z77 pro4-m, extreme4-m, or v gene?

Soldato
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Not an owner of ASRock hardware, ever, but i could do with help as i'm almost certainly going to be as i can't really afford the 'ooh shiny' i want (v gene). I've only found ASRock micro ATXs (i need to go matx) without spending silly money with 8 sata ports - it's pretty essential i have more than 6 and potentially a FIS port multiplier eventually (on the asmedia controller?). I'm building a PC which needs to live for many years so longevity is paramount, not hugely bothered about overclocking initially (although it'd be nice) as i think an IB i5/7 k series at stock will be enough just now (you would not believe what i'm upgrading from but my usage will change to add gaming with the new rig) but as the cpu gets older i want to stave off obsolescence a little bit by OC :D. Audio quality for music is important. Won't be running sli or crossfire

I like the asus maximus v gene's premium (for on board?) sound as i'm tight on space in the pci-es, same goes for the wifi riser card although i don't currently use wifi on my main rig, i also like the m-sata slot on same as it'd free up a drive bay, but do i really need a board like that? What's this i hear about asus sudden death syndrome? I had an asus board back in the P3 days that died for no apparent reason, very suddenly

The Pro4-M is priced very temptingly but seems to be getting what one pays for? it's a well equipped board so there must be compromise elsewhere? It's also not a cheap board if i have to add a soundcard(current one is pci) to get good sound out of it or it dies before i want to upgrade

extreme4-m looks like a better quality product from the reviews and forum posts i've read (although there isn't any pro reviews on the pro4-m or i probably wouldn't be typing this now), has better sound, good enough for music? i've got a 5.1 reciever and all channels are used except the sub which I don't need having enormous floorstanding front speakers, i feel the bass as it is :D

I'm good at this but i'm really out of date with my knowledge of current hardware, so i'm not quite sure what to go for on.. almost every component of the new build :rolleyes: Ordinarily, i'd just go for the V Gene as it's the best equipped of the lot and 'only 50 quid more' than the ex4-m but i've done that before and ended up just speccing a few tens of pounds more on a few components and before i know it it is hundreds of pounds over my (infintesimal) budget and i probably don't need it if say the ex4-m or even the pro4-m has good on board sound and will last etc etc

I'm a bit poor but i really need a new computer so badly it bleeds(my atom N270 netbook feels faster/more powerful). I'll save up for the V Gene if it's the best board for me and it's going to be reliable for 5-7 years but if i can get the same goodness from a ex-4m i could do with spending that 50 pounds elsewhere in the rig

help? former overclocking don floundering :D

edit: oh yeah, don't know if it makes a difference but i'll be using a weighty D14 heatsink - perhaps a bit heavy for a pro4-m if it's made from cheaper components?
 
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While here, I would appreciate it if someone would tell my why it is that when i post a thread like this i get loads of views but never any answers? I realise it's an essay and probably a hard read (can't help that - symptom of my illness, sorry guys) but it's the only way i can give what i see to be all the pertinent requirements and information.. am i not giving enough? am i asking too many questions?
 
While the sound is hyped as creative this and that on the gene-v, it is just that, hype, it's a realtek chip with soundblaster software bundled with it, so if that was what was drawing to the Asus Gene V you can kind of cross it off your list and save some money by getting the Extreme-4 as long as the 4 does everything you require I would get that if you want to save a few quid but still get a quality board.
 
Did intel solve the issue of Z77 not working with FIS based sata port multipliers? If not, the sniper, which doesn't appear to have the ASMedia controller the other boards do, does not have enough sata ports.. otherwise it would be my first choice no questions asked

iv gene looks good but lacks pci-e 3.0? it isn't that much cheaper and i'd rather spend the extra to get the new graphics standard for future upgrades - i was planning to get an ati 7 series graphics card anyway, 7770 or 7850, so it doesn't really do all i need.. which is a shame... missing the msata compatibility too which only means i'll need that port multiplier sooner

I think it's going to have to be the V gene. I worry about reports i've heard of asus sudden death syndrome, and i probably don't need all that overclocking but it does look like a quality board with good cooling and that's of paramount importance. I'm a bit put off by asus, in effect, lying about the sound on board but it seems to be the best quality board with enough drive ports to run what i want (ssd boot, one game drive, one temp drive, and 4 storage drives plus the esata (dvd-rw) - i've got space for 5 storage drives so being able to port multiply one of the ASMedia ports is a plus. If it turns out i need a soundcard i'll just have to hope that one of the half height xonar cards doesn't impede GPU cooling too badly
 
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OK has anyone here used a v gene with 4 DIMMs? i watched an Asus video which says that the V Gene doesn't have the issue a lot of boards seem to of not being able to manage the same ram clocks with 4 DIMMs as opposed to 2.

I'm putting 16gb of ram in this pc. I've built enough pcs over the years to know that today's too much is tomorrow's not enough.. but i can get 4x4gb 2000mhz XMS3 CL9 cheaper than 2x8gb patriot viper 1866 CL9 for a little extra go.. if the motherboard will do it and retain the same speeds? overclocking ram is not out of the question but i'd rather get something fast at stock

will the V Gene manage the same sort of speeds on 4 sticks as it will on 2? CPU is i5 3570k if that makes any difference
 
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