Motherboard tier list: Z97 chipset

[jhg100]

I can't find much about the Z97-pro gamer. Is that a step up from the the A? I'm going to be gaming and photoshop but mostly games I suspect. Also just realised I have the wifi card from my old computer still. Doubt my router is ac so probably won't lose anything.
What about sound quality? Is Realtek better than supremeFX whatever that is? Or am I digging too deep now?

 

[MeteorsRaining]

In real world scenarios, you won't be able to tell the difference b/w regular Realtek and SupremeFX audio, unless you're going to 5.1 channel or 200 quids headphones. Since you already got a WiFi card, it'd be best to get the Z97-A, Pro gamer will most likely not have any major effect on OCing ability. So spending extra on practically nothing doesn't make sense.

 

[zeyuanfu]

The SupremeFX audio is simply a rebranded Realtek ALC1150 with some EMI shielding and a fancy sticker applied onto it.

 

[jhg100]

Excellent. Once again thanks so much. It's the one part I can't get my head round and I think now I should have just listened to the advice - find a board with the connections you need and buy it. The A it is then. Cheers

 

[zeyuanfu]

No problem
Good luck with the build!

 

[Agera One]

Z97 Guard Pro, a very decent tier 3 MoBo with M.2. Reviews indicate it OCes decently for the price. Nothing really bad about it, nothing too amazing either. It's in lines with Asus Z97-K. I'd buy it if it falls in the same price bracket or less than that of Z97-K.

Z97-K is Rs. 11,193 and Guard Pro is Rs.8,850 in flipkart. But I saw many people in THF (experts/masters) complaining about MSI boards quality & they have BIOS issues, so the low price than the competitive boards. Is that true?

 

[MeteorsRaining]

No, MSI produces boards with as good quality as any other brand like Asus/ GB. They did have issues with two of their AMD boards, which were actually overheatings and used low quality stuff. But currently MSI has the same RMA rate as Asus. I'd get it given such a steep price difference.

 

[zeyuanfu]

If there is a Gigabyte alternative, that would be the way to go.

 

[TopDeck]

Where would put the ASUS Z97-Pro gamer?

 

[MeteorsRaining]

Where would put the ASUS Z97-Pro gamer?

It is present in Tier 1 Class B.

 

[TopDeck]

Where would put the ASUS Z97-Pro gamer?

It is present in Tier 1 Class B.

I could have sworn I searched for it earlier, thanks!

Why do you place it above the Z97-A? Just wondering... Buying either one of these today and they are the same price, I guess I should go with the pro gamer then.

 

[MeteorsRaining]

Better Audio, more true phases and better chokes are major factors. Then it has more bandwidth distribution. That accounts for Pro Gamer's higher rank.

 

[TopDeck]

Better Audio, more true phases and better chokes are major factors. Then it has more bandwidth distribution. That accounts for Pro Gamer's higher rank.

Thanks again, going with the pro gamer then for the better phases and chokes. The "Pro gamer"-tag is so corny on that board though, on the other hand no gold is a plus!

Merry x-mas!

 

[MeteorsRaining]

No worries, glad I could help

Merry Chirstmas to you too, Ho ho ho!

 

[zeyuanfu]

You should check out the 'Twas the Night Before Christmas poem made by Tom's editor. It's really nice.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

Really useful list, thanks MeteorsRaining! I'm undertaking my first home-build and was struggling to narrow down my motherboard choices, beyond knowing I want a Z97.

I do have expensive headphones, so am looking for decent sound. Am I correct in thinking the Tier 2 boards will have worse sound than Tier 1 Class B? I don't really know anything about current sound cards, but have been led to believe I can get decent integrated sound for cheaper than a comparable separate sound card. I'll have a bit of a play with OCing, but won't be going too crazy.

I'm willing to pay around the £150 mark, but the less I spend the more I'll have left for a new monitor (have already bought an i5 4690k, GTX 970 G1 Gaming and 8GB memory).

Based on the prices below (from PCPartPicker), what would you recommend? I've filtered out any Tier 2 that is more expensive than Tier 1s.

£89.99 - Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI
£91.80 - ASRock Z97 Extreme3
£92.99 - Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 3
£93.19 - MSI Z97S SLI Plus
£93.82 - MSI Z97-G55 SLI
£99.00 - ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer
£101.91 - MSI Z97-G45 Gaming
£103.92 - Asus Z97 PRO GAMER
£104.99 - Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5
£119.96 - Gigabyte GA-Z97X-GAMING 7
£124.76 - MSI Z97-GD65 Gaming
£124.99 - Z97 MPOWER
£125.20 - Asus MAXIMUS VII RANGER
£127.12 - MSI Z97-GAMING 7
£128.99 - ASRock Z97 EXTREME6
£134.98 - Asus Z97-PRO
£135.56 - Asus GRYPHON Z97 ARMOR EDITION
£137.24 - Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H
£139.16 - Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SOC
£142.98 - Asus MAXIMUS VII GENE
£149.80 - ASRock Z97 PROFESSIONAL
£160.43 - Asus MAXIMUS VII HERO

 

[zeyuanfu]

For the most bang for your buck, I would get the Z97 Pro Gamer.

 

[MeteorsRaining]

Thanks for the thumbs up Neon_Knight_!

Both Tier 2 and Tier 1 MoBos have decent sound for their price, and you'll be able to get decent enough sound which is comparable to that of dedicated sound card, but since you do have expensive headphones and would want the most out of them, I'd go for a MoBo with Realtek's ALC1150, which's a high end integrated sound chip.

From the list of MoBos, I'd go for Z97X GAMING 3, which has the above mentioned audio chip. The MoBo has good enough VRMs and Power phases as well, for OCing purposes. And best of all, it is one of the cheaper boards.

Or for 10 bucks more, you can go with the Z97X Gaming 5, which has double the number of power phases and chokes than Gaming 3. The price premium right now is totally worth it.

 

[zeyuanfu]

The Pro Gamer has SupremeFX (which is probably an ALC 1150 with extra EMI shielding and fancy audio caps), though.

 

[MeteorsRaining]

Yep, no reason I wouldn't recommend that as well. Matter of choice between Gaming 5 and Pro Gamer.

 

[zeyuanfu]

I would actually avoid gaming-oriented boards as most, if not all, of them use Killer LAN, which uses more of the CPU than Intel LAN (which is what the Pro Gamer has). Also, if your Killer software crashes, you're kinda screwed.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

Thanks guys! I'll probably be ordering one of these suggestions tonight.

Just noticed I forgot to mention the MSI Gaming 5 is the same price as the Gigabyte Gaming 5. Is that also worth considering?

 

[MeteorsRaining]

MSI has 4 true phases vs GB's 8, so I'd not consider MSI here.

 

[The newguy]

Do you really think that the MSI Z97S SLI mobo deserves the place in the 2 teir list ? If yes then I will use that in my next build and you have made an amazing list.

 

[MeteorsRaining]

Do you really think that the MSI Z97S SLI mobo deserves the place in the 2 teir list ? If yes then I will use that in my next build and you have made an amazing list.

Yes, it fits neatly into the Tier description.