which Z77 motherboard are you already planning to get and why?

ordered a GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H on microcenter's site tonight...hopefully I'll get a happy confirmation email in the morning! :D
 
Anyone thinking about the Gigabyte G1.Sniper 3? It seems to have all the bells & whistles covered, and I kinda dig the black & green look. No word on availability yet though.
 
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Sorry, forgot to quote the post above regarding the P8Z77-V Pro. at Fry's.
 
Does anybody know where ASrock support is located? Is it USA based and are they quick in turn around? E-mails and phone calls?

I'm really digging the new ASrock products....problem is, I am kinda weary of their support....I couldn't find much on their website....and yes, that ASRock Extreme6 Z77 looks nice for only $175!
 
I actually just changed my mind to the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H mobo over the ASRock Z77 Extreme6 for three reasons: it seems to overclock better, seems to have better customer service than ASRock and has a 3 year warranty, instead of a 1 year warranty, which is what the ASRock has.
 
Curious, is it a good or bad thing to avoid Asus motherboards mainly because of their customer service? Unless you guys have had good service?
 
I'm wondering why the Asus Deluxe motherboard is significantly more expensive than the Asus Sabertooth version....wasn't the P67 Deluxe cheaper than the Sabertooth by a good amount?
 
OK, need some serious advice on a Z77 MoBo.

Going to be getting a 3570K when they emerge.

OC'ing: Yes, mild to moderate, hoping to get into the 4.4 - 4.6 GHz range for 24/7 operation.

Features needed: Front USB 3.0 header, at least 2 SATA-III ports, and as many 4 pin PWM fan headers as possible. 8x + 8x SLI not needed, but would be nice in case I decide to go back to a multi-GPU setup (unlikely, but I think I like to have the potential for it there).

Boards on my short list:
Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H
Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H
Asus P8Z77-V
Asus P8Z77-V Pro
Asus Sabertooth Z77

I'm liking the dual-BIOS the GB boards, but I love the track record of the Asus boards, and especially the factory 5 year warranty on the ST.

So which out of those would you choose based on the criteria I have given, and why?
 
SolidSnakeUS said:
Curious, is it a good or bad thing to avoid Asus motherboards mainly because of their customer service? Unless you guys have had good service?
Click to expand...

I myself am on the Asus bandwagon and have been for the past 7 years or so. I switched from Abit to Asus when Abit left the public market. I have stuck with Asus not for their support or lack thereof but because of their super low failure rate. Out of dozens of builds based on Asus motherboards I have had a single failure and Newegg took care of that without a hassle. The flip side of that though, what if you have an issue months down the road and your vendor won't help? I have heard Asus drops the ball when it comes to customer service. Bottom line, until I have an issue and Asus lets me down I will always use their motherboards.
 
MC has some but I am waiting for them to update the $50 promo to the 77 mobos
 
Im waiting to see how well the Ivy Bridges overclock first. Im afraid they wont be good clockers. If I bought a mobo though I cant see myself not getting one with Thunderbolt. I usually like a build to last ~3 years or so.
 
I'd most likely get the ASUS Sabertooth Z77, especially after seeing the Newegg video on it. It looks like a very impressive board.
 
None of these boards appear to support Dolby Digital Live over the onboard Sound, which is annoying to me
 
Go to the ST Z77 product page on their web store and it's right there.
 
Wierd, I ain't seeing it. Wonder if it's because I am using Chrome. Oh well it's ordered anyway :D
 
Those 40mm fans on the sabertooth are the main reason I'm not getting one.

I'm anti-40mm fans.
 
The Sabretooth looks like a stupid product.

I just want a board with a lot of connectivity, good OC, and no stupid gimmicky shit. I don't like to pay extra for slot covers, tiny ass 40mm fans that don't do anything productive and not a PS2 port for all that price.
 
I just did an RMA through them last month. They are US based and they aren't the fastest and require you to pay to ship to them, but the rest is on them. If you have an issue just be as thorough as possible and you won't have a problem. The packaging they shipped my return board in was amazing and they only require the actual motherboard, not all the accessories.

dukenuke88 said:
Does anybody know where ASrock support is located? Is it USA based and are they quick in turn around? E-mails and phone calls?

I'm really digging the new ASrock products....problem is, I am kinda weary of their support....I couldn't find much on their website....and yes, that ASRock Extreme6 Z77 looks nice for only $175!
Click to expand...
 
I grabbed a P8Z77-V Deluxe with a 2500K since IB CPU is still a few weeks away. Should have sometime to test it tonight. Have to work! Arrggg!!!
 
Q1DM6 said:
Its the deciding factor in buying a new board or not. So yes. I see no reason to keep this system for many years yet and not have access to it.
Click to expand...

The Asus boards (at least the Pro and Deluxe I believe) are supposedly going to have a riser card available for sale down the road (for the bottom PCI-e x4 slot) to add Thunderbolt as there is a header on the bottom right corner of the board. Can't remember where I read that (I think it was actually in LinusTechTips Youtube unboxing of the Pro or Deluxe if you want to search for those videos on YT).

My personal choice right now:

Asus P8P77-V Pro
+ Many years of good Asus experience on my own and friends builds
+ Overall build quality/layout/power delivery looks good
+ Intel NIC
+ Asus FanXpert 2 looks awesome for fan control (and 6x 4-pin headers)
+ DLNA WiFi streaming could be useful if I can stream MKV's to my TV without having to use a media box
+ UEFI looks good from screenshots
+ PCI for my soundcard
- no e-SATA on back panel (I think a riser card is included, but that means extra annoying wires inside the case, the Deluxe has it on back panel, what are they thinking removing it on Pro. I use e-SATA frequently for back-up and I guess I could use USB3, but e-SATA works perfectly with hot-swap and it's fast)
- Price ($235)

Gigabyte UD5
+ Intel NIC
+ Price ($195)
+ Has enough fan headers
+ e-SATA
+ Has PCI for my X-Fi (don't want to buy a new soundcard right now)
- Not sure about UEFI
- Not sure about support in Canada

MSI GD65
+ Price ($176)
+ Should have good support (RMA centre for Canada is near where I live)
+ Intel NIC
- No e-SATA
- No PCI slots (would have to buy new soundcard, I will not use onboard)

ASRock Extreme6
+ Price ($175)
+ e-SATA
- Non-Intel NIC
- Not sure on support in Canada
- 1 year warranty

I'll probably end up on the V Pro, just pissed off about the lack of an e-SATA port on the back panel for no good reason that I can tell.
 
Last edited:
grambo said:
The Asus boards (at least the Pro and Deluxe I believe) are supposedly going to have a riser card available for sale down the road (for the bottom PCI-e x4 slot) to add Thunderbolt as there is a header on the bottom right corner of the board. Can't remember where I read that (I think it was actually in LinusTechTips Youtube unboxing of the Pro or Deluxe if you want to search for those videos on YT).

My personal choice right now:

Asus P8P77-V Pro
+ Many years of good Asus experience on my own and friends builds
+ Overall build quality/layout/power delivery looks good
+ Intel NIC
+ Asus FanXpert 2 looks awesome for fan control (and 6x 4-pin headers)
+ DLNA WiFi streaming could be useful if I can stream MKV's to my TV without having to use a media box
+ UEFI looks good from screenshots
+ PCI for my soundcard
- no e-SATA on back panel (I think a riser card is included, but that means extra annoying wires inside the case, the Deluxe has it on back panel, what are they thinking removing it on Pro. I use e-SATA frequently for back-up and I guess I could use USB3, but e-SATA works perfectly with hot-swap and it's fast)
- Price ($235)

Gigabyte UD5
+ Intel NIC
+ Price ($195)
+ Has enough fan headers
+ e-SATA
+ Has PCI for my X-Fi (don't want to buy a new soundcard right now)
- Not sure about UEFI
- Not sure about support in Canada

MSI GD65
+ Price ($176)
+ Should have good support (RMA centre for Canada is near where I live)
+ Intel NIC
- No e-SATA
- No PCI slots (would have to buy new soundcard, I will not use onboard)

ASRock Extreme6
+ Price ($175)
+ e-SATA
- Non-Intel NIC
- Not sure on support in Canada
- 1 year warranty

I'll probably end up on the V Pro, just pissed off about the lack of an e-SATA port on the back panel for no good reason that I can tell.
Click to expand...

Just throwing this out there, but another con for the UD5H could be that it doesn't have a PS/2 port, while others do. I personally still use a PS/2 keyboard and not ready to switch just yet to something else. Also, is there really that much of a difference between the Intel and Broadcom NICs? Also, on Newegg, you can get the Extreme6 with an extended 2 year warranty for $205, which is 5 cheaper than the normal Asus P8Z77-V, which also has a 3 year warranty.
 
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