Help me choose a Z77 board

Toothy1911

Toothy1911

Toothy1911

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Hi guys. My aging socket 775 system is about due an upgrade. But I'm having some trouble deciding on what Z77 motherboard to get.

First thing that disappointed me was the amount of boards that have bright blue components/heat sinks on them! Normally I wouldn't be bothered but I've only just built a nice black and green water cooling loop. It would be a shame to have to change it to match a new motherboard.

So my initial thoughts were:

-Asus Z77 Sabertooth Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
I've only every bought Asus motherboards in the past and they have treated me very well. But I'm not convinced on the Armour, and feel an old PCI connection would have been nice (for my soundcard).

-ASRock Z77 Extreme4 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
Seems a great price for the features. Just a bit unsure on ASRock. Considered the Extreme6 too, but don't think I'd use the extra features.

-Gigabyte Z77X-UP4 TH Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
Doesn't seem to be much info around for this board and the UP5, as I believe it's quite new. And not many retailers selling it, in the UK at least. It's priced very close to the UD5H, which seems a very popular board. How does it compare?

What else would you guys suggest? Don't really want creep much past the £170 mark. But obviously be happy to pay £50 or so lower if I'm buying features I wont use.

CPU will be i5 3570K, watercooled
 
Toothy1911 said:
-Gigabyte Z77X-UP4 TH Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
Doesn't seem to be much info around for this board and the UP5, as I believe it's quite new. And not many retailers selling it, in the UK at least. It's priced very close to the UD5H, which seems a very popular board. How does it compare?
Click to expand...

UP4 reviews,
http://www.kitguru.net/components/motherboard/henry-butt/gigabyte-z77x-up4-th-motherboard-review/
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Gigabyte-Z77X-UP4-TH-Motherboard/1608
http://www.eteknix.com/reviews/motherboards/gigabyte-ga-z77-up4-th-z77-motherboard-review/

And as for the UP5,
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18430794
 
Thanks stulid, I'll have a read through. Not much word of them on the forums though, and how they compare to the UD5H and similar.

I do like the Asus Maximus series 8 Pack, and I could change my case colours to match the red. I think I'd feel a bit short changed with the amount of connectors the Gene has for £150 though. I'm not limited on space, so might as well have a full ATX board
 
Toothy1911 said:
Thanks stulid, I'll have a read through. Not much word of them on the forums though, and how they compare to the UD5H and similar.

I do like the Asus Maximus series 8 Pack, and I could change my case colours to match the red. I think I'd feel a bit short changed with the amount of connectors the Gene has for £150 though. I'm not limited on space, so might as well have a full ATX board
Click to expand...

The UP5 is a better board than my UD5H.

More mature.
Easier to overclock
The class leading IR3550 power stages (also found on the UP4) are sweet:)
PCI slot also for older cards;)

Also an Asian overclocker called Hicookie has bust 6.9GHZ on a UP5TH.
 
Toothy1911 said:
Thanks stulid, I'll have a read through. Not much word of them on the forums though, and how they compare to the UD5H and similar.

I do like the Asus Maximus series 8 Pack, and I could change my case colours to match the red. I think I'd feel a bit short changed with the amount of connectors the Gene has for £150 though. I'm not limited on space, so might as well have a full ATX board
Click to expand...

Its your choice but the MVG kills all ATX board appart from the Formula and Xtreme. Its a bargain if you wanna top clocker.
 
Seems like the Gigabyte Z77X-UP4 fits my needs quite nicely then. Nice features (not that I'm convinced I'll be using Thunderbolt connections any time soon...), not too expensive, good brand, and nice colour scheme. Hopefully there will be an official discussion thread for this board and a bit more forum support behind it, like the UD5H
 
Sabertooth does seem like a very popular board. But for the extra money I see no real gains with it over the UP4. Yet to make a firm decision, but the UP4 seems to match my needs better. And I guess that's what it comes down to.

A dedicated thread would be great. So long as there are enough people with the board. I guess it would be good for condensing information on the "UP" series into one thread, if not anything else. Especially with the UP7 around the corner (that thing looks like a beast!)
 
Quick update. Ordered a UP4 board, so maybe time to start an official UP4 (+5/7) owners thread. I know of at least one other chap on the forums who have also ordered one. And both of us will be overclocking. I'll do some un-boxing photos and take some build shots too. Hell I should have asked for a free board to review :P
 
Look forward to your unboxing and build shots! Choosing between this UP4 and the Sabertooth. Also between the 650D and the Fractal Arc Midi. :D
 
Thanks stulid. And i see you went for the Fractal Brian. Got the 650D myself. Hope to see some build photos maybe?
 
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