Mobo for G3258

[rSPECTRUM]

Hello !

I'm looking forward to building a pc but I don't really know what mobo to choose. However, after hours of searching I've found two mobos that have all the features I need. One of them is ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer and the other one is GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-GAMING 3. Now, the problem is that I can't decide. What I like about the Gigabyte one is that it has one more heat sink, support for both SLI and Crossfire and it's full ATX (12 - 8.9) and the bios seems to be a lil bit better. Now, what I like more at the ASRock one is the look, lol.

Now, seriously, what should i choose ? I want to overclock the G3258 to something like 4.4 - 4.5 GHz and later on to upgrade to i5 / i7 Broadwell. Which is the better board ?

 

[byza]

I'd go with the Asrock Extreme4.
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-z97extreme4

 

[MeteorsRaining]

You're spending way too much on the MoBo if you're building a Pentium PC. An ASRock Z97 Extreme3 is a good MoBo with all the features you'll need (SLI support, ATX, good at OCing) for the price.

Also, b/w the 2, I'd go with GB if you're going for GTX GPU or ASROCK for saving some bucks and getting a better AMD GPU.

 

[rSPECTRUM]

What I don't like about Extreme 3 is that is has no Sata express nor M.2, features which I don't know if I'll ever use but I think is nice to have them... somehow...

Oh, and the audio chipset isn't as good as killer or gaming 3 one.

 

[MeteorsRaining]

SATAe and M.2 are high storage speed and less physical space concernced tech respectively. I'd just say, don't cheap out on GPU because of MoBo. The audio chipset on ex3 is a decent one and will suffice until you want 7.1 Surround, for which buying a dedicated card is the best option.

OR You can go with the EXTREME4, its better than both Gaming 3 and Fatality killer.

 

[rSPECTRUM]

The mobo will most probably be the Sapphire R9 270 which (with some oc) for medium settings at 1080p will be fine... I think.

 

[MeteorsRaining]

Yes R9 270 is a good card for medium and for high after some OC. You can get a 270X if you cut on the MoBo to get Extreme3. That'll give you good FPS on High out of the box.

 

[rSPECTRUM]

Guys, after a few searches I've found the MSI Z97 PC MATE which is very cheap ( compared to Killer or Gaming 3) and even if it doesn't have all the the featuers the other two have I think I'll be fine. I mean, the lan and audio chipset are worse, no M.2 nor Sata express, no SLI and the VRM only has 4 power phase and not so good heat sink on it but still I should be able to get a good oc on it, right ? I mean, people get 4.7 oc on B81 boards... And the money difference I could use to get a better GPU or a better case or a better PSU or a better HDD and so on. What do you think ?

 

[MeteorsRaining]

I fear, MSI are not the best OCing boards in the market. ASRock Z97 PRO4 will be a better choice as it OCs better.

 

[Y0GI]

Guys, after a few searches I've found the MSI Z97 PC MATE which is very cheap ( compared to Killer or Gaming 3) and even if it doesn't have all the the featuers the other two have I think I'll be fine. I mean, the lan and audio chipset are worse, no M.2 nor Sata express, no SLI and the VRM only has 4 power phase and not so good heat sink on it but still I should be able to get a good oc on it, right ? I mean, people get 4.7 oc on B81 boards... And the money difference I could use to get a better GPU or a better case or a better PSU or a better HDD and so on. What do you think ?

Somewhere up above, I believe that you mentioned that at some point in the future, you wanted to be able to upgrade the Pentium to a Broadwell? If this is true then you need to choose wisely on your mobo purchase!

MSI makes some really crappy AMD based mobos which have really tarnished MSI's reputation across the board. I have the MSI Z87-G43 mobo which has been running great for me over the past year. IMO, MSI makes some really great Intel mobos!

I haven't seen much information on the MSI Z97-PC Mate so I don't really have an opinion on it. However, you should do some research on it and be sure that it has at least 6+2 power phases, Xfire/SLI capability, etc., just as if you were shopping for a mobo for a Broadwell CPU!

Yogi