GA-X79-UP4 vs Z87 Pro

[sslayer777]

I'm looking to upgrade my motherboard and CPU and I think I finally have my choices narrowed down. My budget atm is $468. So looking at this the best deals I could find for CPU + mobo combos I found that once again Microcenter reigns supreme of the land of prices. The two combos that I am the most interested in are the 4770k + Asus Z87 pro for $435 (even though I saw it last month for $400), and the 4820k + GA-X79-UP4 for $445. Now in a perfect world I'd love something like the MSI MPower Max or the P9X79 but have yet to really find anything within my price range. I am aware that these two boards run 1150 and 2011 respectively and that 2011 allows for 64gb RAM on quad channel while 1150 runs 32gb max on dual channel and right now I'm only using 8gb DDR3 2133 OC'd RAM (4x2gb sticks) so even though it's a little low it would still function well in the quad channel as far as I can tell. I also know that the difference between 4820k and 4770k is negligible for gaming and LGA 2011 only really shines for intense processing such as for using a lot of Adobe media work, which I don't use that frequently. I am also open to other suggestions besides these two boards.
My full current build without these upgrades is as follows

8gbs ram DDR3
Intel i5 655k 3.2GHz
Intel DH55TC mobo
EVGA GTX 680 2gb GPU
OCZ ZT 750w PSU
Creative Labs SoundBlaster ZXR Sound Card
7 Case fans (only 6 actually in use though)
1tb 7200rpm boot drive + 4Tb 5400rpm storage drive

http://www.microcenter.com/site/brands/intel-processor-bundles.aspx

TL;DR version: need a new mobo/CPU help me out.

 

[raja@asus]

Well I'd say go with the Z87-Pro, but I am biased obviously haha...

 

[sslayer777]

Can you back up your answer or give some reasoning as to why you would go with that board besides the obvious devotion to your brand?

 

[raja@asus]

1) ASUS X-shipping in USA first year for warranty.

2) Fan control options

3) Good suppot here and on ROG forums.

The rest comes down to your IO needs etc.

-Raja