Looking for some opinions on low end z77

P

Pwoz

Weaksauce
Joined
Oct 2, 2005
Messages
74
Thinking about biting on the microcenter deal this weekend.

My motherboard choices are:

GA-Z77X-D3H - $105

GA-Z77-DS3H - $75

ASrock Z77 Pro3 - $60

I've never used ASrock before. I also won't use ASUS after some bad experiences. Personal preference. I will likely moderately OC, but not pursue anything extreme. I'm leaning toward the Z77-DS3H at the moment. Any thoughts are appreciated.
 
I tried my first ASRock board. I really wasn't satisifed with the back panel of the Gigabytes. Just seemed to have weird combinations of hardware.
 
Pwoz said:
Thinking about biting on the microcenter deal this weekend.

My motherboard choices are:

GA-Z77X-D3H - $105

GA-Z77-DS3H - $75

ASrock Z77 Pro3 - $60

I've never used ASrock before. I also won't use ASUS after some bad experiences. Personal preference. I will likely moderately OC, but not pursue anything extreme. I'm leaning toward the Z77-DS3H at the moment. Any thoughts are appreciated.
Click to expand...

The choice between the three depends on the features that you're looking for. If you're going to overclock even slightly, you might want to eliminate the cheaper Gigabyte from consideration as it does not offer any manual CPU voltage settings whatsoever. In addition, that motherboard requires a case with two front USB 3.0 ports in order to take full advantage of the four USB 3.0 ports that the Intel Z77 chipset natively supports (that board, as stock, utilizes only two ports of the four-port capability).

If on the other hand you're planning to use the "onboard" graphics and you have a monitor that uses DVI-D but lacks HDMI capability, the ASRock that you linked to requires the purchase of a DVI-D to HDMI cable if you're going to use the two together. Otherwise, you will have to settle for the analog VGA (D-Sub) connection with that board. Keep in mind, however, that even with a DVI-D to HDMI cable the maximum resolution from the HDMI port itself is limited to 1080p (1920x1080). So, if that monitor has higher than 1080p resolution, your only choice would be the analog D-Sub connection with that board unless you purchase a discrete graphics card for that board.

And go for the $105 Gigabyte if you really need six onboard USB 3.0 ports (four of which are controlled by a separate VIA USB 3.0 controller - but you'd still need a case with two front USB 3.0 ports if you're going to make full use of the native Intel Z77 USB 3.0 support) or if you're going to perform even moderate overclocking of the CPU.
 
Last edited:
Microcenter is also listing the GA-Z77X-UD3H for $110 with a 3570K. This one is really tempting me right now. Should give me OC headroom even if I decide to push it to the limit.

I do have 2 front USB 3.0 ports on my case.
 
Pwoz said:
Microcenter is also listing the GA-Z77X-UD3H for $110 with a 3570K.
Click to expand...

I think that might be a pricing error. Try adding the mobo to your shopping cart with the 3570. It will show as $126.99 ($50 off).
 
You have to tell them to adjust the price to $110 in the store. Annoying, but doable
 
Yeah, I brought a printout of the price and got it for $110. Pretty happy with that. I'll have to get this all together this weekend.
 
Pwoz said:
Yeah, I brought a printout of the price and got it for $110. Pretty happy with that. I'll have to get this all together this weekend.
Click to expand...

You know, printing it out did work at MC Twin Cities. Minor hassle but hey I'm happy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top