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

Well I caved and just ordered the Z77 ST. With the amount of case fans I'm ordering for an experiment and the 15% off CC, it covered shipping costs.
 
Im trying so hard to wait for the G1.Sniper 3 but I may cave and order the Sabertooth, I'm dieing here lol
 
The question is will the Sniper 3 be out before or on IB release? If it is before I will definitely get it if not... May do Sabertooth or Deluxe. The Customer Service does scare me also.
 
When was the last time anyone had to use asus customer service/tech support?
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Unless there's a Q77-motherboard coming with at least one 16x PCIe and one 8x PCIe I'm going for the MSI GD65 mobo mainly because of MSIs choice of hardware controllers. Gigabyte seems to have grown fond of Atheros/Qualcomm but their LAN-adapters have poor driver support and I'm not really convinced that they also work reliable in Linux/BSD. Both Asus and Gigabyte seem to switched from Realtek audio to VIA which is just horrible from my point of view. Realtek HD Audio isn't great but it works fine and they are frequently updating their drivers. VIA directs all support to the vendor which pretty much leaves you with no support at all at least by going with Asus standards regarding driver updates. I've also found VIA audio codecs to be a lot more glitchy than Realtek but that's most likely a driver question than hardware. I'm also not that fond of Marvell SATA-controllers, some like Asrock and MSI uses ASMedia ones instead which also work very well in AHCI-mode.
//Danne
 
diizzy said:
Unless there's a Q77-motherboard coming with at least one 16x PCIe and one 8x PCIe I'm going for the MSI GD65 mobo mainly because of MSIs choice of hardware controllers. Gigabyte seems to have grown fond of Atheros/Qualcomm but their LAN-adapters have poor driver support and I'm not really convinced that they also work reliable in Linux/BSD. Both Asus and Gigabyte seem to switched from Realtek audio to VIA which is just horrible from my point of view. Realtek HD Audio isn't great but it works fine and they are frequently updating their drivers. VIA directs all support to the vendor which pretty much leaves you with no support at all at least by going with Asus standards regarding driver updates. I've also found VIA audio codecs to be a lot more glitchy than Realtek but that's most likely a driver question than hardware. I'm also not that fond of Marvell SATA-controllers, some like Asrock and MSI uses ASMedia ones instead which also work very well in AHCI-mode.
//Danne
Click to expand...

Only the cheapeset gigabytes use VIA for audio (mostly), GA-Z77-DS3H and up (mostly) use realtek.
Even the cheapest Asus (p8z77-m) uses realtek audio (and realtek lan on many)

The ASUS P8Z77-V LK has x16/x8, uses realtek lan and audio and is cheaper than the GD-65 ($145)

For $10 more than the GD-65 Gigabyte has the GA-Z77X-UD5H which is 3way crossfire/sli, 16x,8x,4x uses realtek audio with Support for X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity, dual lan (1 atheros 1 intel, both gigabit)
 
diizzy said:
But Realtek LAN vs Intel is really no brainer...
//Danne
Click to expand...

and one of the motherboards I mentioned has realtek, the other has intel...

I was just trying to point out that BOTH Gigabyte and Asus make motherboards of the specs you were discussing (no Via sound, no atheros lan, x16/x8 PCIE).
 
Last edited:
KevinG said:
But that's an extra $30 that I wouldn't have had to spend if I had been more careful...sucks.
Click to expand...

Think of it this way, that $30 just bought you the ability to choose from any motherboard for your next few upgrades well into the future since it'll carry over from system to system. ;)
 
It's safe to say I will keep my 5Ghz 2500K for awhile until E2 comes out. I'm sure Intel will find a way to improve the IB. So much anticipation/expectation, yet it seems so little excitement now that the OCability has been rumored to be bad.
 
JCNiest5 said:
It's safe to say I will keep my 5Ghz 2500K for awhile until E2 comes out. I'm sure Intel will find a way to improve the IB. So much anticipation/expectation, yet it seems so little excitement now that the OCability has been rumored to be bad.
Click to expand...

I'm still excited, if the new 3770k can hit at least 4.5-4.6 I'll be buying one. My 2600k has trouble staying stable above 4.8 anyway.

Most leaked benchmarks (if real, but for the sake of comparing to leaked oc results) show the IB doing a decent job over SB clock for clock, I would put my money on a 4.5ghz IB doing better in most REAL WORLD applications (windows, apps you would use daily, games, etc) vs a 4.7 SB. Just speculation of course, we shall see.
 
Last edited:
youghmama said:
http://www.tweaktown.com/news/23567/industry_sources_say_ivy_bridge_will_launch_monday_april_23/index.html :D

So we will soon find out if we can fry our eggs on this CPU or not.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, curious as to why this isn't widespread news all over the web. If it's true, awesome, I get my IB system up and running a week early. If it's not true, awesome, I only have an extra week to wait until I get my IB system up and running, as that's what my expectation was since it was announced that the 29th is the launch date.
 
diizzy said:
But Realtek LAN vs Intel is really no brainer...
//Danne
Click to expand...

Having had both on the PHY level, I'd agree.

The real issue with the Intel PHY is that it's priced significantly higher than Realtek PHYs - in fact, the price spread is greater on the PHY level than on the standalone level (and it's easily comparable - Newegg and MicroCenter carry both at the PCIe X1 standalone level).

Also, unless you need those unique-to-Intel features (such as QoS at the NIC/PHY level), is the difference in price worth as much as Intel is charging for it? For the average PC user - or even the average gamer - the answer is often *no*.

Then there is the odd fact that I can buy an ASUS P8Z77 V-LX *and* a standalone Intel gigabit NIC for less than the cost of an ASUS motherboard with an Intel gigabit PHY (and without paying for features I can't - or won't - use on the motherboard itself).

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0360498 (Intel gigabit PCIe NIC @ MicroCenter Fairfax)
 
I'm wondering what are these QoS features at the NIC level you guys always talking about mentioning intel's network adapters?
I know they support virtual LANs and appropriate quality of service features but c'mon who uses virtual LANs in home environment with compatible ISO level 3 manageable switches and infrastructure?
Or maybe you are talking about something different. If yes please give some hints I could follow.
 
piquadrat said:
I'm wondering what are these QoS features at the NIC level you guys always talking about mentioning intel's network adapters?
I know they support virtual LANs and appropriate quality of service features but c'mon who uses virtual LANs in home environment with compatible ISO level 3 manageable switches and infrastructure?
Or maybe you are talking about something different. If yes please give some hints I could follow.
Click to expand...

That is exactly what I was referring to, and why I questioned how useful those features are for home users or even gamers, considering the high premium there is for an Intel PHY.

It makes even less sense when you can buy a PCIe X1 Intel gigabit NIC for $40 (therefore giving you dual-gigabit) and have just as much versatility (more if you only have one PHY to start with compared to a motherboard with a single Intel PHY, such as the ASUS P8Z77 V) without buying features that you won't use.

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0386886 (ASUS P8Z77-V)
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0387156 (ASUS P8Z77 V-LX)
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0360498 (Intel gigabit PCIe Ethernet adapter)
 
Just got my Z77 Sabertooth today. Mmmmm. Damn, what a great looking MoBo and awesome features. Pictures definitely don't do it justice.

Not more than 10 days and I'll be able to order the last and final piece of my 1155 build puzzle... Ivy Bridge!
 
I picked up a Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H today. It has everything I need, and it was reasonably priced. A few reviews I've seen online actually show that the board is a good overclocker too. I wish it had a few more phases for the regulator, but I'm only planning on running my CPU around 4.3-4.5 Ghz, so I doubt this is an issue (plus GB uses quality parts). I'll probably get the build together this weekend, and I'll probably report back with some impressions of the board.
 
Just received my Gigabyte GA Z77X-UD5H in the mail today and it looks awesome just waiting for IB to release now.
 
I'd love to go for the UD3H, but the only problem is that it only has 6 SATA ports. I would actually max out at 6 ports when I put my system together:

BD Burner, 3 SATA HDDs, 2.5" Toaster Bay and eSATA on the front of my case.
 
SolidSnakeUS said:
I'd love to go for the UD3H, but the only problem is that it only has 6 SATA ports. I would actually max out at 6 ports when I put my system together:

BD Burner, 3 SATA HDDs, 2.5" Toaster Bay and eSATA on the front of my case.
Click to expand...

The Z77X-D3H looks like it has 8 SATA ports. You lose the 3rd PCI-E lane, but if you'd never use it, it's not a big deal. It doesn't look like the D3H has a SATA power input (I suppose for extra power to the PCI-E lanes) either if you care about that.
 
I mean, does the D3H have the same quality? What do you mean exactly by SATA power input? Also, does the D3H lack better OC'ing software or whatnot?

Just looked it up, apparently the D3H doesn't support SLI...
 
Just picked up an Intel DZ77BH-55K. I was teetering between Intel and Asus but my last board was an DX58SO which was rock solid with a overclocked Corei7 920. I know a lot of people overlook the Intels due to stigma they've had in the past but I just feel that the makers of the chipset would make the best board based on it. Besides in i'm Oregon, gotta help out a local company!
 
SolidSnakeUS said:
I mean, does the D3H have the same quality? What do you mean exactly by SATA power input? Also, does the D3H lack better OC'ing software or whatnot?

Just looked it up, apparently the D3H doesn't support SLI...
Click to expand...

The D3H has SLI printed next to the PCI-E lanes, so I would assume it supports it. As far as the power imput, if you look right above the SATA ports on the UD3H you will see it. After looking at the D3H again, I also noticed that it doesn't have the power, reset, and clear CMOS buttons either (very useful for bench-top work).
 
Bahn Yuki said:
Just picked up an Intel DZ77BH-55K. I was teetering between Intel and Asus but my last board was an DX58SO which was rock solid with a overclocked Corei7 920. I know a lot of people overlook the Intels due to stigma they've had in the past but I just feel that the makers of the chipset would make the best board based on it. Besides in i'm Oregon, gotta help out a local company!
Click to expand...
Thanks from Santa Clara.
 
I'm kinda torn between a few boards
From Asus (in this order):
SABERTOOTH Z77
P8Z77-V PRO
P8Z77-V DELUXE

Gigabyte (again in order of most wanted first):
Z77X-UD5H
G1 Sniper M3 seems like the better board for matx vs the asus maximus V gene
G1.Sniper 3 (as crazy as it looks it seems like a great board)
Z77X-UD3H
 
Last edited:
If you want the longer warranty, get the ST.

If you'll be using mSATA, get the UD5H.
 
youghmama said:
Thanks from Santa Clara.
Click to expand...
Well there's a plant here in Hillsboro, actually a lot of companies have plants here in Oregon. I can think of Infocus, HP, Nike, Garmin, Yamasa, Intel, Google right off the top of my head, there's probably more.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top