Building a new system for gaming, looking for advice on choosing a motherboard

[AceRoccola]

I'm having trouble with my current PC, and after months of troubleshooting and empty threads on sites across the web, I've resigned myself to scrapping my existing PC and starting fresh. My system is hopelessly dated anyway, so I could benefit from moving into the current age.

Right now, I'm looking at these for my main components:

Case - Phanteks Eclipse P4005 ATX Mid Tower:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811854053

PSU - EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G2 (80+ Gold 750W):
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438017

CPU: Intel Core I5-7600k Kaby Lake 3.8GHz:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117728

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-pin DDR4 2400:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231888

I have a GTX 970 and a WD Blue 1TB SSD already on hand that I'll use in this new build. Which leaves me looking for a motherboard. I'm going with Intel because it still seems to dominate in performance. Right now I'm between three choices, all LGA 1151:

MSI Z270 Gaming M5: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130970
ASUS ROG Strix Z270H Gaming: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132931
ASRock Z270 Killer: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157746

These are between $140 and $170. They each seem like decent options, but I've been wrong before, so I'd love to hear from some people with more knowledge than I. ASRock seems to have good reviews, but I don't know the brand. I'm trying to keep it under $200, but I'm welcome to suggestions if anyone can recommend something better/more reliable. I'm also open to suggestions about the other components.

I'm trying to build something that will give me better gaming performance, but I'm not trying to do 4K or VR or anything outrageous. I just want to be solid at 1080p for a while and not struggle to hit 30 frames in modern games. Factoring in the cost of the motherboard, this list is set to cost roughly $700 from newegg, which is about what I'm aiming to spend on this build at this stage.

 

[adiec]

Given you're gaming, here's my suggestion.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($336.88 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - Z270 Pro4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($103.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team - Dark 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Other: P400S Tempered Glass Black/Red ($89.99)
Total: $705.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-09 03:52 EDT-0400

chug, i wouldnt put a 40$ psu with a 400$ cpu......something gold.

it's a very good quality power supply. not sure what it is like in relation to overclocking but its quality .

Overclocking isn't a factor that should be taken into account as a different thing, it's just the act of applying slightly higher power draw to components, for the 7700k this should add 50w worst case in heavy OCing, or about 30w for the GPU.

what i meant was i know the psu is great for everyday use but i wasn't sure of it's components in relation to an overclock in a high end gaming system (in other words a system where everything is pushed to the extremes) . it may be fantastic.. i don't know.. it may be terrible and whine a lot .. i don't know . so basically i don't know . haha i wouldn't expect it to fail though!

 

[Chugalug_]

Naah, it'll be fine.
This is a mid range system, even with higher end systems it'll be perfectly fine, runs pretty cool and quiet.

 

[AceRoccola]

Thanks for the responses, all! Would I see a significant performance improvement between the i5-7600k and the i7-7700k in-game? I was under the impression that the i5 would be the better price/performance balance. I'm upgrading from an ancient AMD Phenom II 970, so either of the Intels would be a huge upgrade in processing power. Is it really worth the extra hundred or so for the i7 if I'm only gaming in 1080p? I don't want to make the leap to i7 if it's just for higher benchmark scores.

 

[Chugalug_]

Yes, the 7700k will give you a significant advantage in most games save for low demand Esports titles where the difference between the two won't really be seen at all. Resolution doesn't play a large part in determining CPU load, that's primarily each game's individual engine and setup.

 

[Lucky_SLS]

^ thats true, latest AAA titles r a lot more demanding. the 7700k will be useful in that regard 😉