Considering a Maximus motherboard. Which one in the $225 range?

[Bibbit]

I need a motherboard and memory to go with the GTX 760 and i7 4770 I already have. I am thinking ASUS Maximus VI series, but can't decide on the Gene, Hero, or possibly an even more expensive one. I am wondering about the onboard sound on the boards. I have an SB X-Fi, but I've read the sound on the Gene is good enough to save the slot the X-Fi uses and leave out the X-Fi. The Hero also has the FX sound, but I'm not sure the Hero is as good with headphones. Of course, as my son points out, there are other ASUS boards that are not ROG, and there's the m-itx Impact. I've had lots of success with ASUS, which I why I mention them.

I am also leaning towards 16GB of G.Skill memory, but that's not set in stone.

If anybody has experience with these parts, or advice, my son (and I) would appreciate it.

 

[brarboy]

i think your topics might be covered in this article: http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1811688/asus-maximus-gene-hero.html
If you have any other question, you are always welcome.

 

[genome852]

I got the Hero yesterday. I've been using sound cards for 8+ years instead of onboard audio, but onboard has come very far. It actually sounds pretty damn good on the Hero (using Beyer DT770). No PCI slots for my sound card, but I don't care much at this point.

One of the issues I've had with every sound card in the past is EM interference, whenever frame rates got high or the GPU was under heavy load I would hear a slight buzzing noise with decent headphones. This has happened on the past three systems that had completely different components. Yet, I do not have this problem with the latest Realtek chips, and the Hero's audio solution is quite perfect in this regard (fully shielded + separate ground), though an external or shielded soundcard should work just as well.

I would still use the X-fi since you have it anyways, and do a comparison. Audio difference between onboard and sound card is not nearly as large as it used to be, though it also depends on the quality of your headphones. If you have headphones that cost hundreds of dollars it makes sense to start looking at other parts of the chain for further audio improvement.

 

[brarboy]

I got the Hero yesterday. I've been using sound cards for 8+ years instead of onboard audio, but onboard has come very far. It actually sounds pretty damn good on the Hero (using Beyer DT770). No PCI slots for my sound card, but I don't care much at this point.

One of the issues I've had with every sound card in the past is EM interference, whenever frame rates got high or the GPU was under heavy load I would hear a slight buzzing noise with decent headphones. This has happened on the past three systems that had completely different components. Yet, I do not have this problem with the latest Realtek chips, and the Hero's audio solution is quite perfect in this regard (fully shielded + separate ground), though an external or shielded soundcard should work just as well.

I would still use the X-fi since you have it anyways, and do a comparison. Audio difference between onboard and sound card is not nearly as large as it used to be, though it also depends on the quality of your headphones.

first of all congrats on your new hardware.
I agree with you on interference topic. I have seen number of people complaining about that and it looks as if it has become common issue for sound cards. Hero's onboard sound is pretty sweet though than most of the other boards'. So i hope you will enjoy new ROG features that ASUS has to offer. Cheers dude

 

[Bibbit]

Well, I didn't get any emails saying there were replies, so I only just now checked the post. Thanks for the replies. I am going to get the Gene, I think. I can get a returned one about 15% off, so I'll give it a try. My nice PC speakers died, so until I have good ones again I'll just stick with the onboard sound (unless my headphones don't like it). I've been tempted to return my GTX760 for the PNY 4GB GTX770 that's on sale, but I guess I should give the 760 a try. It's fun building a new rig, but deciding on parts ain't always easy, unless your pockets are deep.

 

[brarboy]

Well, I didn't get any emails saying there were replies, so I only just now checked the post. Thanks for the replies. I am going to get the Gene, I think. I can get a returned one about 15% off, so I'll give it a try. My nice PC speakers died, so until I have good ones again I'll just stick with the onboard sound (unless my headphones don't like it). I've been tempted to return my GTX760 for the PNY 4GB GTX770 that's on sale, but I guess I should give the 760 a try. It's fun building a new rig, but deciding on parts ain't always easy, unless your pockets are deep.

gene is board with bit smaller factor than hero, but isn't far behind hero in any way. Will provide you most of the features like Asus Hero. And i really hope onboard sound to give you some better and smooth experience in place of your sound card. It would be better deal to have gtx 770 4gb in regards for gtx 760 mid-gaming level gpu. Anyway good luck mate for your build

 

[Bibbit]

Well, I didn't get any emails saying there were replies, so I only just now checked the post. Thanks for the replies. I am going to get the Gene, I think. I can get a returned one about 15% off, so I'll give it a try. My nice PC speakers died, so until I have good ones again I'll just stick with the onboard sound (unless my headphones don't like it). I've been tempted to return my GTX760 for the PNY 4GB GTX770 that's on sale, but I guess I should give the 760 a try. It's fun building a new rig, but deciding on parts ain't always easy, unless your pockets are deep.

gene is board with bit smaller factor than hero, but isn't far behind hero in any way. Will provide you most of the features like Asus Hero. And i really hope onboard sound to give you some better and smooth experience in place of your sound card. It would be better deal to have gtx 770 4gb in regards for gtx 760 mid-gaming level gpu. Anyway good luck mate for your build

Thanks. My not too long term plan is to put the GENE and the 760 (or possibly 770) in another box for my son (which he wants to customize), and build another PC for me. I'll get another SSD to go with all my mechanical drives (which I am re-purposing since I don't need most for work anymore), another GPU, and mobo, and CPU, and memory. He's finally old enough for us to have fun with gaming rigs, so the tax "refund" is going to gaming rigs and a dirt bike. It should be a cool spring.

 

[brarboy]

Well, I didn't get any emails saying there were replies, so I only just now checked the post. Thanks for the replies. I am going to get the Gene, I think. I can get a returned one about 15% off, so I'll give it a try. My nice PC speakers died, so until I have good ones again I'll just stick with the onboard sound (unless my headphones don't like it). I've been tempted to return my GTX760 for the PNY 4GB GTX770 that's on sale, but I guess I should give the 760 a try. It's fun building a new rig, but deciding on parts ain't always easy, unless your pockets are deep.

gene is board with bit smaller factor than hero, but isn't far behind hero in any way. Will provide you most of the features like Asus Hero. And i really hope onboard sound to give you some better and smooth experience in place of your sound card. It would be better deal to have gtx 770 4gb in regards for gtx 760 mid-gaming level gpu. Anyway good luck mate for your build

Thanks. My not too long term plan is to put the GENE and the 760 (or possibly 770) in another box for my son (which he wants to customize), and build another PC for me. I'll get another SSD to go with all my mechanical drives (which I am re-purposing since I don't need most for work anymore), another GPU, and mobo, and CPU, and memory. He's finally old enough for us to have fun with gaming rigs, so the tax "refund" is going to gaming rigs and a dirt bike. It should be a cool spring.

that would make you a cool dad to him. Looking at modern games, you/he will be able to play on gtx 760 with medium to high settings depending on resolution of your monitor. If you are looking out for better card in future, just stick to gtx 760 for now and spend well on your next build. Enjoy for the most