ITX Mobo What to buy

macgyverfan · 9 Dec 2015 at 07:47

Cheap:
Gigabyte Z170N Wifi https://www.overclockers.co.uk/giga...1151-ddr4-mini-itx-motherboard-mb-536-gi.html

More expensive:
EVGA Stinger Z170 https://www.overclockers.co.uk/evga...1151-ddr4-mini-itx-motherboard-mb-049-ea.html

Most expensive:
ASUS Maximus VIII Impact (ROG) https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus...1151-ddr4-mini-itx-motherboard-mb-677-as.html

Really like the ROG board but need to justify the £80 price difference from the Gigabyte board with the same chipset. Thoughts/experiences?

geordiejc · 9 Dec 2015 at 09:33

Hi macgyverfan,

~~£80~~ £60 will net you +2 Dimm slots, therefore a total of 64GB Ram vs 32GB on the Gigabyte, SLI/CFX upgrade path, more USB ports.

The Asus has an 8 phase power delivery vs a 5 phase on the Gigabye. I believe you will also get better VRM cooling for the money on the Asus.

I have never owned an Asus Maximus motherboard, If you are going to overclock a 6600k or 6700k to 4.4/4.6Ghz (chip lottery) , and don't need SLI upgrade path go for the cheaper board. In my humble opinion motherboards in the region of £70 - 110 always perform.

A review of the Asus http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/asus_z170_rog_maximus_viii_hero_review,23.html

A review of the Gigabyte http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015...fi_lga_1150_motherboard_review/7#.Vmf09PmLTAQ

With the saved £60 you can put that towards a better GPU / SSD / HSF etc...

macgyverfan · 9 Dec 2015 at 09:40

Thanks for your input but... did you look at the links I provided?

They are all limited to 2 DIMM slots at 32GB max.

They are also limited to 1 PCI Express x16 slot so how is SLI going to be an option?

Borealis · 9 Dec 2015 at 10:03

What do you plan on doing with the system? TBH it is hard to justify the extra price.

The Asus has fewer SATA ports and a U.2 slot rather than an M.2.

macgyverfan · 9 Dec 2015 at 10:10

Cheers Borealis! Purely gaming. Going to slap an i5 6600K/i3 6320 in there. Have 2 SSDs and no optical drives so won't need too many SATA. I also don't see myself going with any U.2 or M.2 stuff either. The ROG board looks sick whereas the Gigabyte looks cheap. Might go ROG just for the aesthetics

!

Anyone have either of them? Care to comment?

Legion · 9 Dec 2015 at 10:48

Are you going to overclock the 6600k?
The Asus Z170i Pro Gaming is a good compromise between cheap and top end, well featured and doesn't skimp where it counts.

The ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac is currently regarded as the best ITX Skylake board with Asus taking the U.2 route with the Impact.

macgyverfan · 9 Dec 2015 at 10:56

Legion. Both look very slick. I will keep these in mind when shopping. Shame they aren't on OC.

Not looking to overclock immediately but it may be something I'd be interested in in the future.

datsunman · 9 Dec 2015 at 13:11

I've just been through the same conundrum myself.

Since my machine is going to need to last a few years I discounted the Gigabyte and EVGA as they didn't have USB 3.1. I discounted ASRock too based on perceived reliability (and availability when I was looking).

Since I only want a moderate overclock (i5 6600K and 3000Mhz RAM) I couldn't bring myself to spend the extra on the Asus Maximus so ended up buying the Asus Pro Gaming.

So far, so good. Have only put the RAM into XMP mode and yet to clock the CPU but all seems good and it's a nice board for the money.

macgyverfan · 9 Dec 2015 at 13:26

Nice one datsunman. Cheers for the detailed thought process. Didn't realise the Gigabyte and EVGA didn't have USB 3.1.

Edward78 · 9 Dec 2015 at 18:10

mITX boards only have 1 slot, mDTX has 2... The thing that doesn't make sense is mDTX is marketed as mATX... No idea why...

macgyverfan · 6 Jan 2016 at 12:08

Went with the Asus Z170i Pro Gaming as Legion suggested. It's a great board and only cost me £110 with rebate

LePhuronn · 17 Jan 2016 at 19:37

I've got my eye on the Asus B150I Gaming Aura. But then again with the upgraded sound chip, 4-lane M.2 and whatnot it'll probably be stupid money for a B150 chipset.

Edward78 · 19 Jan 2016 at 17:42

I have been thinking about the SG05 case be cool to have a shoebox size system, but I don't really need it so I shouldn't...

LePhuronn · 19 Jan 2016 at 20:33

Edward78 said:
I have been thinking about the SG05 case be cool to have a shoebox size system, but I don't really need it so I shouldn't...

I love mine, so it's a shame that I'm moving the Titan into an extensive In Win 901 project. But cramming a Titan, i5 2500, Corsair H60 and 2 drives into the SG05 was a lot of fun, and it's awesome having that much power (for its time) in something so small.

Edward78 · 20 Jan 2016 at 04:49

LePhuronn said:
I love mine, so it's a shame that I'm moving the Titan into an extensive In Win 901 project. But cramming a Titan, i5 2500, Corsair H60 and 2 drives into the SG05 was a lot of fun, and it's awesome having that much power (for its time) in something so small.

It is a real shame there are almost no cases that size that can hold a GPU that isn't low profile...