Advise: Correct MB?

Benny144 · 5 Feb 2016 at 12:09

First post to this forum so hope I've got it in he right place.

Here's all the parts that just arrived from OCUK:

Xigmatek Aquila Micro-ATX Case - Black Window
Asus H81M-K Intel H81 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard
Intel Core i7-4790K 4.00GHz (Devil's Canyon) Socket LGA1150 Processor
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750Ti WindForce 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (GV-N75TWF2OC-4GI)
Avexir Blitz 1.1 Original 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C10 2400MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U24001
Xigmatek Maverick 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Semi Modular Power Supply
OcUK Tech Labs 240mm Extreme CPU Liquid Cooling Upgrade Bundle

Haven't built it yet as one of the cooling nuts was crossthreaded (OCUK thankfully sending me a replacement) and I didn't have enough fan cables (also now ordered).

My question is should I send this motherboard back and order the "plus" version?
Herehttps://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus-h81m-plus-intel-h81-socket-1150-ddr3-micro-atx-motherboard-mb-582-as.html
Or is there another board which would be a better choice and still compatible with my other purchases?
As eventually the PC will be overclocked and I've just read the standard noen plus version does not support overclocking.
Thanks in advance

marc2003 · 5 Feb 2016 at 12:43

Some H81 boards can overclock the unlocked Pentium G3258 but it won't get you very far with an i7. It should be fine if you run at stock speeds but if you want to overclock, you really need something with a Z97 chipset.

This looks like the cheapest one on OcUK that will fit in your case (£80).

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/giga...150-ddr3-micro-atx-motherboard-mb-500-gi.html

Uaon · 5 Feb 2016 at 13:00

I have not got that motherboard but asus enabled Overclocking on H97, H87, B85 and H81 Series Motherboards back in June of 2014 according to this article

Wait I do know that board, I did a budget office use build with an i3 cpu for my landlord before Christmas, that board has an empty slot where the usb 3.0 header should be right? There was a multiplier option in it from what I recall but I didn't look to much into it as it was just to be a stock build anyway.

Benny144 · 5 Feb 2016 at 13:13

marc2003 said:
Some H81 boards can overclock the unlocked Pentium G3258 but it won't get you very far with an i7. It should be fine if you run at stock speeds but if you want to overclock, you really need something with a Z97 chipset.

This looks like the cheapest one on OcUK that will fit in your case (£80).

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/giga...150-ddr3-micro-atx-motherboard-mb-500-gi.html

Thankyou for that reply, if I chaneg to that board which CPU would be best?

marc2003 · 5 Feb 2016 at 13:16

I thought you already had the 4790K? That is the best CPU you can get for this socket.

Benny144 · 5 Feb 2016 at 13:27

marc2003 said:
I thought you already had the 4790K? That is the best CPU you can get for this socket.

Ah yes sorry.

Just running a comparison on OCUK at the moment between these 3, I like the look of the 3rd one and I'm correct in saying it's the same as the second but armoured?

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus-z97m-plus-intel-z97-socket-1150-ddr3-micro-atx-motherboard-mb-616-as.html
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus-tuf-z97-gryphon-armor-edition-intel-z97-socket-1150-ddr3-micro-atx-motherboard-mb-621-as.html

Thanks again for your help

pastymuncher · 5 Feb 2016 at 13:29

Uaon said:
I have not got that motherboard but asus enabled Overclocking on H97, H87, B85 and H81 Series Motherboards back in June of 2014 according to this article

Wait I do know that board, I did a budget office use build with an i3 cpu for my landlord before Christmas, that board has an empty slot where the usb 3.0 header should be right? There was a multiplier option in it from what I recall but I didn't look to much into it as it was just to be a stock build anyway.

Overclocking was enabled only for the G3258 not the i5/i7 k series cpu's. I believe a bios revision removed the option for anything other than the G3258 after pressure from Intel.

Benny144 said:
Thankyou for that reply, if I chaneg to that board which CPU would be best?

See above. If you want to overclock a 4690k/4790k then you need a Z97 board.

Swap the psu as well. The Xigmatek is garbage. This is massively better.

Out of the two boards you selected I would go for the cheaper of the two. I really dislike that armour on the more expensive one.

Benny144 · 5 Feb 2016 at 13:35

pastymuncher said:
Overclocking was enabled only for the G3258 not the i5/i7 k series cpu's. I believe a bios revision removed the option for anything other than the G3258 after pressure from Intel.

See above. If you want to overclock a 4690k/4790k then you need a Z97 board.

Swap the psu as well. The Xigmatek is garbage. This is massively better.

Out of the two boards you selected I would go for the cheaper of the two. I really dislike that armour on the more expensive one.

thankyou for your help

think I'll be going with this one
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus-z97m-plus-intel-z97-socket-1150-ddr3-micro-atx-motherboard-mb-616-as.html

Whats wrong with the Xigmatek one? i see that one you posted is double the price.

pastymuncher · 5 Feb 2016 at 13:45

The Xigmatek is cheap and nasty rubbish and little better than a generic psu. The OEM is Andyson which at best makes mediocre psu's. The Maverick you chose is not even mediocre, it's downright poor. It's cheap for a reason, it's crap. The psu is argueably the most important component in a pc and has to deliver clean, stable power to the rest of the components. It is not the place to save money. The Superflower is one of the best 550w units that you can buy and at the current price is a good investment if you value the rest of your components.

Uaon · 5 Feb 2016 at 13:59

pastymuncher said:
Overclocking was enabled only for the G3258 not the i5/i7 k series cpu's. I believe a bios revision removed the option for anything other than the G3258 after pressure from Intel.

Ah I had no idea, cheeky Intel!