What motherboard should I get?

[Finnb]

Hi there,
I'm currently building a pc and am struggling to choose motherboard. I'm looking at the asus z87 pro at the moment as I like the features and it seems to be a solid board. The problem is that I'm relatively new to the pc building scene, never built one, never over locked and never owned anything but your cheap standard pc from the local computer retailer. I thought that it may be wiser to instead settle for something cheaper like the asrock extreme 4 instead?
My build thus far is as follows:

Mobo: asus z87 pro
Ram: corsair vengeance 8gb low profile
Case: coolermaster storm enforcer
CPU: intel i5 4670k
CPU cooler: coolermaster hyper 212 evo
Hdd: wd caviar black 1tb
Ssd: samsung 840 pro 256gb
OS: windows 7 64 bit
PSU: corsair ax 860
Gpu: still to be decided but either the gtx 770 or 780 or one of Amds new cards

It may be important to know that I live in Australia so things are more expensive here, (not sure if links are allowed??? But the site I use is called "pccasegear.com")
Any help you can provide would be much appreciated

Thanks
Finn

PS this build is entirely theoretical and feel free to make any suggestions you like

 

[Akashdeep]

Finnb, your confusion is well discussed here: http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1715556/asrock-z87-extreme-asus-z87-pro.html

Also you can check RamCity(since you are from Australia) whether they offer components in lower price.

 

[TheGoat Eater]

What will the main usage of the PC be used for - or what features do you really want to focus on with the new build? that may help narrow it down a bit more

 

[Avro Arrow]

I can tell you that the best prices in Australia that I've ever seen when helping people put builds together is skycomp.com.au which delivers anywhere in Australia and has free pick-up in Sydney. I don't know much about current Intel-based motherboards because in North America, they're much more expensive than AMD-based boards (and IMHO, not worth it, especially since I'm no fan of Intel). I do know brands however and ASRock is a very solid and capable board. If the Extreme4 is less expensive than the ASUS, then by all means, do not be afraid to use it. After all, ASRock started life as ASUS' OEM motherboard division and eventually broke away (hence both brand names starting with capital AS). I can make the suggestion that for video cards, the best one out there for value right now is the ATi Radeon HD 7870 2GB (I flatly refuse to call Radeons AMD...lol). I will however point out that if you do not intend to run more than one video card, there is no purpose whatsoever in paying extra for a motherboard that supports it. I would recommend 2 HD 7870s in crossfire to maximize your build and justify a Crossfire/SLI capable motherboard.

 

[Finnb]

Finnb, your confusion is well discussed here: http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1715556/asrock-z87-extreme-asus-z87-pro.html

Also you can check RamCity(since you are from Australia) whether they offer components in lower price.

Thanks akashdeep,
The differnece is I suppose my rig is about a $2000 budget? I like the idea of wifi go ad it is in my budget to splurge a little for a Better mobo. Would you advise to go for a cheaper one then, (the extreme 4 was just a suggestion I have no real preference?) is there any advantage with a more expensive mobo like the pro?
I appreciate the speedy reply
Finn

 

[Akashdeep]

Finnb, your confusion is well discussed here: http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1715556/asrock-z87-extreme-asus-z87-pro.html

Also you can check RamCity(since you are from Australia) whether they offer components in lower price.

Thanks akashdeep,
The differnece is I suppose my rig is about a $2000 budget? I like the idea of wifi go ad it is in my budget to splurge a little for a Better mobo. Would you advise to go for a cheaper one then, (the extreme 4 was just a suggestion I have no real preference?) is there any advantage with a more expensive mobo like the pro?
I appreciate the speedy reply
Finn

Yes, you can go for asrock extreme 4 with no hesitation.

 

[Finnb]

Thanks for the replies guys, the main use for the computer will be gaming. Avro, I do think that an sli/crossfire solution is possible and I will certainly use it in the future if I only get one card this time around. I'm waiting for the new radeon cards to drop before I make a final decision on that but what you suggested seems good. I have no qualms with asrock, I was origin lay going to go with the extreme 4 in the beginning but a larger budget for the build allowed me to splurge a little the extreme 4 is quite a whack less expensive, I just wondered if there is a difference between cheap and expensive mobos?

 

[Akashdeep]

Thanks for the replies guys, the main use for the computer will be gaming. Avro, I do think that an sli/crossfire solution is possible and I will certainly use it in the future if I only get one card this time around. I'm waiting for the new radeon cards to drop before I make a final decision on that but what you suggested seems good. I have no qualms with asrock, I was origin lay going to go with the extreme 4 in the beginning but a larger budget for the build allowed me to splurge a little the extreme 4 is quite a whack less expensive, I just wondered if there is a difference between cheap and expensive mobos?

Finnb, there is not much difference between those 2 boards.

Asrock Z87 Extreme 4 will be a good choice within your budget.

 

[Finnb]

Finnb, your confusion is well discussed here: http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1715556/asrock-z87-extreme-asus-z87-pro.html

Also you can check RamCity(since you are from Australia) whether they offer components in lower price.

Thanks akashdeep,
The differnece is I suppose my rig is about a $2000 budget? I like the idea of wifi go ad it is in my budget to splurge a little for a Better mobo. Would you advise to go for a cheaper one then, (the extreme 4 was just a suggestion I have no real preference?) is there any advantage with a more expensive mobo like the pro?
I appreciate the speedy reply
Finn

Yes, you can go for asrock extreme 4 with no hesitation.

Great, how about the extreme 6? Does that offer anything more? I thought I saw a wifi modem with it? Does this mean I don't need to buy a separate network card?
Thanks for the help
Finn
Oh and there is a $30 difference between them?

 

[Finnb]

Thanks for the replies guys, the main use for the computer will be gaming. Avro, I do think that an sli/crossfire solution is possible and I will certainly use it in the future if I only get one card this time around. I'm waiting for the new radeon cards to drop before I make a final decision on that but what you suggested seems good. I have no qualms with asrock, I was origin lay going to go with the extreme 4 in the beginning but a larger budget for the build allowed me to splurge a little the extreme 4 is quite a whack less expensive, I just wondered if there is a difference between cheap and expensive mobos?

Finnb, there is not much difference between those 2 boards.

Asrock Z87 Extreme 4 will be a good choice within your budget.

Alright, thanks for the help Akashdeep, the extreme 4 sounds like a good choice.
Finn

 

[Akashdeep]

Finnb, your confusion is well discussed here: http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1715556/asrock-z87-extreme-asus-z87-pro.html

Also you can check RamCity(since you are from Australia) whether they offer components in lower price.

Thanks akashdeep,
The differnece is I suppose my rig is about a $2000 budget? I like the idea of wifi go ad it is in my budget to splurge a little for a Better mobo. Would you advise to go for a cheaper one then, (the extreme 4 was just a suggestion I have no real preference?) is there any advantage with a more expensive mobo like the pro?
I appreciate the speedy reply
Finn

Yes, you can go for asrock extreme 4 with no hesitation.

Great, how about the extreme 6? Does that offer anything more? I thought I saw a wifi modem with it? Does this mean I don't need to buy a separate network card?
Thanks for the help
Finn
Oh and there is a $30 difference between them?

Extreme 6 has better and more features than Extreme 4.

If $50 difference is affordable for you, then you can go for 6, you will enjoy more features.

But what makes sense is about your budget.

 

[TheGoat Eater]

I was going to suggest that you look at the MSI Z87-GD65 GAMING but it seems the price there for MSI is a bit higher than the US ( when comparing like products, not $ to $). The GD45 GAMING would be worth a look as well as the GAMING line has great features at good pricing ( I have the GD65 GAMING)