Good Z170 board for 6700k OC

[jjphillips002]

I'm looking for a $120-180 for my newly ordered 6700k. I have a Corsair H100i V2 cooler, and I'm looking to do as much OC as I can.

My problem with my current setup is that my VRMs get stupid hot and throttle my CPU. I want to avoid that completely this time around. I was looking at the Asus Sabertooth with the option to put an 80mm fan in the back, but curious about other options.

 

[weberdarren97]

Part of the reason why your VRMs are getting too hot is because you're using an AiO cooler. Without the airflow over the socket, the MOSFETs are starved for air. They get hot because there's nothing to cool them down.

The best OC boards have at least 6 phase power delivery systems and also include MOSFET coolers that wrap around the socket.

However, having a good sized MOSFET heatsink is only half the battle. That heatsink still needs airflow, and that's where an air cooler comes in.

 

[jjphillips002]

Part of the reason why your VRMs are getting too hot is because you're using an AiO cooler. Without the airflow over the socket, the MOSFETs are starved for air. They get hot because there's nothing to cool them down.

The best OC boards have at least 6 phase power delivery systems and also include MOSFET coolers that wrap around the socket.

However, having a good sized MOSFET heatsink is only half the battle. That heatsink still needs airflow, and that's where an air cooler comes in.

This is mostly true, and I realize that. I have a fan blowing by them, but not on them. I once put a 80mm ON the heatsink and that seemed to solve it completely, but I would rather go for something a little more - I guess designed for it? Are there any mobos that have, like the sabertooth, fan solutions to spread air to these? Like https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-DDR4-Motherboard-SABERTOOTH-Z170/dp/B01ARORJF2/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1481226910&sr=1-1&keywords=asus+sabertooth

Also, wow, it seems that was on MASSIVE sale during black friday and now I'm hitting myself, haha

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: Asus SABERTOOTH Z170 S ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($179.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $179.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-08 15:08 EST-0500

 

[weberdarren97]

It's okay that you missed the sale... That's a completely overkill board anyway. I can't really recommend it if all you're going to do with it is overclock.

Compare my recommended Skylake overclocking boards.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Krait for overclocking?

 

[weberdarren97]

Krait for overclocking?

I threw it in there for a more budget friendly approach. Obviously, it's not going to perform quite as well as the others, but is much more affordable.

When OP mentions that his budget starts at about $120, I figured I'd fire in an option at that price point as well.

It's still a solid board that will overclock more than decently, but it's not going to be as extreme as the others.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

The ASUS is decent.

 

[weberdarren97]

The ASUS is decent.

It probably is the best out of my selected lot, but I don't think that the others would have yielded a particularly bad experience.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Krait never , boards are horrible. Other 2 are decent.

 

[weberdarren97]

Krait never , boards are horrible. Other 2 are decent.

Well then, looks like I have some more research to do. Thanks for catching that.

 

[jjphillips002]

Thanks for your input guys, I will definitely check these out. And yeah, other than OC the CPU, I might upgrade RAM or something to DDR4 way later. I don't even use the m.2 slot on my mobo now.

 

[weberdarren97]

You might upgrade to DDR4 later... Are you using DDR3 with your 6700K?

 

[jjphillips002]

You might upgrade to DDR4 later... Are you using DDR3 with your 6700K?

Yeah I haven't bought any DDR4 but I've seen that it's gotten much cheaper recently.

 

[weberdarren97]

You might upgrade to DDR4 later... Are you using DDR3 with your 6700K?

Yeah I haven't bought any DDR4 but I've seen that it's gotten much cheaper recently.

Hopefully it's DDR3L. Running DRAM voltages above 1.35V is dangerous to your CPU.

 

[jjphillips002]

You might upgrade to DDR4 later... Are you using DDR3 with your 6700K?

Yeah I haven't bought any DDR4 but I've seen that it's gotten much cheaper recently.

Hopefully it's DDR3L. Running DRAM voltages above 1.35V is dangerous to your CPU.

Good point. I'm seeing a lot of Z170 boards do not support DDR3.

 

[weberdarren97]

You might upgrade to DDR4 later... Are you using DDR3 with your 6700K?

Yeah I haven't bought any DDR4 but I've seen that it's gotten much cheaper recently.

Hopefully it's DDR3L. Running DRAM voltages above 1.35V is dangerous to your CPU.

Good point. I'm seeing a lot of Z170 boards do not support DDR3.

For your wallet's sake, just go with DDR4. we don't want that 6700K dying just because you tried to use DDR3.