Question How much motherboard do I really need?

[avi8tir]

I'll be building a new intel system in a few months. I know Asus products get bashed these days for their QA/QC, but I've built 4 systems in a row that have all been Asus.

When it come to motherboards, how much do I really need? My current 12900k system us running the ROG maximus hero... I do some light overclocking, but nothing major.

I plan on getting the Ultra 9 285k and doing light overclocking, just as I usually do. When looking at the asus motherboards with the Z890 chipset, got me thinking of how high-end I need to go - and also how much $$$ I actually need to spend. No more than 64GB of DDR5 and 2 or 3 M.2 drives. 1 PCIe video card, etc etc.

Thoughts?

 

[USAFRet]

I plan on getting the Ultra 9 285k and doing light overclocking

I'm considering that same CPU.
+ 64GB RAM and 2x NVMe. Among other things.

Why OC?
It won't really get you anything beyond bragging rights.

This platform is so new that there aren't a lot of 'options' available.
All you really need is one with enough ports for your desired devices.

 

[Zerk2012]

I'll be building a new intel system in a few months. I know Asus products get bashed these days for their QA/QC, but I've built 4 systems in a row that have all been Asus.

When it come to motherboards, how much do I really need? My current 12900k system us running the ROG maximus hero... I do some light overclocking, but nothing major.

I plan on getting the Ultra 9 285k and doing light overclocking, just as I usually do. When looking at the asus motherboards with the Z890 chipset, got me thinking of how high-end I need to go - and also how much $$$ I actually need to spend. No more than 64GB of DDR5 and 2 or 3 M.2 drives. 1 PCIe video card, etc etc.

Thoughts?

You spent way to much on the motherboard you have right now at least 200 bucks to much. That could of went to a better video card or more M.2 storage.

For what to spend on the new boards can't say haven't seen any prices.

 

[Lafong]

I've seen prices from 180 (micro ATX) up to I think 999; on pre-order.

3 or 4 micro ATX. The rest full ATX, 15 or 20 of them.

Many manuals available for download.

Walk down the various spec sheets like I've been doing for the last 2 hours.

Do you need dual Thunderbird? Single Thunderbird?

Tool-less this or tool-less that?

8 high speed USB ports rather than 4 or 6? On the back panel?

BIOS flashing without a CPU?

HDMI internal connections?

5 chassis fan connections?

etc, etc.

Maybe you "need" all of that.

I'd like to believe spending more money gets me higher reliability and freedom from headaches...........but I see no evidence of that. Does hope spring eternally?

By nature, do you think there is a strong correlation between price and satisfaction..."you get what you pay for"......that has been ingrained on consumers since Day One?

If you do...spend up to relieve your anxiety, even if it is a bogus idea. Why regret your purchase?

 

[dwd999]

My last 2 have been the Strix E which is $500. I consider this to be a do everything board so I prefer it even if its overkill for me. Plus I'm 74 now so I never know which build will be my last. My currently planned New Year's build:

$ 160 be quiet! Silent Base 802 ATX Case Black BG039
$ 500 ASUS Strix E Z890
$ 589 Intel Core Ultra 9 285K
$ 120 G.SKILL Ripjaws S5 Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) RAM DDR5 6800
$ 200 Seasonic FOCUS V4 GX-1000, 1000W (or maybe a Corsair)
$ 300 Crucial T705 2TB PCIe Gen5 NVMe M.2 SSD with Heatsink
$ 27 Team Group T-FORCE DARK Air Flow M.2 2280 SSD Cooler TJ190002
$ 407 8 Noctua 14" fans plus spacers plus hub
$ 150 Noctua D15 G2 cooler
$1200 LG UltraGear 32" OLED Dual Mode 4K UHD 240Hz

 

[M0710NM4N]

I'm 57... my first build was 16 yrs ago and was waaaay overkill for my needs. But being a 'get what ya pay for' kind of guy and also 'OoOoOo look... shiny thing!'... I ended up with the Maximus Formula 775 and a $1001 QX9650 and ran everything stock LOL!

But ya know what? That machine ran fantastic for 12 yrs and was still running fine when I sold it a couple yrs ago. The only upgrades were ditching the HDD for a couple SSD's and a better GPU.

Just now ready to do another build all these yrs later. I know I want the 285k, but I'm again falling down the rabbit hole by looking right at the Maximus Extreme. SMH

Do I really need a $1000 mobo? NOPE! But man... I like the side connections for keeping the build looking nice and tidy, I like the backplate and of course the LCD is pretty cool.

So far this is how my build is looking:

Case - $235 Lian Li Dynamic EVO XL
PSU - $280 ROG Thor 1200w Platinum II
MOBO - $1000 ASUS ROG Maximus Z890 Extreme
CPU - $590 Core Ultra 9 285K
AIO - $295 NZXT Kraken Elite 360
RAM - $265 Dominator Titanium 7600 @ CL36
SSD - $310 4TB Samsung 990 Pro
SSD - $170 2TB Samsung 990 Pro
Fans - $180 6x be quiet! Silent Wings Pro 4 120mm
Fans - $120 4x be quiet! Silent Wings Pro 4 140mm

Maybe someone could talk some sense into me, in picking the Hero or maybe even the Strix Z890-E Gaming Wifi? Though for the life of me, I have no clue what the Wifi portion even means? Don't they ALL have wifi?

 

[USAFRet]

A year from now, would have second thoughts about not buying the $1,000 motherboard?
If so...buy it.

There is no real 'performance' difference. Just connections.