ASUS TUF Z270 MARK 2, or MSI Z270 SLI, or Gigabyte Z270X-ULTRA GAMING

[VinnyVincent]

They all have similar features and I can't decide.

Gigabyte for $135 http://www.microcenter.com/product/473335/Z270X-ULTRA_GAMING_LGA_1151_ATX_Intel_Motherboard

ASUS for $130 http://www.microcenter.com/product/473034/TUF_Z270_MARK_2_LGA_1151_ATX_Intel_Motherboard

MSI for $115 http://www.microcenter.com/product/475280/Z270_SLI_LGA_1151_ATX_Intel_Motherboard

I was going to go MSI since they all have more features than I need and it's cheapest, but then I read that their QC is sometimes bad.
Which would you choose?

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Gigabyte
ASUS
MSI

In this order.

 

[VinnyVincent]

Thanks,
They actually have an open box Gigabyte GA-Z270M-D3H mATX. Seems like a steal for $75. I might just take a risk and get that one since it has everything I need too, based on being a better brand.
I figure worst case I'll just return it since the store isn't too far.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Very true , let me know how it works out when you get the board.

 

[VinnyVincent]

Installation went great. It booted right into windows without me having to do anything.

The problem is, it's not performing like it should. I was getting roughly 1200 marks in the XTU benchmark test with my B250. Now I am only getting 727 marks. I don't see what the issue could be. All the other numbers look identical. Both Mobo's are running at 4.4GHZ with the 45 multiplier on one of the cores. TDP looks the same...
Everything looks the same except the temps are running a little higher and I'm not getting as many marks on the intel XTU test. What do you think it could be?

 

[VinnyVincent]

Okay I think I solved the performance issue. I read the instructions wrong and had the memory running in single channel mode.
Now to figure out why the temps are higher. I was running at just 60c, not it is running at 80c. I might try reapplying the thermal paste, but I really don't think that's it....

 

[VinnyVincent]

Whelp that didn't really make any difference. I used the same method and brand of thermal paste as I did when my temps were only at 60c under full load.
What else could it be? The only thing I hanged was the motherboard. Maybe by default the z270 is using a higher voltage or something?
I'm considering returning the board at this point, but would hate to buy a more expensive one and have the same issue.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Everything up to date including the BIOS?

It could have been a returned board , that had a thermal issue they didn't know about.

 

[VinnyVincent]

Windows is up to date, but I never reinstalled it, which I now some recommend. Could that be it?

I think the bios is out of date. It says version F6 and I think F20 or higher is available. I'm trying to figure out how to update it right now.
This sure was easier on my other board, because I could just plug into Ethernet and update online over bios.

The gigabyte site has about 30+ update files since version 6. Seems like there would be a utility that installs them all at once? Should I try putting the BIOS CD onto a flash drive(I don't have a disk reader on this computer)

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Windows reinstall won't help a temp issue.

 

[VinnyVincent]

Okay I updated bios and installed all the specialty drivers/tools that came with the motherboard CD.
None of that made any difference, so I tried reapplying paste with less paste this time, which made it worse.

So I went ahead and tried hooking up my old B250 board, and sure enough temps are now back down to 65c whilst running the same bench score on XTU.

At this point I'm thoroughly frustrated and thinking of just hanging up the idea of OCing...do you think it's that the Z270's might just run a little hotter(I notice the CPU plug used 8 pins instead of 4 like my B250), or do you think this specific board has something like a voltage regulation issue, like you mentioned?
I'm trying to figure out if I want to just return this one/stick with my B250, or exchange it for a different Z270.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Usually the Z boards will run cooler , because of a better power phase and thermal design.

 

[VinnyVincent]

So, you're thinking it's probably this specific board?
There's some other issues I was having on the Z270 as well. My graphics card was performing a little lower. About 10%.
I also tried OCing to 4.6GHZ, which yielded a userbench CPU score of 105%...yet I am getting that same 105% score on the stock clocks with this B250...so it really does seem like something is wonky with this specific z270

I guess I just want to avoid getting another z270 and the same thinig happens, because then I might lose it

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

If it's causing all those issues , stay are your stable setup.

 

[VinnyVincent]

Thanks for the sound advice as usual. I think I'm just going to do that(stay on the B250 and pocket the money when I return the 270). All this hassle doesn't seem worth the little bit of extra CPU power potential, which I really don't even need in the foreseeable future.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Sounds great , you have a great setup and it's stable , STICK with it , why fix what's not broke.

 

[VinnyVincent]

Yeah you're right. I was actually trying to build a second system with the spare parts after my upgrade, which was part of the reason for upgrading... but at this point I think I'm going to pick up the same model B250 for 40 dollars and use that to build the second computer.