Which high end motherboard to go for?

illuz · 30 Mar 2013 at 18:28

I'm selling this P8Z77-V Pro soon and going for a board which supports Tri/quad SLI, I'm also getting a bigger case as I want to water cool later on in the year.

I'm stuck on which motherboard to go for however and it's out of these:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus Z77 Maximus V Extreme Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £319.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £319.99
Total : £651.38 (includes shipping : £9.50).

I *really* like the look of the Z77X-UP7. I will be going Tri-SLI, which of them has the best onboard sound? I'll lose my Essence STX when I go TriSLI later on.

Sway me either way, I just want the best for my money.

edit// I have thought about 2011 socket. I just don't think I'll ever need that much power, this system will last me a good few years and after then I'll move to a new socket. Skylake maybe i'll upgrade, if it's worth it.

modez · 30 Mar 2013 at 18:44

I go for Asus Z77 Maximus V Extreme.

illuz · 30 Mar 2013 at 18:59

For what reasons? My mind is on the up7 unless someone can persuade me.

modez · 30 Mar 2013 at 21:53

illuz said:
For what reasons? My mind is on the up7 unless someone can persuade me.

My mate has one it's not that great as you think.

Addicted · 30 Mar 2013 at 21:57

modez said:
My mate has one it's not that great as you think.

Vague answer is vague, what's not great about it?

modez · 30 Mar 2013 at 22:28

Go with what your happiest with.

Here is the Official GA-Z77X-UP7 Owners Discussion Club.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1315268/official-ga-z77x-up7-owners-discussion-club

illuz · 30 Mar 2013 at 22:45

Yeah what was your mates issue with it?

AStaley · 31 Mar 2013 at 09:54

Personally I would go with the Asus. My last 3 motherboards have all been Asus and rock solid. Plus a lot of the best over clocks seem to been on Asus boards? Also I like the red colour scheme.

Audio on both is going to be about the same as they have the same sound processor. I could be wrong but if you do Tri SLI don't you use the top 3 slots leaving the bottom PCI-Ex1 slot free for the STX?

edit* Good review of the UP7 if you've not seen it http://www.anandtech.com/show/6786/gigabyte-z77xup7-review-oc-oriented-orange-overkill

And one for the Extreme http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/asus_maximus_v_extreme_review,1.html

wazza300 · 31 Mar 2013 at 12:19

The up7 is the current world oc record holder at 7ghz plus

illuz · 31 Mar 2013 at 22:09

UOTE=AStaley;24035611]Personally I would go with the Asus. My last 3 motherboards have all been Asus and rock solid. Plus a lot of the best over clocks seem to been on Asus boards? Also I like the red colour scheme.

Audio on both is going to be about the same as they have the same sound processor. I could be wrong but if you do Tri SLI don't you use the top 3 slots leaving the bottom PCI-Ex1 slot free for the STX?

edit* Good review of the UP7 if you've not seen it http://www.anandtech.com/show/6786/gigabyte-z77xup7-review-oc-oriented-orange-overkill

And one for the Extreme http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/asus_maximus_v_extreme_review,1.html[/QUOTE]

I'm really going towards the Gigabyte for their service and I'd love to do a Gigabyte orange water cooled system. Unfortunately I can't use the STX in the bottom slot as it's PCI-E not.

pgi947 · 31 Mar 2013 at 22:12

You can't go wrong with either tbh, Gigabyte appear to be back on track with the current gen of boards

GoogalyMoogaly · 31 Mar 2013 at 22:19

Based purely on the pictures the heatsinks around the cpu socket seem taller on the Gigabyte. Could this interfere with a CPU cooler?
Obviously not an issue once you watercool.

supergluechris · 31 Mar 2013 at 23:13

I have the UP7 and it's awesome. I bought it for the orange theme

very nice and very expensive. Also easy to overclock

AStaley · 1 Apr 2013 at 10:00

I don't think you will go wrong with either board. Both look insanely good and it sounds like you've made up your mind

An orange colour scheme sounds like it could look good.

Started me thinking, I'm really tempted to give water cooling a go on my next build.

illuz · 1 Apr 2013 at 18:29

Gonna buy the Phantom 820 next week then ill save for the board, cool it all around September

Something Else · 1 Apr 2013 at 23:12

Gigabyte personally. If anything were to go wrong then they have the best RMA service from what I have read. The fact that it holds the overclocking record is also another big plus as it is built for it and proves its worth if thats what your after.

Saying that though I have an Asus board (MVG) and Iam very happy with it but red and black has been done to death as a colour scheme.

I wonder if nzxt do a phantom 820 with orange coloured bits?

8 Pack · 2 Apr 2013 at 11:33

By September we should have a new CPU and platform to go with mate.

I have benched both these boards on Cascade and LN2 and both are truly great.

For memory tweaking and Bios maturity the MVE is very very good.

UP7 is rock solid and I mean totally bomb proof. UP7 is my current bench board.

Which ever you choose will serve you well.

illuz · 2 Apr 2013 at 12:16

8 Pack said:
By September we should have a new CPU and platform to go with mate.

I have benched both these boards on Cascade and LN2 and both are truly great.

For memory tweaking and Bios maturity the MVE is very very good.

UP7 is rock solid and I mean totally bomb proof. UP7 is my current bench board.

Which ever you choose will serve you well.

I'll be sticking with this 3770k for some time, at 4.7 it should last me a few years at least just upgrading the GPUs. UP7 is what I'll go for I think, literally just ordered the Phantom 630 Matte Black to stick it in.

wazza300 · 2 Apr 2013 at 13:12

if you wasn't going watercooling the orange phanteks looks really good for this motherboards colour scheme

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-003-PT&groupid=701&catid=2330&subcat=2348

illuz · 2 Apr 2013 at 13:27

But my K2 Mount doom has a special place in my heart, thing is a beast!