I'm trying to decide on a cheap z270 mobo. is shielding for dust really that important? underreviewed products stear clear?

[David_24]

I only need it to last 3-5 years so why do I need all those dust gaurds?

This is the one i'm thinking of getting.
https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/xwH48d/asus-prime-z270-p-atx-lga1151-motherboard-prime-z270-p
Is it the same as the other asus prime z270 but without the dust shields? I like how it has two m.2 slots and fast ram.
My main concern is I can't find any reviews for the asus prime z270 p just for the other primes. So I dunno if I'm going to buy a dud or not.
I'm saving 60 canadian against the other models so I'd like to know what i'm really compromising on here.

 

[genthug]

IMO Asus is a large enough company that I wouldn't be dissuaded from an underreviewed product--if it was a company that had not made a name yet then I absolutely would but Asus has a name to uphold with its products.

As for the motherboard. If we are comparing the Z270-p to the Z270-a (which, just pointing out, is not a $60 difference) you're sacrificing: the ability to SLI, a dust guard, power phase, and IMO a lot of aesthetics.

Edit: As for the original "why do I need the dust guards"--dust can kill PCs. Enough buildup of dust actually will eventually make it conductive, so make sure you're cleaning your PC at least once every couple of months.

 

[David_24]

IMO Asus is a large enough company that I wouldn't be dissuaded from an underreviewed product--if it was a company that had not made a name yet then I absolutely would but Asus has a name to uphold with its products.

As for the motherboard. If we are comparing the Z270-p to the Z270-a (which, just pointing out, is not a $60 difference) you're sacrificing: the ability to SLI, a dust guard, power phase, and IMO a lot of aesthetics.

Edit: As for the original "why do I need the dust guards"--dust can kill PCs. Enough buildup of dust actually will eventually make it conductive, so make sure you're cleaning your PC at least once every couple of months.

so witha dust gaurd i dont have to clean as often per risk.
I googled it but why would I want powerphase? Can I change the voltage to my cpu without it? I do want to overclock the i7 7700.

 

[genthug]

Are you getting a 7700 or a 7700k? If you're not getting a k SKU processor then I wouldn't even bother with a Z270 chipset.

You should still clean your machine regularly even if you have a dustguard, but the idea is that you're not allowing as much dust into the I/O of the motherboard to screw things up on that front.

Power phase effects the power delivery to your CPU. Your CPU gets power from a 12v source. If you put 12v into your CPU, you're no longer going to have a CPU. As such, there are VRMs (voltage regulator modules) that step down the power from said 12v to whatever your processor is currently running at. These modules make sure that the proper amount of power is always supplied to your CPU. The more phases you have in your power delivery, the better you're going to be able to overclock, and the better thermals you will have. Now; this varies from vendor to vendor but given that we're talking strictly about Asus, I'm assuming that their design and implementation in their Prime motherboards is essentially the same except for the number of VRMs on the board.

 

[David_24]

Are you getting a 7700 or a 7700k? If you're not getting a k SKU processor then I wouldn't even bother with a Z270 chipset.

You should still clean your machine regularly even if you have a dustguard, but the idea is that you're not allowing as much dust into the I/O of the motherboard to screw things up on that front.

Power phase effects the power delivery to your CPU. Your CPU gets power from a 12v source. If you put 12v into your CPU, you're no longer going to have a CPU. As such, there are VRMs (voltage regulator modules) that step down the power from said 12v to whatever your processor is currently running at. These modules make sure that the proper amount of power is always supplied to your CPU. The more phases you have in your power delivery, the better you're going to be able to overclock, and the better thermals you will have. Now; this varies from vendor to vendor but given that we're talking strictly about Asus, I'm assuming that their design and implementation in their Prime motherboards is essentially the same except for the number of VRMs on the board.

oh. so I'm going to have more thermal head room with more vrms so I should consider the more expensive board.
its 60 more in canada.

 

[genthug]

Essentially, yes. But, again, I would only consider a Z270 board if you're getting an i7 7700k, if you're getting an i7 7700 I would consider a cheaper option.