-28800 3600MHz Dual Channel Kit which is £50 more.
 
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deevam

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Aug 24, 2016
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Now I have found a good deal (£130 for a Gaming 7 EU) and it came up trumps. So I think this thread had no effect on me at all apart from the CPU!!!

Thanks for all your help everyone!
 
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