Good cheap mobo for a Intel Core i5-4690K

[Coolboy951]

Hey guys so im getting a Intel Core i5-4690K soon and i want a good cheap mobo for it my price rang is (30-55$) if you guys can help that would be great (i would like a blue one to match my 7950 boost)

 

[SproutSchon]

For this price range I would recommend:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gah81mh (only 2 RAM slots, 43$)
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gab85mds3h (4 RAM slots, 53$)

Beware of two things:

1) With a H81, you won't be able to overclock optimially your CPU.

2) There is a slight chance that you will need to update your BIOS before making your mobo work with an Haswell Refresh CPU. It might only happen if the specific mobo you are getting has been sitting on a shelf for a long time, but you should still be aware of it.

If you don't want to go through the disadvantages of a H81/B85 chipset, you will need a Z97 mobo which will be much more expensive.
This is cheapest reliable model: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-z97manniversary (88$).

 

[Coolboy951]

Im gonna get the Ga B85M but do i have to download bios for it to make it work with the Intel Core i5-4690K?

 

[SproutSchon]

Like I said there is only a slight chance that you will have to.
If your system boot normally you are good to go.
If you need to update the BIOS you will need a non Haswell Refresh CPU to do so, and it can be a pain the neck.

I built an htpc lately with i3-4160 + B85 mobo and encountered no problem at all.
You may try to contact your specific retailer to make sure but you should be fine unless you get a mobo from a very old batch.

 

[Coolboy951]

alright well im might go for the AsROCK one instead because i dont know anything about mobos that much does the ASrock mobo come with bios installed?

 

[SproutSchon]

No they all come with a BIOS installed.
But the CPU you have is too new for certain cheap older mobo (H81, B85) and can't run with the original BIOS.
They should all be already updated but you might get an old product that has been sitting on a shelf for quite some time.

The only way to 100% sure you won't run into any problem and you can overclock your CPU optimally is to get a Z97 mobo and the ASRock is the cheapest model I would recommend.

 

[Coolboy951]

okay how about the pricce range of 30-85$ that i wont run into a problem with the CPU

 

[SproutSchon]

The ASRock I recommended (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-z97manniversary) is twice as expensive but is Z97.
You won't have any compatibility issue and you would be able to optimally overclock your CPU.

 

[Coolboy951]

Alright thanks I will get that mobo than if rather pay a little more than pay less an have problems