mATX H61 vs ATX Z77 - Non-K processor

[CGurrell]

Ok so I bought a bundle for my CPU, Motherboard and RAM when building my PC. The bundle was cheap, but came with an i5-3470, 4gb DDR3 RAM (upgraded to 8gb using identical sticks) and H61 mATX form factor motherboard (ASUS p8 H61-MX R2.0). This motherboard is crap. It has 2 DIMMs, 1 PCI-E x16 slot, No USB 3.0 (Added a PCI-E x1 card to support that) and no SATA 3 6gb/s ports. Obviously, my CPU has a locked multiplier so can't really be overlcocked (I know it can possibly be OC'd via hardcore hacking and stuff, but I need the warranty to be intact lol), so should I buy a full ATX Z77 motherboard (Something like http://www.amazon.co.uk/AsRock-Z77-Motherboard-Socket-Capacitor/dp/B007MHC6K6/ref=pd_cp_computers_0 or http://www.amazon.co.uk/GA-Z77-DS3H-Graphics-CrossFireX-LucidLogix-DualBIOS/dp/B0084OGIE6/ref=sr_1_19?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1405104940&sr=1-19&keywords=z77) for SATA 3 6gb/s (for my new SSD) and more DIMMs/PCI-E x16 slots, or would it be a waste of money?

Thanks guys

 

[TechyInAZ]

First off, your h61 is micro atx, which means that the PC case is most likely mATX only. So you will need to get a micro atx motherboard.

 

[dwatterworth]

The question is really: what tasks are you using the computer for? The Sata 2 vs Sata 3 speeds make very little difference for normal desktop tasks or gaming. You see marginally faster loads of larger programs, but most of it is dictated by CPU speed. With the sata controller, do you plan on wanting a Raid array in the future?

Do you need additional PCIe slots or memory Dimms? Other than those two differences, the major ones I would consider are component longevity. Often the Z chipset motherboards have more robust components/higher quality components with cooling aids such as heatsinks / more spacing between items etc.

Realistically if you were to go to a Z chipset motherboard right now vs your H61, you wouldn't see much difference at all in terms of performance or usability.

 

[CGurrell]

First off, your h61 is micro atx, which means that the PC case is most likely mATX only. So you will need to get a micro atx motherboard.

Actually, I have a pretty big ATX tower (Zalman Z11), yeah I screwed up with the bundle 😛

 

[CGurrell]

The question is really: what tasks are you using the computer for? The Sata 2 vs Sata 3 speeds make very little difference for normal desktop tasks or gaming. You see marginally faster loads of larger programs, but most of it is dictated by CPU speed. With the sata controller, do you plan on wanting a Raid array in the future?

Do you need additional PCIe slots or memory Dimms? Other than those two differences, the major ones I would consider are component longevity. Often the Z chipset motherboards have more robust components/higher quality components with cooling aids such as heatsinks / more spacing between items etc.

Realistically if you were to go to a Z chipset motherboard right now vs your H61, you wouldn't see much difference at all in terms of performance or usability.

Well I was thinking about setting up a Raid 0 array with a couple of SSDs in the future, but by that point I'd probably be building a new PC 😛 It would be nice to have more expandability in terms of memory and graphics cards (CrossfireX with my 280x in a few years to try and keep up with games would be nice). And if I was able to pick up a 3570k or 3770k in the next few months for cheap, it would definitely help, but if I was gonna pay full price for a new CPU and motherboard, I'd probably jump to haswell.

I think I might go for it for the sake of £70, but I'll probably wait a couple of months or so, maybe see if prices go down a bit with Z97 (or any LGA 1150 socket really) being the norm nowadays.

Thanks for your help anyways

 

[dwatterworth]

No problem, any time. I'd say use what you have now and see what's around and what price points things are at when you want to upgrade.