Best Z77 mobo for CPU OC, NO SLI.

[irlwizard]

Hey I am after a very good and stable mobo that can overclock well, like the gigabyte Z77X-UD5 but with only ONE PCIe 3.0 Gfx slot. That way I will save some money on the overall system since I do not intend to run SLI in the future. Only two Sata 6Gb/s slots are needed.

It has to be durable and able to OC my components well.

Thanks for the help.

 

[abekl]

I don't think you'll find any higher end boards with only one PCIE slot. The manufacturers just don't seem to make them.

 

[irlwizard]

That sucks. At least the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard is on sale today for only $130.

But I will see what other people have to say first.

 

[animal]

you might want to check out AsRock's new motherboard. It can be found at Newegg for ~ $250 (includes shipping). AsRock's product page is http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.us.asp?Model=Z77%20OC%20Formula

 

[schnitter]

Have you checked out Maximus V Gene? Asus make amazing MoBos. If you look at top overclock benchmarks, 80% use the Rampage IV Extreme from ASUS.

Yes, it has 2 PCI, but its their cheapest ROG board. It is a Micro ATX board (very small) and yet they still fit it with 2 PCI. Besides, an extra PCI can be used for other things, not just video cards (sound card for example).

 

[irlwizard]

Woah that new AsRock looks hot! But my budget for a mobo is $150.

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

How about the ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ?

Yes, it's SLI capable, but for the price, I'm not sure that you'll find a better board.

 

[abekl]

That sucks. At least the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard is on sale today for only $130.

But I will see what other people have to say first.

That's a great board.

 

[irlwizard]

Yeah, the gigabyte has mSata... Why doesn´t AsRock have that on even their more extreme and expensive versions. Weird.

Edit: Is it possible to use software from other mobo manufacturers on any mobo. Example. If I find a disc, can I install the AsRock Xfast USB, LAN on a system that has Gigabyte mobo? Because the AsRock softwares seem good. I know you can MSI Afterburn with any system or graphics card. So why not mobo software...

 

[arzbhatia]

Do NOT get the ASRock OC Formula. It's a waste. Go for the Maximus V Formula instead if you're willing to spend that much. You won't get anything better. If you wanna save some money, go for the ASUS P8Z77 V-PRO. These two boards have amazing OC potential.

 

[irlwizard]

Do NOT get the ASRock OC Formula. It's a waste. Go for the Maximus V Formula instead if you're willing to spend that much. You won't get anything better. If you wanna save some money, go for the ASUS P8Z77 V-PRO. These two boards have amazing OC potential.

They are both too expensive. Said $150 is my budget. I´m not going for a OC world record haha. But thanks for sharing.

Like I said before tho, is it possible to use, e.g. AsRock software (not BIOS or firmware) on a gigabyte board?

 

[jaquith]

When you start a post with 'Best' then also post '~$200' GA-Z77X-UD5H then later state $150 as your limit ---> You are wasting folks time and ultimately aggravating them in the process.

For $150, the following:
$155 @ NewEgg the ASRock Z77 Extreme6 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157295
$115 @ NewEgg the ASRock Z77 Extreme4 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293

 

[arzbhatia]

They are both too expensive. Said $150 is my budget. I´m not going for a OC world record haha. But thanks for sharing.

Like I said before tho, is it possible to use, e.g. AsRock software (not BIOS or firmware) on a gigabyte board?

Go for the Extreme6 then

 

[irlwizard]

When you start a post with 'Best' then also post '~$200' GA-Z77X-UD5H then later state $150 as your limit ---> You are wasting folks time and ultimately aggravating them in the process.

For $150, the following:
$155 @ NewEgg the ASRock Z77 Extreme6 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157295
$115 @ NewEgg the ASRock Z77 Extreme4 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293

You are right, I am sorry if I wasted peoples time. What I meant by using the UD5H as an example was... I am looking for quality similar the the UD5 but I do not want to pay for extra SLI slots that I won´t be using. Assuming that a mobo with that or better quality but less SLI slots would be around $110-150.

Will clerify in future topics, just wanted to avoid a wall of text but the first, generalised post caused confusion instead. Sorry.

 

[jaquith]

No problem.

Most Z77 MOBO's in your price range are going to have SLI support, the cost from nVidia for a BIOS Key (SLI support) isn't too exorbitant.