Quick MSI 1150 recommendations

Domingo

Domingo

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Jul 30, 2004
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Looks like my Ivy Brige setup randomly died last night and it's only an additional $100 to grab an 1150 and new Mobo instead of trying to track down another worthwhile MSI 1155 board.

I've partial to MSI boards, but it looks like they have a TON of 1150 options including a boatload of "gaming" versions. I did some quick compare/contrasts and it looks like most are very similar. Are there any red flags I should be aware of? I don't care about any onboard audio or video functions. I mainly just want solid overclocking and the option to go SLI at some point if I choose.
 
The Z87 seems fine on paper. What about that particular one is better than the Z97's?
My plan is to grab an in-store 4790K at Microcenter.
 
I think their gaming boards use the killer NIC instead of Realtek (or Intel). Most of them have different expansion slots. Some of the cheaper ones still have some PCI. Some of the cheaper Z97 boards don't have an M2 slot.

I don't know that the boards are going to make that big of a difference. Seems like most people reach the limit of the CPU before the board limit with newer CPU's. I have a Z97 PC Mate that OC's a G3258 to 4.5Ghz, and that's one of the cheapest MSI boards.

That Z97S Krait board is probably all you need and its $99.
 
Depends on what features you are looking for in a board.

Z97 will be compatible with Broadwell if you want to upgrade later. Z87 has no confirmed compatibility with Broadwell.
 
Thanks - that was actually kind of my thought. The Killer NIC really doesn't mean much to me as long as I don't have to install and additional zany software. I'd rather avoid that if I can.
I don't have any need for PCI slots or really any expansion slots. Just 4 SATAs, 2 PCIe (for potential SLI), and some decent overclocking. I wouldn't mind an M2 slot, though.
I s'pose I'll see what Microcenter has and buy accordingly.
 
Went with the Z97S SLI Krait edition - seems like exactly what I need and was on sale for $70! Thanks all!
 
That is definitely a great buy for only $70 - not sure of any better boards you could have bought for that low cost. A friend did some sub-zero testing on one for fun and i was pretty impressed by how the board did.
 
Yeah, I was really shocked when I saw it ring up. The sticker price was $170, they had a sale sign that knocked it to $120 (just below the Gaming 5 board) and there was a 2nd discount I didn't find out about until I was at the register.
I literally bought a new 4790K and the mobo for the cost of replacing my Z77A-GD65. Not a purchase I wanted to make, but I'm happy with it. Setting it up took no time as the board layout and most of the components were identical to my old board.
 
Surprise extra savings is always awesome :D - If you want to see the results for yourself of how it did then go to XtremeSystems and look in the Intel section - It is has a ton test and results in the thread. The MSI BIOSes are really great to work with - they are by far my favorite to use, though it might be because I know them so well lol.
 
I'm definitely going to need to figure out some good OC settings...at least if I feel like bothering. Ditto with cooling settings. The default H110 settings are whisper quiet but don't ramp up quickly enough for benchmarks. I can seem to get 4.5ghz at 1.20 volts (which seems dandy) but the heat ramps up too high in BurnTest to be truly stable.
 
Your setup should be easy to quickly find a decent setting - which it looks like you settled on 4.4GHz... my AIO water loop is finnicky with its fans as well so I set it to manual and only kick it into high if I want to benchmark something.
 
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