Mobo noob here

Ode to Animosity

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Sep 28, 2014
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The rig I'll build in the near future involves the i5-4690k and MSI's GTX 970 gaming 4g which both support OC, obviously. The downside, is that I'm on a budget. With the build I went for, decent cooling is out of the question. I can only afford stock at the moment, then OC at a later date when I need to. That being said, I'm pretty damn sure these'll run beastly at stock for a good amount of time.

Time to shine my ignorance. I noticed that there are a good amount of types that Mobos come in. One specifically labeled with "gaming" (this is the mobo I'm about to purchase, btw http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gah97gaming3). I know I shouldn't be buying based off of marketing, but it then hit me: "If I plan to OC, do I need a mobo that 'supports' overclocking"?

With that in mind, does my mobo "support" overclocking? I've seen some reviews regarding the product, and it's pretty damn good for the price. Also, feel free to educate me as much as you can.
 
No, that mobo will not overclock... it has a H97 chipset which doesn't support overclocking... you need one with a Z#7 chipset.

This is practically the same model but with a Z chipset and a $15.00 higher price tag.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128711R&cm_re=GIGABYTE_GA-Z97-Gaming_3_LGA_1150_Intel_Z97-_-13-128-711R-_-Product

This is the Gaming 5 model, it's even better for $10.00 more.
GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 LGA 1150 Intel Z97
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128709R
 


O_O... Wow, God damnit. I was pretty close to screwing myself over, thank you! Mods can close this.