Z97 Gaming Motherboard guidance needed

[Lycurgus]

I'm going to be purchasing the new Intel 4690k Devils canyon CPU in early June (hopefully it comes out then). And I need some help picking a gaming Mobo.

I'm looking at the mid-tier range, GIG gaming 5, MSI gaming 5, ROG Ranger, etc. But one thing to note is that I have a good sound card already, so all that marketing speak regarding the great on-board sound on gaming MOBO's doesn't matter to me.

Can someone recommend a good Z97 Mobo that is great for gaming, but doesn't necessarily have to be a "gaming" mobo?

 

[mc962]

Asus' ROG boards are the ones marketed to gaming. But you could get by with something like the z97-a if it has all the features you want. The cpu/gpu and having at least 8 gb of RAM are going to make the larger difference.

A budget would be nice, otherwise I could start recommending pricey boards like the sabertooth

 

[Lycurgus]

Mid Tier, $150-$200us or 120 pounds +/- 20.

Does Killer nik(?) make a difference. I have a wired Ethernet connection, and I'll be using it for gaming.

 

[mc962]

According to them, yes. After some quick google research: findings were inconclusive but pointing to the unnecessary/negative. Your internet speed is like going to have a much bigger effect than some "special NIC"

I don't know the exact prices where you are, so some of these might be more/less than I found, but here are some options.

The Hero is one type that people like, but you would have to stretch your budget. If it has features that you really want, then go for it, but you could do just fine with a lower board

I have a Sabertooth (Z87, but basically the same). It's also a bit pricey, but works great and is very solid and easy to work with. A cheaper alternative is the Gryphon if you don't mind using a micro-atx sized board.

If you don't have any huge attachment to the features in the boards listed above, then you can probably do just fine with Z97-A. All of them will have ASUS' easy to use BIOS will likely have enough slots for what you need right now. Boards like the sabertooth and the hero might overclock better (or in the case of the sabertooth have a better warranty), but they should all probably have all the RAM slots, PCI slots, and SATA ports that you will need. Unless you are a big overclocker then the bundled software is probably going to be one of the big differences (and a pci slot or 2)