I7 4790k and motherboard

pfolsgrofb

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Nov 5, 2015
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This is my first pc build. I decided to go for the i7 4790k since it is only $90 more than the i54690k. I have bought it yet, I'm waiting for a good deal today or combo. But my question is, what is a good motherboard to pair with the i7 4790k? I don't plan to overclock for a bit, so I'm not worried about a cpu cooler just yet. And the extra $90 is fine for the processor because it's still in my budget. With the i5 I was going to get the Asus maximus vii hero. I could still get it, but I'm curious if there is a better one out. Or a really good combo?
 
Solution
You can overclock easily with any of those boards. Hero just has a lot of features you might not necessarily need. Like support for liquid nitrogen settings. It does come with a lot of software tools, but they aren't necessary for overclocking, and some other tools for gaming. Basically paying 100 dollars for potentially one multiplier higher overclock, if that. Overclocking Haswell chips is much more dependent on the CPU then the motherboard.
I want to set myself up now for overclocking in the future when I learn more about it. I don't want to wet myself at a point where when I know more and I decide I want to, that I have to spend a fortune to upgrade in order to do so.
 
You can overclock easily with any of those boards. Hero just has a lot of features you might not necessarily need. Like support for liquid nitrogen settings. It does come with a lot of software tools, but they aren't necessary for overclocking, and some other tools for gaming. Basically paying 100 dollars for potentially one multiplier higher overclock, if that. Overclocking Haswell chips is much more dependent on the CPU then the motherboard.
 
Solution
I accidentally selected that as the answer... I'm still open to suggestions. But I do respect your answer. I've heard to stick with Asus motherboards. And that msi and gigabyte were garbage. Is this true?
 
MSI has a somewhat poor reputation in my mind, but that is going back over ten years when a lot of manufacturers were still using electrolytic capacitors that would age quickly, leak, etc. Since the switch to all solid capacitors (very easy for automated machines to place them at the factory, and they are basically non-volatile) motherboards seem to last as long as you want them to.

I own several contemporary ASUS boards and one Gigabyte with no issues. Historically I haven't had any issues with them, I think I had a couple of Athlon XP era boards from Gigabyte as well.

The basic point is that the CPU will reach its limit before the motherboard. Unless you are planning for aggressive custom water cooling you won't be able to get those last few hundred megahertz out of a CPU. With practically any Z97 board, which is already a performance chipset, you will be able to easily achieve about 4.6Ghz or so for a Haswell refresh, but keep in mind that the 4790k boosts up to the 4.4Ghz from the factory, so it is a minor improvement. It is already the best of the lot and already running towards the top end. Additional voltage increases heat exponentially and frequency gains will be minimal above 1.3-1.35 volts or so.