**The big ol' Z97 thread!**

[snips86x]

That does look really nice. I love how they are now incorporating the option to WC parts of the motherboard without needing to swap or buy the parts.

 

[Furyus]

That does look really nice. I love how they are now incorporating the option to WC parts of the motherboard without needing to swap or buy the parts.

I agree snips! my G1 sniper 5 has the option, And I'm thinking of going WC when i get my 2 new 780Ti !

 

[[Death]]

strange it has no m.2 port tho!

 

[stulid]

Pity that vortez review is crap not a very high overclock either.

 

[setter]

Pity that vortez review is crap not a very high overclock either.

Possibly a limitation of the particular cpu used, looks like a nice board though.

 

[RavenXXX2]

Pity that vortez review is crap not a very high overclock either.

More down to the CPU than the mobo in how far you can clock it.

 

[stulid]

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Mother...ack-Edition-Motherboard-Review/Overclocking-a

That ones better as they even tried to experiment with the BCLK rather than just increasing the ratio.

 

[bakes0310]

Nice review, me personally am only aiming for about 4.5/4.6ghz overclock anyway. Ill be gaming at big resolutions with this board and its really about the gpu power rather than the cpu, unless you play arma 3.

 

[jh30uk]

ASUS did not mess up this generations flagship boards where do you get this info from. My M6E has lasted the full generation. The same board has won several OC Competitions. Only two weeks ago I qualified for the finals of the GSKILL competition using M6E.

This was my favourite high end Z87 board with the Gigabyte OC being my favourite mid range.

My opinion an many reviewers, Asus make good stuff but crap support and sometimes a new Mobo is a step backwards in design for many reasons since I haver had about 8 high ends Models (not sure if Rog name was there back then).

At end of the day the Mobo apart from features does not matter as much as years past, they all clock nearly the same be it £100 or £350.

2 NIC's then new model 1 NIC, heatpipes then new model no heatpipes (chipset), Z68 got a bit hot (vortez review and my own temps).

Sound moved off Mobo so more I/O stuff (I never use the sound as I have use Dedi Soundcard), now its back on loosing I/O space and more so with that top wifi/msata etccrap I never even plug in and if you do you loose a SATA port.

The EVGA has all the right boxes this time and looks not bad.

 

[gradyhawks]

So I've a dilemma! I have £180-£200 I can spend on a motherboard AND a CPU cooler. I've seen that the MSI Gaming 7 comes with a cooler and sits at a cool £140, now I was going to get the H100i but this comes with the smaller H75.

The alternative is to get a £100-£120 motherboard and the H100i, but not sure whats what or what the differences are with these motherboards! Price wise there is the following to choose from (and that are in my colours):

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Z97X-UD3H-BK Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £139.99
1 x MSI Z97 Gaming 7 Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £139.99
1 x Asus Sabertooth Z97 Mark 2 Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £128.99
1 x Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z97 Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £128.99
1 x Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 5 Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £119.99
Total : £667.55 (includes shipping : £8.00).



Considering that I will need to add another £80 to all but the MSI, is it worth spending the extra money on any of the other boards at all? It will be going with Crossfire 290s, 16gb of ram and the new DC i7 cpu.

 

[8 Pack]

Am I reading too much into the '2 x PCI Express x16 slots running at x16' as not many boards have it?
Will it make any noticeable difference?

None!!

 

[8 Pack]

They already have 9 (!) other red/black boards at various price points, most of them gamer-oriented. I don't see the reasoning behind making the Sniper less distinctive.

We all agree and like Scott says we have tried very very hard to get green back!!! I use green and orange giga in two 8 Pack systems.

 

[8 Pack]

My opinion an many reviewers, Asus make good stuff but crap support and sometimes a new Mobo is a step backwards in design for many reasons since I haver had about 8 high ends Models (not sure if Rog name was there back then).

At end of the day the Mobo apart from features does not matter as much as years past, they all clock nearly the same be it £100 or £350.

2 NIC's then new model 1 NIC, heatpipes then new model no heatpipes (chipset), Z68 got a bit hot (vortez review and my own temps).

Sound moved off Mobo so more I/O stuff (I never use the sound as I have use Dedi Soundcard), now its back on loosing I/O space and more so with that top wifi/msata etccrap I never even plug in and if you do you loose a SATA port.

The EVGA has all the right boxes this time and looks not bad.

Your using 1 GPU and buy xtreme board!! This tells us all everything we need to know!!! They all overclock the same?? Not in my experience.

Reviewers!! Oh dear!!!

 

[dlknight]

Good group test here - http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/motherboards/2014/05/11/z97-motherboard-group-tests/1

ASUS Maximus Ranger manages to perform very well and both it and the MSI Gaming 7 manage 4.8GHz overclocks with the 4770k

This is making decisions even harder...

Anyone find any reviews of the MSI MPOWER (non AC) and the Gigabyte SOC (non Force)?

The MSI Gaming 7 does sound great but wish they had kept with the dragon design chipset heatsink from the Z87...

 

[8 Pack]

So I've a dilemma! I have £180-£200 I can spend on a motherboard AND a CPU cooler. I've seen that the MSI Gaming 7 comes with a cooler and sits at a cool £140, now I was going to get the H100i but this comes with the smaller H75.

The alternative is to get a £100-£120 motherboard and the H100i, but not sure whats what or what the differences are with these motherboards! Price wise there is the following to choose from (and that are in my colours):

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Z97X-UD3H-BK Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £139.99
1 x MSI Z97 Gaming 7 Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £139.99
1 x Asus Sabertooth Z97 Mark 2 Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £128.99
1 x Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z97 Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £128.99
1 x Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 5 Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £119.99
Total : £667.55 (includes shipping : £8.00).



Considering that I will need to add another £80 to all but the MSI, is it worth spending the extra money on any of the other boards at all? It will be going with Crossfire 290s, 16gb of ram and the new DC i7 cpu.

I would in your situation go with the MSI. A better option would be to just save for CPU cooler and go Giga OC Force. New CPU have better TIM so absolute top line cooler not needed initially.

 

[8 Pack]

Good group test here - http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/motherboards/2014/05/11/z97-motherboard-group-tests/1

ASUS Maximus Ranger manages to perform very well and both it and the MSI Gaming 7 manage 4.8GHz overclocks with the 4770k

This is making decisions even harder...

Anyone find any reviews of the MSI MPOWER (non AC) and the Gigabyte SOC (non Force)?

The MSI Gaming 7 does sound great but wish they had kept with the dragon design chipset heatsink from the Z87...

M Power is good I tested. Not quite as efficient as OC Force but a good solid board. Giga SOC not force I have not tested.

 

[setter]

Your using 1 GPU and buy xtreme board!! This tells us all everything we need to know!!! They all overclock the same?? Not in my experience.

Reviewers!! Oh dear!!!

Ive no idea if the Z87 formula has the same bios options as the extreme. But from my own experience of using the formula and comparing it to a standard non rog board from asus, the options in the ai overclock section are much more so than the standard board.

 

[8 Pack]

Its very similar mate. All ROG has a lot of features.

 

[dlknight]

M Power is good I tested. Not quite as efficient as OC Force but a good solid board. Giga SOC not force I have not tested.

Cheers 8 Pack have you tested the Maximus Ranger or Hero?

 

[8 Pack]

No not tested either. I have no ASUS test boards at all. Scott got lower end ones I think.

I will get an Xtreme for sure pretty soon. Hero and Ranger are not really products aimed at me!! Engineers at HQ have told me the Gene is rocking the place. But it always does.