Motherboard for my I5 4590 and GTX 960

[PCNoob85]

Hi guys , i am pretty ignorant when it comes to PCs , i've recently decided that i was going to build a gaming one. I dont plan on spending a lot of money on it but i have already bought two parts , an intel I5 4590 K and a MSI GTX 960 from amazon ,also sitting in my cart are a Sentey® Gaming Computer Case Gs-6009 , a Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB Kit (2GBx2) DDR3 1600 (PC3-12800) 240-Pin UDIMM Memory BLS2KIT2G3D1609DS1S00 / BLS2CP2G3D1609DS1S00 and a WD Blue 1TB Desktop 3.5 Inch SATA 6Gb/s 7200rpm Internal Hard Drive.

My question to you guys now is what motherboard should i get to go with those ? i have been looking at different ones on Amazon but since i do not know much ( or anything at all ) about building PCs i am hesitant to buy one only to find out later that it isnt even compatible with my i5 4590 and my GPU.

So a suggestion on what to get would be very nice , i am looking for something thats not too pricey ,a suggestion on a good but cheap cooler is welcomed as well.

Thanx.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Both these are probably the best "bang for the buck" choices. These are assuming no overclocking due to the locked CPU and also that you won't be adding a second GPU card for SLI later. If you plan to later add a second GTX 960, which makes little sense considering the performance scaling versus the 970 or even the 280x, then you would want a Z97 board.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.50 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($81.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $116.39
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-22 20:47 EDT-0400


If you want or would prefer a Z97 board for other features such as M.2, SLI or the possibility of adding an unlocked CPU later, then the Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 5 is probably the highest quality board for the least price followed closely by the ASUS Z97-A.

 

[PCNoob85]

Both these are probably the best "bang for the buck" choices. These are assuming no overclocking due to the locked CPU and also that you won't be adding a second GPU card for SLI later. If you plan to later add a second GTX 960, which makes little sense considering the performance scaling versus the 970 or even the 280x, then you would want a Z97 board.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.50 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($81.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $116.39
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-22 20:47 EDT-0400

Thank you for replying to me , i would like to ask you another question if you dont mind. Lets say i decided i wanted to do the SLI thing down the line , could i just replace my motherboard without damaging my CPU ?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Of course. There is pretty much nothing that can't be changed later, but if you think you might do so, it's better to go with that option now and not have to invest in the full price of a motherboard all over again. The Z97 boards can be used with or without overclocking, dual cards or other features, whereas the H97, B85 and H81 boards cannot.

 

[PCNoob85]

Of course. There is pretty much nothing that can't be changed later, but if you think you might do so, it's better to go with that option now and not have to invest in the full price of a motherboard all over again. The Z97 boards can be used with or without overclocking, dual cards or other features, whereas the H97, B85 and H81 boards cannot.

Ok thank you, I will go with a Z97 then. I have found one on Amazon called MSI ATX DDR3 2400 LGA 1150 Motherboards Z97 PC MATE, I am assuming those boards are all compatible with my CPU and GPU ? i apologize for my ignorance on this matter lol but when it comes to building a PC i know absolutely nothing.

 

[Darkbreeze]

NO. You do NOT want the PC mate board. Here is a list of the Z97 board rankings. As I said, the Z97X-Gaming 5 by Gigabyte or Z97-A are about the lowest end models you want to use if you plan to overclock later. For SLI or Crossfire, you need to look at the board specs and make sure it supports full dual x8 speeds with two cards. Many of them support dual cards but only x4 speeds on the second card, which is crappy and might as well not even bother.

Plus, the power phase and thermals of some models is not adequate for some configurations. This list spells out pretty much what's what.


http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2383187/motherboard-tier-list-z97-chipset.html


The very least I'd go with is a Tier 2 class B board. Tier 1 class B would be a MUCH better decision.

 

[PCNoob85]

NO. You do NOT want the PC mate board. Here is a list of the Z97 board rankings. As I said, the Z97X-Gaming 5 by Gigabyte or Z97-A are about the lowest end models you want to use if you plan to overclock later. For SLI or Crossfire, you need to look at the board specs and make sure it supports full dual x8 speeds with two cards. Many of them support dual cards but only x4 speeds on the second card, which is crappy and might as well not even bother.

Plus, the power phase and thermals of some models is not adequate for some configurations. This list spells out pretty much what's what.

Thank you , i found that Asus Z97-AR LGA 1150 ATX MB fits my price range , on the list you linked it is listed as a tier 2 Class A which doesnt sound too bad given that i am on a budget, so i might go with that.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2383187/motherboard-tier-list-z97-chipset.html


The very least I'd go with is a Tier 2 class B board. Tier 1 class B would be a MUCH better decision.

O I see , i have found that the ones in the Tier 2 Class A are those i could afford at this time , so i think i might go with Asus Z97-AR LGA 1150 ATX MB.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Is there a particular reason you chose that board? Not that it's a bad board, and it does support USB 3.1, which is fairly new and not really fully adopted on devices yet, but will be more and more as time goes on, but the Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 5 is about twenty bucks cheaper and has ALC1150 audio rather than ALC892 like the Z97-A and Z97-AR. If you simply like ASUS better, and feel more comfortable with their products, then either of those ASUS models are good choices. Otherwise, I'd really highly recommend the Gaming 5 Gigabyte board since it's less expensive, has better audio, overclocks well, supports SLI and Crossfire and Gigabyte has, in my opinion, much better customer service response than ASUS in the even you should ever need it.


It's also a Tier 1 class B board rather than a Tier 2 class A like the Z97-A and AR.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $129.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-23 00:04 EDT-0400

 

[PCNoob85]

Is there a particular reason you chose that board? Not that it's a bad board, and it does support USB 3.1, which is fairly new and not really fully adopted on devices yet, but will be more and more as time goes on, but the Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 5 is about twenty bucks cheaper and has ALC1150 audio rather than ALC892 like the Z97-A and Z97-AR. If you simply like ASUS better, and feel more comfortable with their products, then either of those ASUS models are good choices. Otherwise, I'd really highly recommend the Gaming 5 Gigabyte board since it's less expensive, has better audio, overclocks well, supports SLI and Crossfire and Gigabyte has, in my opinion, much better customer service response than ASUS in the even you should ever need it.


It's also a Tier 1 class B board rather than a Tier 2 class A like the Z97-A and AR.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $129.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-23 00:04 EDT-0400

O ok i just ordered the gigabyte one instead of the ASUS, i didnt initially choose the latter because of any particular reason other than not knowing any better lol and i hadnt noticed the former previously. Anyways thank you very much for the help.

 

[Darkbreeze]

You're certainly welcome. If you ever have other questions, feel free to ask. Good luck.