Which MB should I use?

[GoldLama]

Hi all, I'm thinking about building a new system, and I can't decide which Asus MB to go for.

I was originally thinking about getting the P8Z77-V Deluxe, but I think that's just because I want the most expensive and it is probably hysterical of me to get it. So basically, here's my planned build and what I want from the PC.


- NZXT Phantom Full Tower case
- i5 3750 CPU
- CM Hyper Evo cpu fan
- 16gig RAM (Kingston Hyper X probably, not set in stone on that)
- Crucial M4 128GB SSD OS Drive
- Seagate Barracuda Sata 3 1 or 2 TB Storage Drive
- DVD Read/Write Drive
- Non-X-fire or SLI Graphics Card - I wont be going for something top end, probably a 6870 or a GTX560Ti, something in that price range; if the cost of the motherboard comes down substantially from the $300 or so the deluxe was going to cost, I could probably increase the cost of the graphics card. However I intend to go for a single card configuration.
- Case cooling (taking advantage of the Phantom's fan controllers with an extra 200mm side fan and an extra 140mm front fan)
- An FSP or XFX 750w 80 plus gold PSU (I'm leaning towards the XFX because I was told they're produced by Seasonic and so are better quality - I would get a Seasonic, but I'm not made of money)
- MB of some kind.

- So basically I want this PC to perform well under reasonable usage for games (Civ 5, Diablo 3, LoL)
- I also want the PC to last; I have gone for some more expensive components because I was told that keeping things cool, well ventilated and not under load stress is the best way for them to last (this is also why I don't want an overclocked CPU)

With that in mind, which MB should I get? I was thinking about the P8Z77-V, v-pro and v-deluxe all come with onboard WiFi and that saves me having to buy a WiFi card/dongle. However the Deluxe and Pro are both boards designed with SLI/X-Fire configurations in mind, and it seems that I might be throwing good money after bad, so perhaps the Sabertooth or the Maximus series are better suited?

I would welcome any suggestions/comments about which MB to use (and other general comments if you like), please comment away!

 

[Marco925]

The Sabertooth has that extremely attractive TUF branding which comes with a 5 year warranty. 2 years more than the 3 years you get with other boards. and it is fully featured as well. I would suggest the ASUS PCE-N15 Wireless NIC PCIE card with the Sabertooth. can't go wrong, they're like a rock!

 

[GoldLama]

Thanks - I was having a look at some of the ASRock z77 boards. They all advertise the gold capacitors for long life. I do like the TUF branding on the sabertooth, and the specifically designed cooling for the mb components, and a 5 year warranty is the kind of life-time guarantee I was hoping for!

Do you happen to know what kind of lifetime I could reasonably expect from a well cooled, non-overclocked MB? ASRock or Asus?

 

[THE UNKNOWN]

ASRock Z77 Extreme4

www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293

i heard onboard wifi is laggy but im not sure

 

[GoldLama]

I did have a look at the z77 extreme4 and 6 - is there a substantial difference? As far as I could tell the 6 had more room for SLI/X-Fire, and more Sata3 ports. Is there anything else I've missed?

 

[GoldLama]

I tried to have a look at the difference between the extreme4 and 6 - I was wrong on the extra Sata3 ports; the only difference I can find is the extreme6 has an extra pci-e2.0 port; they both have 2x pci-e3.0 ports though? That seems a big price jump for the chance to use a 2nd gen pci-e slot...

 

[THE UNKNOWN]

Just Pick as your need

 

[GoldLama]

Best answer selected by Goldlama.

 

[nikorr]

This topic has been closed by Nikorr