Help me choose a Z170 motherboard..

ponky

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 27, 2012
Messages
178
It's finally time for me to upgrade from Sandy Bridge. Here's the setup I'm going for:

- <Insert MoBo here>
- i7-6700k
- 32GB of Kingston DDR4 (Z170 boards support 64GB, but I could not find any 16GB non-ECC dimms?)
- GTX 980
- Intel 750 1.2TB NVMe SSD


I'm (most likely) not going to overclock, and even if I did it would not be HC OC'ing. I'd like a motherboard that does not have anything "extra", ie. additional SATA controllers, which can cause driver problems and even BSODs in worst case. Simplicity is <3.

I've had good luck with my Asus P8P67 Deluxe. Some people here advice against Asus and I'm up for any suggestions.

I'm NOT GOING TO buy a board with Killer nic. That's instant no-go for me. I'm going to use an Intel X520 10G nic.

I've been looking at Asus Maximus VIII Hero / Ranger, what's the main difference between those two? Only thing I found is additional SATA controller on Hero, is there something more? Which one is better for me?

What is the most wanted features on more expensive boards?


Thanks in advance!


//e

Dual m.2 slots would be a HUGE bonus as I could then skip the 750 and go for raid1 on m.2. Only MSI Z170 GAMING boards have those afaik, but that Killer nic.... damnit.
 
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There isn't a catch, really. Some people will still tell you that ASrock is ASUS's budget brand, but that hasn't been the case for years at this point. They make solid stuff now, and the reviews out there tend to reflect that.
 
There isn't a catch, really. Some people will still tell you that ASrock is ASUS's budget brand, but that hasn't been the case for years at this point. They make solid stuff now, and the reviews out there tend to reflect that.


This. Im still running a Z68 Extreme4 Gen3. Thing's a beast. The ASrock Z170 boards are my next in line if I upgrade to skylake.
 
There isn't a catch, really. Some people will still tell you that ASrock is ASUS's budget brand, but that hasn't been the case for years at this point. They make solid stuff now, and the reviews out there tend to reflect that.

ASRock was spun off from the same parent company, but ASRock and ASUS have nothing to do with each other. But there is a catch with ASRock. They have painfully thin PCBs on most models. That may or may not bother some people. The second catch only applies to lower end models as they use pretty low end components. Most of these components have origins which are nearly impossible to determine without removal of said components. These stripped down models are cheap and will make through the review process but I don't know that I would feel comfortable using them over the long haul. If you keep hardware for a long time you might want to consider this. If not, then it may be worth the risk to you.

There is always a catch with inexpensive hardware. Always.
 
If you don't buy the AsRock board, I'd recommend the Maximus VIII Hero.

I just built an upgrade for my son using the Maximus VII Hero.
It was the easiest board to set up I've worked with in a long time.

About the only feature missing on the Hero is additional PCI-e and wireless.

They are well built and overclock like crazy. Very stable. Overclock only required a small bump in VCore and setting the multiplier.

Warranty is the big bug-a-boo these days.....plainly, good boards, disastrous customer service.:eek:
 
ASUS' customer service is improving. ASUS does have a long way to go in order to repair it's reputation. If you do have issues, the ASUS reps on our forum always seem willing to help out.
 
If you don't buy the AsRock board, I'd recommend the Maximus VIII Hero.

I just built an upgrade for my son using the Maximus VII Hero.
It was the easiest board to set up I've worked with in a long time.

About the only feature missing on the Hero is additional PCI-e and wireless.

They are well built and overclock like crazy. Very stable. Overclock only required a small bump in VCore and setting the multiplier.

Warranty is the big bug-a-boo these days.....plainly, good boards, disastrous customer service.:eek:

VIII Hero was the first board I was looking at, but what does it offer that Ranger does not? There's a killer deal for Ranger + i7-6700k + 16GB of hyperx here in Finland.
 
I would go Gigabyte because as far as I know they are the only manufacturer using Alpine Ridge. Have a look at the gaming 7 motherboard.
 
I would go Gigabyte because as far as I know they are the only manufacturer using Alpine Ridge. Have a look at the gaming 7 motherboard.

Alpine Ridge enables both USB 3.1 and Thunderbolt 3.0. The latter is only enabled if the motherboard is submitted for certification by Intel. Many aren't. Firmware enables it. ASUS claims it's USB 3.1 controller is just as fast as Intel's. To be honest it should be close but I haven't tested any Alpine Ridge equipped motherboards yet. In previous generations, ASUS was the fastest so long as devices supported UASP mode. ASUS and ASRock were the only companies doing anything with that feature. GIGABYTE still isn't.
 
ASUS' customer service is improving. ASUS does have a long way to go in order to repair it's reputation. If you do have issues, the ASUS reps on our forum always seem willing to help out.

The Asus Z170 Deluxe has pretty much exactly what I'm looking for. Plenty of USB 3.1 ports, solid WiFi ... but I'm just snakebitten with Asus.

Have had two Asus routers fail recently and their customer support was beyond awful. Ended up throwing them both away rather than deal with their phone techs again. And I had an Asus board die about ten years ago.

I'm not a builder so I don't touch tons of boards in each generation, and can only go with my very limited experience. But reading the forum threads here about Asus has only reinforced my skepticism. The Deluxe for me is still in the mix but I'm heavily leaning toward MSI, either the M7 or the Xpower (I'm not a power overclocker but I like how solidly built the OC boards seem to be). Might go with the M7 despite the Killer Networking chipset. No reviews of the new E2400 chip makes me doubly nervous there, and I'd prefer Intel.

No board has everything I want just yet. Planning to wait but might not be patient enough to do so. :)
 
I am deciding on either the ASUS Maximus VII Hero. and the MSi Gaming M7

They both seem to be very solid. The ASUS deluxe board has more than I need and the price shows it.
 
I'm not sure if there are non-k models out yet but if your not overclocking you can save a few bucks getting a non-k.
 
The Asus Z170 Deluxe has pretty much exactly what I'm looking for. Plenty of USB 3.1 ports, solid WiFi ... but I'm just snakebitten with Asus.

Have had two Asus routers fail recently and their customer support was beyond awful. Ended up throwing them both away rather than deal with their phone techs again. And I had an Asus board die about ten years ago.

I'm not a builder so I don't touch tons of boards in each generation, and can only go with my very limited experience. But reading the forum threads here about Asus has only reinforced my skepticism. The Deluxe for me is still in the mix but I'm heavily leaning toward MSI, either the M7 or the Xpower (I'm not a power overclocker but I like how solidly built the OC boards seem to be). Might go with the M7 despite the Killer Networking chipset. No reviews of the new E2400 chip makes me doubly nervous there, and I'd prefer Intel.

No board has everything I want just yet. Planning to wait but might not be patient enough to do so. :)

I hear you. My experiences with ASRock weren't that good a couple years ago despite many forum members and review sites giving them a pass. I would like to point out that one of the reasons you hear so much about ASUS as a brand is due to the fact that they ship a lot more boards than most brands do. They are very popular and people with negative things to say are a lot more vocal than those with only good things to say.

Honestly though, I've only touched ASUS Z170 boards at this point so I can't speak to what's best right now either. I like some things ASUS does, and dislike others. I've got plenty of pros and cons to speak about as far as everyone is concerned. You'll see all of that in reviews given time.
 
I really wish the EVGA Z170 FTW had USB 3.1 on the board ... it's perfect for me otherwise. Have had great experiences with EVGA tech support with their video cards and my current EVGA x58 motherboard has been flawless going on seven years.

Looking at the Z170 Classified but it's totally overkill at $399. But it's built really well and supported well ... maybe it's worth the $80 premium over the ASUS Deluxe ...

Can't wait for more reviews to hit. Got a Classified lined up Dan? :)
 
I really wish the EVGA Z170 FTW had USB 3.1 on the board ... it's perfect for me otherwise. Have had great experiences with EVGA tech support with their video cards and my current EVGA x58 motherboard has been flawless going on seven years.

Looking at the Z170 Classified but it's totally overkill at $399. But it's built really well and supported well ... maybe it's worth the $80 premium over the ASUS Deluxe ...

Can't wait for more reviews to hit. Got a Classified lined up Dan? :)

I use their Vid cards and power supplies but I have never tried their Motherboards. I am trying to decide if I can live without the USB 3.1 on my desktop becasue I think the FTW would otherwixse be perfect.

All I have read about the FTW so far is that the components are very high end for the price. So many choices!
 
I really wish the EVGA Z170 FTW had USB 3.1 on the board ... it's perfect for me otherwise. Have had great experiences with EVGA tech support with their video cards and my current EVGA x58 motherboard has been flawless going on seven years.

Looking at the Z170 Classified but it's totally overkill at $399. But it's built really well and supported well ... maybe it's worth the $80 premium over the ASUS Deluxe ...

Can't wait for more reviews to hit. Got a Classified lined up Dan? :)

Evga supposedly lost most of the mobo team around the time of SandyBridge. I had a bad P67 board and had to swap it for another one. I'm not sure if EVGA's quality is back or not but I'd recommend checking it out first before you buy. I wouldn't buy another mobo from them soley based on your experiences with x58.
 
I really wish the EVGA Z170 FTW had USB 3.1 on the board ... it's perfect for me otherwise. Have had great experiences with EVGA tech support with their video cards and my current EVGA x58 motherboard has been flawless going on seven years.

Looking at the Z170 Classified but it's totally overkill at $399. But it's built really well and supported well ... maybe it's worth the $80 premium over the ASUS Deluxe ...

Can't wait for more reviews to hit. Got a Classified lined up Dan? :)

I would love to have a Classified for testing. I haven't touched an EVGA board since the X58 days.
 
Well the Hero was a bit more than I wanted to spend, but seeing reviews and people playing around with the software and the UEFI pretty much won me over, seemed to be the standout vs the other competition, even if it is a bit more board than I need.
 
Well the Hero was a bit more than I wanted to spend, but seeing reviews and people playing around with the software and the UEFI pretty much won me over, seemed to be the standout vs the other competition, even if it is a bit more board than I need.

I ordered the Hero as well.
 
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