Building first gaming PC in August, buy Z87 or wait for Z97?

[MrCanEHdian]

First, thank you for taking the time to help me out, and second, the title looks awful so it didn't take too much space.

Basically, I'm looking at buying a decent quality motherboard like an Asus Gryphon, or MSI G45, or maybe a Maximus VI Hero (that one's price is getting a bit steep for me). I did, however, find out today that new motherboards with the Z97 motherboards will be coming out soon and they will support the next line of Intel CPUs.

My question is, should I wait for Z97s to come out, if so, when new MOBOs come out, are their prices sky high and way above the previous series? Furthermore, will Z97s be compatible with older series like the i5 4670k or Xeon 1230v3? And finally, will Z87s be able to handle the newest Intel chipsets or will it be too "outdated" and incompatible?

I need a motherboard that is of reasonably high quality, that's not a micro ATX, one that is preferably below $200.00, and one that will allow me to upgrade in the future. I will be gaming, but my gaming will be predominantly RTSs and TBSs, and maybe some simulation games. The occasional FPS (like Planetside 2) and survival based games (like Day z Standalone or something like that).

Thank you for your time!

 

[animal]

Here in the USA, the z97 motherboards are already starting to appear. If you are not building your rig until August, then I recommend waiting to decide what you will get. The z97 mobos are a little more expensive than their z87 counterparts, but I'm pretty sure the prices will come down some by August. Also, the Asus ROG Ranger is a new z97 mobo, somewhat lower price and capabilities to the z97 Hero, so you might want to keep your eye out for it. As for current generation CPU compatibility, the z97 series are socket 1150, so they will work fine, although the next gen Intel CPUs are due out later this year, not sure if they will be out by August.

 

[MrCanEHdian]

Here in the USA, the z97 motherboards are already starting to appear. If you are not building your rig until August, then I recommend waiting to decide what you will get. The z97 mobos are a little more expensive than their z87 counterparts, but I'm pretty sure the prices will come down some by August. Also, the Asus ROG Ranger is a new z97 mobo, somewhat lower price and capabilities to the z97 Hero, so you might want to keep your eye out for it. As for current generation CPU compatibility, the z97 series are socket 1150, so they will work fine, although the next gen Intel CPUs are due out later this year, not sure if they will be out by August.

I'm glad you agree, I am going to keep looking at the Z97s, they're prices are quite nice, not a lot higher than the Z87s so far. Price reductions would be awesome lmao, but even so, Z97 seems like the best bet for me. Yes, the Ranger or new Gryphon are two of my top so far, and possibly the MSI Gaming 5 and 7. Ya, I'm not counting on the next gen being out by August, I think I will go with a Xeon v3 1230 or i5 4670k. Thanks for the feedback!