Mid Range Z77 Board Options

S

SidewinderX

2[H]4U
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Mar 30, 2004
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Hey All,

So I'm slowly collecting components on sale for my new machine, and I think I'm going to hit a Microcenter near my relatives when I'm in the area for Thanksgiving. I'd like to take advantage of their extra $40 discount when I pick up my 3570k, so I'm looking at some of my motherboard options. This is what I'm looking at right now any thoughts? I probably won't OC to start with, but probably will in a year or two. I'll probably stick with a single card solution, so SLI/Crossfire features aren't that important to me.

1) ASRock Z77 Extreme4
Pros: COST! By far the cheapest option I'm looking at -- doesn't have a ton of features, but it doesn't seem like it's missing anything I don't need.

2) Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H
Pros: Has the Intel NIC that everyone loves -- fewer USB 3.0 jacks. My current mobo is a Gigabyte board and it's been rock solid for 4 years so far, so I do have a bit of brand loyalty there.

3) Asus P8Z77-V
Pros: Seems to be the defacto standard Z77 board, has in the intel NIC, comes with a wifi card. Also the most expensive board.

4) ASRock Extreme6
Pros: Feature-rich, Intel NIC, RAID built in.

Anyway, I'm mostly between the Gigabyte and the Asus board, but the low low low price of the ASRock Extreme4 is enticing.... Anyway... any thoughts?
 
SidewinderX said:
Hey All,

So I'm slowly collecting components on sale for my new machine, and I think I'm going to hit a Microcenter near my relatives when I'm in the area for Thanksgiving. I'd like to take advantage of their extra $40 discount when I pick up my 3570k, so I'm looking at some of my motherboard options. This is what I'm looking at right now any thoughts? I probably won't OC to start with, but probably will in a year or two. I'll probably stick with a single card solution, so SLI/Crossfire features aren't that important to me.

1) ASRock Z77 Extreme4
Pros: COST! By far the cheapest option I'm looking at -- doesn't have a ton of features, but it doesn't seem like it's missing anything I don't need.

2) Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H
Pros: Has the Intel NIC that everyone loves -- fewer USB 3.0 jacks. My current mobo is a Gigabyte board and it's been rock solid for 4 years so far, so I do have a bit of brand loyalty there.

3) Asus P8Z77-V
Pros: Seems to be the defacto standard Z77 board, has in the intel NIC, comes with a wifi card. Also the most expensive board.

4) ASRock Extreme6
Pros: Feature-rich, Intel NIC, RAID built in.

Anyway, I'm mostly between the Gigabyte and the Asus board, but the low low low price of the ASRock Extreme4 is enticing.... Anyway... any thoughts?
Click to expand...

My issue with the ASRock boards is the QA issues ASRock has been having - it's what got them culled from my own list of Z77 contenders, despite their attractive pricing.

That leaves ASUS and Gigabyte; the real issue between these two is whether or not a wireless option is important to you, as they are pretty much identical (down to price) otherwise. If you live near a MicroCenter, you should also consider the ASUS P8Z77V- PRO and Gigabyte GA-Z77-UP5-TH.
 
When enabled it sometimes doesn't detect the keyboard/mouse. At least mine doesn't. Just a minor issue.
 
Last edited:
PGHammer said:
My issue with the ASRock boards is the QA issues ASRock has been having - it's what got them culled from my own list of Z77 contenders, despite their attractive pricing.

That leaves ASUS and Gigabyte; the real issue between these two is whether or not a wireless option is important to you, as they are pretty much identical (down to price) otherwise. If you live near a MicroCenter, you should also consider the ASUS P8Z77V- PRO and Gigabyte GA-Z77-UP5-TH.
Click to expand...

I've looked but I can't really see much of a spec different between the -V and -V PRO boards... I'd be happy to save the $10 if there's not much of an upgrade.

I don't see the UP5-TH on Microcenter's website...
 
There's actually some good difference between the V and V-Pro versions, most of which, there would be better and stable current delivery in the V-Pro due to more phases than the V and i.e. apart from other features.

The UP5-TH is basically the best motherboard in its price range for the best current delivery and overclocking potential due to the fact that it uses the newer IR3550 IC's. But as far as the software and bioses are concerned, Gigabyte is way behind in it. All of their stuff is retro and the board doesn't even have any fan controller.

For a mid-range setup, I think the V-Pro or the Extreme6 is a perfect mobo for your needs. I can easily vouch for E6 as I have know a dozen of people using it, mostly friends and they're more than satisfied with it. Btw, the Extreme 4 is great for it's price, but not that good in OC'ing. However if that's not your primary concern, then you could consider that too. It's however a little smaller in width than the standard ATX form factor, more like the Z68 Extreme 3.
 
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