Need help choosing motherboard, chipset, no overclocking

rutledj

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Feb 23, 2007
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As the title suggests, I'm looking to build as fast a system that I can without overclocking. I currently have a EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 SC video card and don't plan on upgrading that. It seems to handle most things well. I only occasionally play Doom online. May get some newer games eventually but I'm not a big gamer

I was leaning toward the H370 chipset as it already has support for the faster USB connections. I already have SSD drives but wondering if a M.2 module might perform better. My current Asus z87 plus takes a long time to boot up and the AI suite to control fans doesn't work any longer after the last Windows update.

I will probably go with the intel I5 cpu. Open to any other suggestions. Main priorities are reliability and speed. Asus has been fine but wouldn't mind trying other vendors.

Thanks,
Rut
 
Solution
m.2 is a size format, not a performance spec.
It is about the size and shape of a stick of gum
There is a performance difference in the pcie implementations where the sequential speeds are some 5x better than a sata connection.
That is not as impressive as it sounds since most work is done with small random I/O.
You would see the difference in something like a virus scan.

H370 is fine if you will not overclock.
I would buy a Z370 based motherboard regardless. The cost difference is not that great in the whole scheme of things.
Here is a chart of the differences:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGA_1151

I might also wait a bit if you can for the 9th gen processors to appear.
They will have improved clock rates out of the box.
I5-8600K...
Can't do anything without a budget...

FYI, even if your aren't overclocking, you can still benefit from a Z series chipset motherboard and a K sku since the Z series motherboards pack even more connectivity and the K skus are often clocked higher than their standard variants out of the box.

But, if you don't need those features, I'd go with a H370 Pro4 and a Core i5 8500. I've used those two components in several business builds for my clients and they are excellent for the money. Now, if you want slightly easier use of the BIOS and better fan controls, I'd recommend going to an Asus Prime motherboard (like a H370-A). I've used Asus motherboards in my personal builds for years, and they are amazing. Even though sometimes AI Suite 3 and Aura Sync do have their issues every now and then.
 

WildCard999

Titan
Moderator
The speed differences from the M.2 (not NVMe) and SATA are minimal so if you already have those drives then there's no need to replace them.

What is your current system? Long boots could probably be fixed easier by a clean install and/or update of drivers.
 
m.2 is a size format, not a performance spec.
It is about the size and shape of a stick of gum
There is a performance difference in the pcie implementations where the sequential speeds are some 5x better than a sata connection.
That is not as impressive as it sounds since most work is done with small random I/O.
You would see the difference in something like a virus scan.

H370 is fine if you will not overclock.
I would buy a Z370 based motherboard regardless. The cost difference is not that great in the whole scheme of things.
Here is a chart of the differences:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGA_1151

I might also wait a bit if you can for the 9th gen processors to appear.
They will have improved clock rates out of the box.
I5-8600K would be the best I5.
Overclocking a K is a bit of a misnomer.
It mainly consists if increasing the all core multiplier in the bios to a higher than stock level.

Any of the "K" suffix processors will oc well, possibly up to the 5.0 level.
I would keep that option open if cpu performance is important to you.


 
Solution