Help me choose the right motherboard for the build.

jdruwe

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Aug 14, 2012
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Hey

I've been working this summer and earned 1600 EUR (max budget ) .
I am using this money to build a good gaming machine.

Some things u might want to know (Extra info):

- single monitor
- 1920 x 1080 res
- Os + programs on SSD
- SLI in the future
- overclocking 4.5-4.7ghz
- I live in belgium and will use this shop: https://www.alternate.be/html/pcbuilder/circleView.html?cn=1&tn=BUILDERS

This is my build at the moment:

s24rba.png


Keep in mind that the prices behind each product are the lowest available (80% of the price I will have to pay :fou: )

As you can see I have the ASUS P8Z77-V as mobo atm but i am
not sure this is the best mobo for the build... (i know very little about mobo's :na: )

Here is a list of mobo's i've considered:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131830&Tpk=maximus%20v%20gene

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128544&Tpk=Gigabyte%20GA-Z77X-UD3H

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131821&Tpk=sabertooth%20z77

Share ur opinion and advice pls, thanks in advance!
 

Thermix5

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I've looked at the motherboards you've listed, and honestly I don't like any of them. The Maximus V Gene, is Micro-ATX. You have a big(ish) case, so your gonna want an ATX board. The second, Gigabyte. I used to own a Gigabyte board (2 months ago) and I honestly hate gigabyte's RMA service, and the reliability of the board I purchased was not great. Your best bet that you have there is the Sabertooth in my opinion, yet the fans onboard are a little loud. Check out the Asus Maximus V Formula, or if you wanna pay less, The MSi GD-65, GD-55.. I personally REALLY like the MSi Z77 Mpower that should be coming out soon for a similiar price as the Sabertooth with in my opinion more features. I am not normally a fan of MSi even though it is one of the big 3, yet they have some really good parts coming out. Another thing against the Gigabyte board, although it is cheaper, I find its UEFI BIOS harder to use than the Asus/MSi UEFI BIOS options. I prefer the Asus BIOS if you wondered.

Links to everything:

Asus Maximus V Formula: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131854
MSi Z77A-GD65: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130643
MSi Z77A-GD55: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130644
Asus P8Z77-V LE PLUS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131848
MSi Z77 Mpower: http://www.msi.com/product/mb/Z77-MPOWER.html
 

Smeg45

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Mar 9, 2012
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Change this to save cash:

- Drop the SSD. You don't need it. Put the cash towards better parts

- Forget MSI, its not as good as Gigabyte or Asus

- Consider an i5 3470 + H77 board to save cash. Yes, they are fast enough for what you want.

- Get a 7950

- Get a Coolermaster Storm Enforcer. Cheaper than that Corsair

- Get a Corsair TX 750 v2, cheaper (well it should be) than that HX.
 

Thermix5

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@smeg45 660Ti Outperforms the 7950 and its cheaper. I've always been an AMD fan but the 7950 is only good once overclocked. Can you explain why as well why MSi is not as good as Asus/Gigabyte? I definitely believe MSi is better than Gigabyte, especially with their recent products. Another thing, he mentioned he wanted to overclock, so the 3570K is definitely a good option.. If anything a downgrade to the 2500K would be a better option. Another thing, cases are a personal preference. Its like telling someone to get a Honda Civic instead of a Toyota Camry because the Civic is cheaper.
 

jdruwe

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Thanks for your respone!

Asus Maximus V Formula costs 300 EUR... isn't that overkill?
I am not a big fan of MSI...

I also prefer the Asus bios but i can't seem to find the mobo for me xD



 

jdruwe

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What is the difference between the P8Z77-V LE PLUS and the P8Z77-V ? (can i clock 4.5 on both easily?)
 

Smeg45

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Wrong. The 660 is a cripple compared to the 7950. Less memory and less memory bandwith. The 7950 can be OC'd in seconds even with CCC to smash the 660 apart. MSI is also pretty crap. It doesn't have the build quality and speed of Gigabyte or Asus. When was the last time you saw MSI recommended?
 

Thermix5

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MSi definitely does have the build quality of Gigabyte or Asus. They even Prime95 test their boards before they are shipped so no DOA boards are delivered. I've owned two Gigabyte boards and honestly I don't find them reliable at all. My wife has had the GD65 for a couple months now and its worked great. I also own a Asus Maximus V Formula.. MSi has the better build quality than Gigabyte, makes better looking boards, and offers unique software that no other company does. So honestly you can stop being a fanboy of Asus/Gigabyte/AMD and consider other options. If you have ever benchmarked BF3/Crysis 2 yourself on a 660Ti and 7950 you would realize that the 660Ti is slightly better, at least with the two cards that I tested. (I work at CanadaComputers). At first I thought about getting a XFX DD 7950 but i'm undecided on what to upgrade my 5950 to. I find that performance for value the 660Ti beats the 7950. (2-3%) Maybe it was my test bench that I was using, but I found that the 7000 Series does not perform that great compared to the 600 series. The only decent cards in the AMD line currently are the 7770 and the 7950. Also, I don't see Gigabyte with a OC Genie button, Asus has a ROG alternative.. But OC Genie is great for beginner overclockers or lazy people. MSi has all the same things as Asus.. Solid Caps, SFC, Hi-C Caps, Multi-BIOS, V-Checkpoints.. There is nothing wrong with MSi. You list almost no explaination in your arguement. Just saying that the 660Ti is a "cripple" compared to the 7950 tells me nothing. From my own information, the 660Ti outperforms the 7950.

Back to what this thread is actually about, the LE PLUS Asus board is slightly more expensive, and offers 1 more PCI 3.0 port, USB BIOS flashback (helpful if overclocking) 1 more SATA 3 (6gb/s) port, better audio chip, 2 more USB 3.0 ports, has an E-sata port, and 7.1 audio support.
 

Smeg45

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7950 would smash the 660 at Crysis 2, assuming you are not being bottlenecked elsewhere. MSI is still a runner up to Gigabyte and Asus. As for decent cards, I won't even go there. Then again, what do you expect from Canada computers?
 

jdruwe

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Wow i didn't want to start a war...
I think i will just take an Asus mobo but which one... (the plus one isn't available atm,delivery could take weeks)
 
The Asus V is very good reliable motherboard i would suggest if you can get either of these cheaper switch it other wise keep it mobo:GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128545#top

mobo:ASRock Z77 Extreme6 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157295&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-Motherboards%20-%20Intel-_-ASRock-_-13157295&AID=10440897&PID=3938566&SID=#top
 
As for the better over all card it's indeed 7950 the GTX 660 Ti consistently only beats a 7950 at 1920 resolution.
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/56090-nvidia-geforce-gtx-660-ti-review-23.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_660_Ti_Power_Edition/28.html
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6159/the-geforce-gtx-660-ti-review/20

Quote:
"As it stands, AMD’s position correctly reflects their performance; the GTX 660 Ti is a solid and relatively consistent 10-15% faster than the 7870, while the 7950 is anywhere between a bit faster to a bit slower depending on what benchmarks you favor. Of course when talking about the 7950 the “anything but equal” maxim still applies here, if not more so than with the GTX 670. The GTX 660 Ti is anywhere 50% ahead of the 7950 and 25% behind it, and everywhere in between."
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6159/the-geforce-gtx-660-ti-review/21
 

jdruwe

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-V: € 179,90
UD5H: € 224,90
ASRock Z77 Extreme6: € 179,90

So u suggest the -v? Reviews on the web seem good but it has less phases and because i know *** about mobo's i wonder if it will clock a 4.5ghz...?



 
Well there no way to Guarantee it every cpu is different but if your asking can the V support that o.c. indeed it can my cousin has V Pro and hes O.C. to 4.9GHZ 1.36V on that bad boy lol any those i mentioned could it has more to do with the cpu then mobo but the mobo does matter.
 

jdruwe

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What temps does he get and is the ASUS P8Z77-V (not the pro xD) also capable do deliver such a clock (considering it has the same cpu as the pro)
 
Well he uses a custom watercooling loop :lol: so kinda doesn't apply does it ?And yes the Asus P8Z77-V is pretty much the same as the Pro granted they did this with i7 it would be pretty much the same ;)
Quote: "Overclocking

Simply put, overclocking with the P8Z77-V is the same as it is with any other ASUS LGA1155 based board. It is always a predictable and unsurprising experience. Using default settings I was able to reach 4.4GHz simply by increasing the Turbo ratio. Getting higher clocks was as simple as going through the following steps: Disabling CPU spread spectrum, increasing CPU PLL voltage to 1.9v, and increasing our CPU voltage to 1.275. Once done I was able to hit 4.7GHz with ease. 4.8GHz was stable for short periods of time but the heat became too much as load temps hit 83c and continued to rise. So I settled on 4.7GHz. This gave me temperatures in the mid-70c range.

I do believe more can be achieved with the platform and there is certainly some information out there suggesting Intel may have made mistakes with regard to the thermal interface material underneath the integrated heat spreader. While I haven’t tested this, it does seem odd to me that you can maintain such low temperatures and voltages to about 4.5GHz and then each 100MHz over that increases the heat by such a large degree. The required voltages to achieve these clock speeds are fairly low as well and it seems strange that a cooling system which can handle Sandy Bridge-E CPUs falls on its face with these CPUs with so little voltage and relatively low clocks.

I’ve also been able to get the system to POST and run many tasks at 4.9GHz or so, but the heat load was just too high as well and I encountered throttling. So it seems the board is certainly capable, but either my cooling isn’t up to the task, or there is in fact something going on with these CPUs. As always, screenshots are included".

4.7GHz (100.0 x 47) DDR3 1600MHz

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Uploaded with ImageShack.us Conclusion

Quote: Dan's Thoughts:

My time with the P8Z77-V was nothing short of flawless. From the unpacking to the final tests, everything was the model of stability and reliability. All integrated features simply worked as advertised with no problems to speak of. Despite being lower end on the totem pole with regard to features, I’d hardly call it stripped down though it’s pretty close to being considered as such in the feature rich P8Z77 series. Of course when reviewing boards in the P8Z77 lineup, I expect nothing short of excellence as I’ve seen many other boards in the series. As a result, any new entry into that line must at least reach parity with the others I’ve seen. And the P8Z77-V does exactly that.

The P8Z77-V has proven itself in my mind as a capable enthusiast board in every way that counts. Good layout, excellent stability, solid features, awesome fan control, capable software, and the best UEFI on the market.

At the time of this writing the P8Z77-V can be had for around $184.99 (1 year extended warranty included) at Newegg and $184.99 at Amazon with FREE with Super Saver Shipping . As such I’d consider it an incredible value if you are looking to build an LGA1155 system that has a strong feature set, including wireless networking, excellent overclocking, SLI and CrossFireX support, and more. If you are in the market for a sub-$185 motherboard, you simply can’t go wrong with the ASUS P8Z77-V.

Quote: "Kyle's Thoughts:

Throughout my testing the ASUS P8Z77-V motherboard worked perfectly. The only time I saw any stability issues was when I pushed the processor too far when overclocking. OS installation and operation were perfect with the P8Z77-V.

I ran the ASUS P8Z77-V for 24 hours under our Torture Test running full CPU, RAM, and GPU loads with success. After that I put it in the incubator and the temperature climbed to a 42C ambient. I left it incubated running our Torture Test for 3 full days without issue. Surface temperatures of the PWM components were at 66C.

While ASUS has told us it will be making changes to the BIOS that will alert you of changes made that impact traditional Turbo scaling, these are not baked into this BIOS. A minor change, such as setting the memory clock to 1600MHz, will cause Turbo to scale to its maximum level and stay there no matter how many cores are loaded. Most enthusiasts probably do not mind this, but it would be nice to know these Turbo scaling changes are being made automatically and be able to turn these off should we want to. I personally think this is ASUS’ attempt to win motherboard benchmarks. Since ASUS has done this, we are now seeing Gigabyte do this as well and Gigabyte is now even scaling the BClk as well which impacts the processor frequency.

Overclocking the ASUS P8Z77-V was a fun time. ASUS’ automatic "OC Tuner" has come a long way since its inception, mainly it now actually works fairly well. After going into the BIOS, setting it to optimal defaults, I selected the OC Tuner option. It took the system 1 minute 31 seconds to get to a live desktop with its new overclock. It automatically overclocked the 3770K to 4.18GHz (41x102) with a 1360MHz memory clock with 9-9-9-24-2T timings.

Getting a 4.9GHz/1600MHz overclock out of the 3770K proved to be fairly easy, but getting it 100% stable proved elusive. Dan and I used two different CPUs. His was a retail purchased CPU and I used an Intel engineering sample. With a vCore of 1.275v and PLL at 1.9v, 4.8GHz was stable overnight. I spent all afternoon playing with the CPU and pushing the vCore to 1.4v gave me some fairly good stability at 4.9GHz, but after a number of hours the software would crash or BSOD the system.

The Bottom Line...

The ASUS P8Z77-V proved to be a great motherboard. Its price point however does put it at somewhat of a premium, but if you can utilize the headline features there is no doubt that it will be of value at $185. If you can use the ASUS Wi-Fi GO! Feature, that alone is a valuable feature. While it packs a lot of features, it does not have it all, which is understandable. No eSATA, no FireWire (not that it probably matters to many anymore), and no virtualization support, or WHS and WS2008R2 drivers. A couple of these could me deal breakers, so we thought it important to mention those here.

While we have not reviewed it, the "LX" version of this motherboard looks very attractive at $140 with Free Super Saver Shipping at Amazon if you can do without some of the higher end features and lacking PCIe slots.

The ASUS P8Z77-V was feature rich, stable under duress, and well appointed for almost all enthusiasts’ needs. You can easily build a kick ass gaming rig with this motherboard". Source: http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/05/24/asus_p8z77v_lga1155_motherboard_review/2
 

jdruwe

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So getting a stable 4.5ghz (aircooled) with the ASUS P8Z77-V could be easily done?
 

jdruwe

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"2 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots (x16/x0 or x8/x8) "

Does this mean i can run 1 graph card at full speed but if i go sli
1 of the 2 runs at a slower speed?
 
:heink: :lol: let me break it down to you. First and foremost, we have to start with the model that will ostensibly be the most popular, the P8Z77-V PRO. Like all ASUS PRO motherboards before it, this model comes with just about every feature that we would want in motherboard, but without breaking the bank. This full-sized ATX model features a 12 + 4 + 2 digital phase power design, three PCI-E x16 slots with 2-Way SLI / 2-Way CrossFireX / LucidLogix Virtu MVP support, DisplayPort/DVI/HDMI/VGA outputs, four USB 3.0 ports, two USB 3.0 headers, eight SATA connections, one Intel-powered GbE LAN port, 8-channel HD audio codec, etc. Single-band Wi-Fi 802.11n will also come standard, but Bluetooth support is missing on this model.

Like all models from this series, the P8Z77-V PRO features the new USB 3.0 Boost technology. Basically, some of the supplied USB 3.0 ports are courtesy of a new ASMedia controller that supports the USB Attached SCSI Protocol (USAP), which ASUS claim offers better performance than native USB 3.0 solutions, particularly at higher queue depths. Speaking of USB ports, one USB 3.0 port on each motherboard will feature USB Charger+ functionality, which can supply up to 1.5 amps and will allow you to charge your mobile devices quicker, and even when the system is shutdown.

When the system is off, you can also update the bios via the USB BIOS Flashback feature, which can read the .ROM file from a thumb drive and flash the BIOS all with the touch of one button.The P8Z77-V is a more entry-level model compared to the PRO, but not by much. It features a slightly simpler 8 + 4 + 2 PWM and one less USB 3.0 header, but otherwise it is basically identical to its higher-end sibling. ASUS have not cheapened out anywhere, and even this model comes with an Intel Gigabit LAN controller instead of a cheaper Realtek unit. You can manage the onboard LAN interface with Network iControl, which allows you to assign and control packet priority, traffic shaping, and bandwidth.

On the audio front, both P8Z77-V models come with the usual Realtek ALC892 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC, albeit now enhanced with support for DTS Ultra PC II and DTS Connect. Nothing to rival a discrete sound card, but every little bit helps, especially if you have an elaborate multi-channel speaker system connected to your computer. ;)










 

jdruwe

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Wow thank you for all this information!

So to conclude:


12 + 4 + 2 digital phase power vs 8 + 4 + 2 PWM
4 x USB 3.0 port(s) (2 at back panel, blue, 2 at mid-board) vs 2 x USB 3.0 port(s) (2 at back panel, blue)

Is it worth the 30 EUR more?

Considering i will overclock to 4.5ghz (does 12 + 4 + 2 PWM make such a big difference?)

Thanks for your time!
 

jdruwe

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So 4.5ghz could be done ^^? (this is my final question :p )