Micro-ITX Motherboard For Mild Overclocking

[SmileyChief]

Hi guys, recently I've really felt the need for a smaller pc and have been looking up various mobos for my next micro-itx build. I've come up with two for LGA 1150 and one for LGA 2011. I thought i'd go with an i7 4770k for 1150 or i7 4930k for 2011. I intend to take it to LAN parties and only really want to do gaming on it and so on, also price is not a problem.

https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/RAMPAGE_IV_GENE/overview/

https://www.asus.com/uk/Motherboards/MAXIMUS_VI_GENE/overview/

http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z87M%20Extreme4/

Which one would you go for? Or do you have a different recommendation that's in the high-end spectrum?

 

[Rammy]

One thing - you mention ITX a couple of times. I'm assuming for the rest of this post that you mean micro ATX, as all three boards you linked are this size. ITX (mini-ITX, same thing) is an entirely different, and much smaller, form factor. High end ITX builds are very possible these days, but only if you are running a single graphics card (and don't require expansion slots for other devices).

As for your question, it depends really. From a gaming perspective, an i7 (whether 2011 or 1150) is fairly pointless, and most of the benefits of the X79 platform aren't going to be of any significant benefit to you - increased PCIe lanes, increased RAM capacity etc. All three can do SLI, and whether or not you want to do SLI will have a significant impact on which case and which motherboard is most appropriate.

For example, a Fractal Design Arc Mini has 4 expansion slots. Any of the three boards mentioned will suit this case, but due to stacking graphics cards together you are likely to find that reference designs work best.
A Corsair 350D has 5 expansion slots. This gives you the opportunity to separate the graphics cards by a slot, giving you more opportunity to use non-reference designs. The only motherboard I know of which supports this is the Gigabyte M5 Gsniper.

In general though, it's hard to see why spending money on the Rampage/Maximus boards is worth it. Unless you need/want a specific feature, they aren't going to be good value for money. For a "mild overclock", something like the Extreme 4 is likely to be plenty.

 

[Rationale]

You keep saying "mini ITX" but all the boards you linked are actually micro ATX. They're totally different.

 

[SmileyChief]

Sorry for the confusion, its a simple typo