Gigabyte Z97X-SLI or ASUS Maximus VII Hero

[majkkali]

Hi guys,

I'm having a really hard time choosing a motherboard. I'm building my own PC and this is the last part I need to order.

The build goes as follows:

• Intel Core i7-4790K
• NZXT Kraken X61
• Avexir Core Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400
• Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" SSD
• Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
• EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB HYBRID Video Card
• EVGA Supernova G2 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
• NZXT Noctis 450 ATX Mid Tower Case

Now the choice is:

1. Asus MAXIMUS VII HERO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
   £169.99
   
2. Gigabyte Z97X-SLI
   £89.99

Both are Z97 motherboards as I'm sure you all know. I was first totally for the VII Hero, but recently I saw the gigabyte z97x SLI. The price difference is quite significant as you can see!

Few things to notice:
- I plan to overclock CPU in the near future (not extreme overclocking, will try to get it to 4.4 or 4.5GHz)
- I don't plan to SLi for a long time (might add another 980ti in about 2 years, if I don't just buy a better single GPU by then)

Does anyone know if the gigabyte mobo has cool leds like asus hero?

Anyway, what do you think? Which one would you go for and why? (perhaps a completely different one to those two?)

 

[Borealis]

The gigabyte doesn't have any LEDs, but it does clock pretty well and is very cheap by comparison. My only criticism of the Z97X-SLI is the cheap-looking VRM heatsink. It's worth noting that Gigabyte have a UK-based RMA centre - no shipping overseas if something goes wrong.

If money was no problem, I'd go for the Hero, it just looks great.

 

[pastymuncher]

Personally neither. The Gigabyte is a good board but it just look's so cheap with those awful heatsinks. The Hero is just overkill and you won't use the vast majority of the settings in the bios (I know I don't). All you really need is vcore, LLC and the multiplier really. A more expensive board won't overclock any better as the cpu is the limiting factor with Haswell/DC.

My choice would be the Asus Z97 Pro Gamer. It look's good, is a reasonable price and performs well.