Best cheap z97 Motherboard?

[ghostface97]

So i might be upgrading to a i5 4690k. I was informed that this cpu is able to be overclocked. I have never overclocked and most likely might not, BUT since I have also heard overclocking lets you get much more performance out of a CPU, I do want to leave that option open. So i was recommended to buy a Z97 since they have good OC capabilities. I was looking for one that is about $80, if not less, but not over $100.

I also Have 8gb ram and a r9 390 in case that matters. Thanks!

 

[CTurbo]

For one thing, overclocking is not really worth it, and it won't REALLY let you get "much more" performance. You could save up to $100 by getting an i5 4460 or 4590 + H97 motherboard, and not even notice the performance difference.


To answer your original question, the Asus Z97-E is the one to get.

Note: you will also need to buy an after marker cpu cooler to overclock.

 

[ghostface97]

For one thing, overclocking is not really worth it, and it won't REALLY let you get "much more" performance. You could save up to $100 by getting an i5 4460 or 4590 + H97 motherboard, and not even notice the performance difference.


To answer your original question, the Asus Z97-E is the one to get.

Note: you will also need to buy an after marker cpu cooler to overclock.

Well I do already have a 4590 with a h81m-p33 Mobo that I am going to sell and was going to buy another 4590, but for about $10 I could aquire the 4690K why not. But now that you have told me that Overclocking wont make much difference, if i were to still get the 4690k and not overclock would a simple mobo like the h81m-p33 that I already have be suitable? Oh and also, if I dont Overclock would a stock CPU cooler work?

 

[theunliked]

This is a good motherboard a lot of people use.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($91.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $91.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-11 23:58 EST-0500

http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Fatal1ty%20Z97%20Killer/

 

[CTurbo]

You already have a 4590? Why were you going to buy another one???


A 4690k would not be a worthwhile upgrade over the 4590 so don't bother. Yes your H81 is fine as is the stock cooler.


If you REALLY want to upgrade, get a Xeon e3-1231v3 for your current motherboard or a Skylake i5 or i7 + LGA1151 motherboard.

 

[Karadjgne]

OC does improve performance, but it's not something you'll really notice on an Intel cpu. It does add a few fps. But considering most monitors are capped at 60fps and considering the variance in fps by just changing view direction, explosions, grass moving etc those few fps get lost in the shuffle. Even rendering, the difference is a few seconds to a couple of minutes if you rendered the exact same thing twice with nothing but a speed change in between. Which no one does.

So CT is right in this, your current cpu/mobo is perfectly capable, a move to an i7/xeon is a decent upgrade, but even that has its limits. For games like fallout/skyrim you'll not see a difference, those are single thread strong games that'll only see 2+ core use in heavily modded/enb games, so an 8 thread or 4 thread cpu is unused. In mmorpg, multi-player, high server games like bf4 multi-player, the 8 thread cpus really show up everything else, but they are optimised for thread usage.

That said, there is 1 series of cpus that do show some really good improvement concerning OC, but they start with FX, and are built by AMD.

 

[ghostface97]

You already have a 4590? Why were you going to buy another one???


A 4690k would not be a worthwhile upgrade over the 4590 so don't bother. Yes your H81 is fine as is the stock cooler.


If you REALLY want to upgrade, get a Xeon e3-1231v3 for your current motherboard or a Skylake i5 or i7 + LGA1151 motherboard.

Well its because Im selling mine including my motherboard to my brother for really cheap (might as well be a gift really) because he tried running black ops 3 with his CPU and it stutters horribly no matter what. So I was planning on buying another 4590 for me because so far it has been a great CPU, but I found someone who is willing to sell me one for 210 which is only about $10 more than the 4590, and since he is local, I would rather just get it from him instead of dealing with shipping and all that. And so I was just looking for a better MOBO while I was at it, but I might end up just getting another h81m-p33. And I did check out the new Skylake but Id rather not since they are a tad more expensive (and mobo's also) and I belive they require DDR4 Ram or something and Id rather re use mine. So yeah, Its not that Im trying to upgrade just because, its simply because I want to help my brother out. Otherwise, I would gladly keep my stuff the way it is.

 

[ghostface97]

OC does improve performance, but it's not something you'll really notice on an Intel cpu. It does add a few fps. But considering most monitors are capped at 60fps and considering the variance in fps by just changing view direction, explosions, grass moving etc those few fps get lost in the shuffle. Even rendering, the difference is a few seconds to a couple of minutes if you rendered the exact same thing twice with nothing but a speed change in between. Which no one does.

So CT is right in this, your current cpu/mobo is perfectly capable, a move to an i7/xeon is a decent upgrade, but even that has its limits. For games like fallout/skyrim you'll not see a difference, those are single thread strong games that'll only see 2+ core use in heavily modded/enb games, so an 8 thread or 4 thread cpu is unused. In mmorpg, multi-player, high server games like bf4 multi-player, the 8 thread cpus really show up everything else, but they are optimised for thread usage.

That said, there is 1 series of cpus that do show some really good improvement concerning OC, but they start with FX, and are built by AMD.

Thanks for all the info. I was also looking into a i7 but unfortunately they are a tad too expensive for me and I have also heard that for gaming an i5 is sufficient. And a tad of topic but just out of curiosity and since you mentioned them, how good are the FX (or AMD CPU in general) for gaming? When I first started my build I was actually going for one of those (Fx-6300 i think) but people kept recommending the i5 so thats what I chose.

 

[CTurbo]

I don't think he was recommending you get a AMD FX. He was just saying that overclocking does make a difference with the AMD cpus because their cores are so weak to begin with.


If you want a new cpu/motherboard. I recommend the i5 6500 + H170 motherboard.

 

[Karadjgne]

Since you are aiming to get just a plain Jane z97, pretty much anything from asrock, Asus, msi or Gigabyte will do. They'll all handle a mild to moderate OC for when or if you do change your mind. Just stay away from Biostar or ECS, their boards are unreliable at best.