gigabyte vs asrock

[gilsport]

Got myself:
Crosair vengeance pro 2400mhz 8gb x 2
Samsung evo 840 256gb SSD
I5 4690k

What motherboard should I buy?

Gigabyte z97
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128709&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=6146996&SID=lgn8noidwmuq

Or
Asrock z97
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157503&nm_mc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r&cm_mmc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r-_-Intel+Motherboards-_-ASRock-_-N82E16813157503&scpid=7&scid=scsho6175932


I want my pc for. Not sure if I will overclock it....
What do you say?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Usually I'd say that the Gigabyte board is better when compared to ASRock, but in this case considering the all Japanese capacitors and overall quality, I think maybe it's a tie or just slightly advantage to the ASRock board. If you plan to overclock though or have any plans to use a heavy tower cooler on the cpu, then go with the Gigabyte board as the ASRock boards are all a bit thin in comparison to Gigabyte and Asus and tower coolers can be quite heavy. Cheap or thin boards won't offer good support and may warp or break over time. Stay away from MSI entirely.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Actually, both boards are ok for a medium build. If you plan to do any serious overclocking I'd invest in something a little higher up the food chain.

 

[Tradesman1]

Of the two I'd go with the Rock, though would prefer the Asus Z97-A in that price range, great mobo

 

[gilsport]

Thanks for the replay.
I never over clocked my rig before. So I am not sure I will do it in the future but I like to keep my options....

According to toms hardware article asrock is the best option.
Why everyone like asrock so much and not gigabyte which is a good manufacture of mobos?

 

[Tradesman1]

I know I only build on three, Asus the Rock and GB...and among those three I have my own favorites depending on chipset make, Asus is normally #1, though the Rock was for the 1155 mobos, on AMD build I look to Asus then GB, but 1150, I look Asus then Rock and GB last, at present The Rock seems a little better

 

[Darkbreeze]

From what I've seen, Asus boards get consistently better reviews on all the major tech sites for almost all cpu categories. Generally due to a higher quality of components and the inclusion of relevant tech as well as a better customer service experience. But, maybe I'm not reading ALL the reviews and I probably don't have as much personal experience with a variety of the new boards as Tradesman1. Consensus among respected builders though seems to be you cannot go wrong with an ASUS motherboard purchase. Sure, you always take the chance of getting a bad apple out of the barrel, with any brand, but it's much less likely.

 

[gilsport]

Hi
According to toms hardware
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/mainstream-gaming-z97-motherboard,3824.html

I should go with asrock
What do you think?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Any of those three boards (Counting the ASUS Z97-A from the same category.) are good choices, you just have to keep in mind that what you see on the test bench after a single round of use isn't necessarily what you're going to see down the road after it's been around the block a couple of times. To my experience and that of the majority of people I've had conversations regarding motherboards, like this conversation, ASUS is pretty much always at the top of the pack and you rarely see anybody raising major complaints about their ASUS board. Sure, not everybody is going to give any particular component a glowing review, but for the most part ASUS edges out the rest of the pack.

That being said, ASRock has had a lot of recent improvement in the quality of their components, so I won't knock them at all. Whether they continue to show that consistently remains to be seen. Also, I've personally had much better experiences with ASUS customer service when it was necessary than what I've had with ASRock. And I've had to use both on more than one occasion. I still like to get the opinions of others with some level of expertise though, regardless of what I THINK I know about a product and so am often asking other members around here who are in the know for their opinions. Just keep in mind that's exactly what they are. One guy will tell you the Mustang is a better car while another guy will swear by the Camaro. Keep a grain of salt handy to take it with.

 

[Tradesman1]

A grain of salt, the Edsel

 

[Darkbreeze]

A grain of salt, the Edsel

Ha! He said Edsel. That's the sh.., well you know.

 

[Tradesman1]

..............

 

[gilsport]

I thought about asrock because of the m.2 feature

Speaking of m.2 ..... Will this work with it?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Transcend-Mts800-64-Gb-Internal-Solid-State-Drive-M-2-560-Mbps-ts64gmts800-/231293333014?pt=US_Internal_Hard_Disk_Drives&hash=item35da282e16

Thanks for all your answers

 

[Darkbreeze]

It should work with the specification if you have the right drive interface. IDK if it's actually worth the extra effort or not. Seems much of the additional bandwidth outlined for that spec is actually shared with other lanes. Or at least that's how I took the info in the following article, but I read it rather quickly. I'll read it more in depth later.:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8045/asrock-z97-extreme6-review-ultra-m2-x4-tested-with-xp941