Motherboard tier list: Z97 chipset

[MeteorsRaining]

Based on the price, best choice would be Z97X SOC, or Z97X Gaming 5 if prices are to be ignored. Well all 3 are great OCing boards with good enough hardware but Z97X Gaming 5 isn't really worth extra $15 over SOC.

Z97X Gaming 5 has double the number of true phases than SOC, so it may OC better. But again, the temperatures will bound you before actual hardware does. In real world, it won't affect the OCing potential or longevity of the board.

 

[The newguy]

Thanks meteors, one last question does the SOC supports 4k if yes, then at how many frames per seconds ?
I have the same question with gaming 5.
Thanks again meteors, you have been very helpful.

 

[MeteorsRaining]

The boards does support 4k via HDMI.

 

[The newguy]

Thanks meteors, does the SOC supports 4k if yes, then at how many frames per seconds ?
I have the same question with gaming 5.
Thanks again meteors, you have been very helpful.
(I was just editing the last question but you answered before I could edit it. )

 

[MeteorsRaining]

The 4k is via HDMI @ 24 FPS, both for SOC and Z97X Gaming 5. A quick look at the product page would've yielded that info.

 

[The newguy]

Sorry just couldn't find it on the product page
Now ordering the SOC mobo.

 

[prodavid]

So, as you and other experts said... I bought S12G-550W today for the single 970. will share more once i assemble everything soon...Fingers crossed ...hoping I made good decisions...

Spot on with that PSU, will surely be good for the rig.

Thanks for your great advise!

Bought this combination:

i7 - 4790k, MSI Z97 Gaming 5, MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G, Corsair Vengeance 2 x 4GB, Samsung 850 EVO 250GB, Seasonic S12G 550W, Cooler Master Hyper 212x, Corsair Carbide 200R.

http://postimg.org/image/ar9doxplt/
http://postimg.org/image/913qr68zv/

 

[MeteorsRaining]

Looks totally great, have fun

 

[Melvin Luis Mendoza]

Hi, I'm a bit confused about which board to get. Boards in question are MSI Z97M and Gigabyte Z97MX Gaming 5, which are both mATX boards in Tier 2.

I'm a little concerned about the heat output of my planned system since I'm going for a Gigabyte 970 SLI clocked at around 1500 MHz each with a 4790K at around 4.6 GHz.

That said, I'm kinda scared about getting the MSI board since it'll squish the cards together and will deprive the top card of air flow. The Gigabyte board offers clearance between the two cards for better cooling, yet only has 4 VRM phases compared to the 8 which the MSI board has, and according to some forums, the MSI board will perform better with overclocking.

Do you think the Gigabyte board can handle those clock speeds? Or should I just stick with the MSI board and deal with the heat issues / scrap SLI altogether? Thank you so much for your response!

 

[xreap]

Just to add more boards to the mix where will you place asus z97m plus

 

[MeteorsRaining]

Melvin Luis Mendoza,

To start with, I wouldn't go for mATX boards for SLI rigs, simply because of less air flow. Not trying to say they'll get you less performance, they won't. But if you can, go for more space.

That being said, do not assume your GPU and CPU clocks before testing them, every chip is different and you may be or not be able to get to the desired frequency. But from the looks of it, you're trying to go for some serious OCing and do need a good OCing board.

Clearing the doubt: Both MSI and Gigabyte boards have 4 true VRM phases. Also, GB uses digital phases while MSI uses hybrid, so GB can get an edge in that regard. But yes, MSI has 8 chokes compared to GB's 4. Again, in terms of OCing, both boards are good enough and according to my research you wouldn't get much difference in potential. But the inclusion of more chokes won't hurt either.

Talking about SLI, as mentioned earlier no matter how spaced out the board is, it will always lag behind full size ATX board in terms of spacing. Since you plan to do serious OCing on cards I'd go with spaced out GB MX as it'd increase airflow. If you get a good chip, it should be fine for some nice OC.

xreap,

Z97M Plus has been to Tier 3 because it lacks SLI feature, but it's a fine board otherwise.

 

[xreap]

been contemplating on a itx build with an 4790k processor and a fair amount of oc, based on the tier the only board will be the impact? is there an alternative?

 

[luftwaffes]

hey guys

please help me decide, i'm planning to buy z97 but confuse which one should i get.

ASUS Z97-A
ASUS Sabertooth Z97 Mark 2
ASUS Z97-PRO
GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-Gaming 7
GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-UD3H-BK

from above please give me your recommendation

btw its really a great list ! make it easy for people to choose one

thank you guyss

 

[Melvin Luis Mendoza]

Melvin Luis Mendoza,

To start with, I wouldn't go for mATX boards for SLI rigs, simply because of less air flow. Not trying to say they'll get you less performance, they won't. But if you can, go for more space.

That being said, do not assume your GPU and CPU clocks before testing them, every chip is different and you may be or not be able to get to the desired frequency. But from the looks of it, you're trying to go for some serious OCing and do need a good OCing board.

Clearing the doubt: Both MSI and Gigabyte boards have 4 true VRM phases. Also, GB uses digital phases while MSI uses hybrid, so GB can get an edge in that regard. But yes, MSI has 8 chokes compared to GB's 4. Again, in terms of OCing, both boards are good enough and according to my research you wouldn't get much difference in potential. But the inclusion of more chokes won't hurt either.

Talking about SLI, as mentioned earlier no matter how spaced out the board is, it will always lag behind full size ATX board in terms of spacing. Since you plan to do serious OCing on cards I'd go with spaced out GB MX as it'd increase airflow. If you get a good chip, it should be fine for some nice OC.

xreap,

Z97M Plus has been to Tier 3 because it lacks SLI feature, but it's a fine board otherwise.

I'll probably go for just a single card since I'm settling for a 2560 x 1080 screen and the 970 can handle that given high clocks. I've seen 1440p benchmarks (close enough), and the 970 performs pretty okay. Thanks so much for the info, man! You're a saver //brofist

 

[MeteorsRaining]

been contemplating on a itx build with an 4790k processor and a fair amount of oc, based on the tier the only board will be the impact? is there an alternative?

Well if you are looking for extreme OC, Impact will be the preferred choice. What do you mean by 'fair amount of OC'? Z97I AC or Z97 Gaming AC might just do the job as well.

 

[MeteorsRaining]

Melvin Luis Mendoza,

To start with, I wouldn't go for mATX boards for SLI rigs, simply because of less air flow. Not trying to say they'll get you less performance, they won't. But if you can, go for more space.

That being said, do not assume your GPU and CPU clocks before testing them, every chip is different and you may be or not be able to get to the desired frequency. But from the looks of it, you're trying to go for some serious OCing and do need a good OCing board.

Clearing the doubt: Both MSI and Gigabyte boards have 4 true VRM phases. Also, GB uses digital phases while MSI uses hybrid, so GB can get an edge in that regard. But yes, MSI has 8 chokes compared to GB's 4. Again, in terms of OCing, both boards are good enough and according to my research you wouldn't get much difference in potential. But the inclusion of more chokes won't hurt either.

Talking about SLI, as mentioned earlier no matter how spaced out the board is, it will always lag behind full size ATX board in terms of spacing. Since you plan to do serious OCing on cards I'd go with spaced out GB MX as it'd increase airflow. If you get a good chip, it should be fine for some nice OC.

xreap,

Z97M Plus has been to Tier 3 because it lacks SLI feature, but it's a fine board otherwise.

I'll probably go for just a single card since I'm settling for a 2560 x 1080 screen and the 970 can handle that given high clocks. I've seen 1440p benchmarks (close enough), and the 970 performs pretty okay. Thanks so much for the info, man! You're a saver //brofist

If you're going with single card, MSI will be my choice due to more chokes.

//brofist!

 

[MeteorsRaining]

hey guys

please help me decide, i'm planning to buy z97 but confuse which one should i get.

ASUS Z97-A
ASUS Sabertooth Z97 Mark 2
ASUS Z97-PRO
GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-Gaming 7
GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-UD3H-BK

from above please give me your recommendation

btw its really a great list ! make it easy for people to choose one

thank you guyss

Z97X Gaming 7 or Sabertooth mark 2, the board which is cheaper.

 

[luftwaffes]

hey guys

please help me decide, i'm planning to buy z97 but confuse which one should i get.

ASUS Z97-A
ASUS Sabertooth Z97 Mark 2
ASUS Z97-PRO
GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-Gaming 7
GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-UD3H-BK

from above please give me your recommendation

btw its really a great list ! make it easy for people to choose one

thank you guyss

Z97X Gaming 7 or Sabertooth mark 2, the board which is cheaper.

thank for the answer, however both of them were not in stock

so i decide on Asus Z97 Pro. what do you think?

 

[MeteorsRaining]

Yes a good board both quality and features wise.

 

[xreap]

Well if you are looking for extreme OC, Impact will be the preferred choice. What do you mean by 'fair amount of OC'? Z97I AC or Z97 Gaming AC might just do the job as well.[/quotemsg]

4.6 to 4.7 would be great, (not sure if this is too much already).

 

[MeteorsRaining]

You must realize that every chip is different, and in some you may push to 4.4Ghz without even touching VCore but in others, they might struggle to touch 4.4 with the best of setups. Anyways, given you get a good enough chip, then the mentioned Tier 3 ITX boards will be fine.

 

[xreap]

You must realize that every chip is different, and in some you may push to 4.4Ghz without even touching VCore but in others, they might struggle to touch 4.4 with the best of setups. Anyways, given you get a good enough chip, then the mentioned Tier 3 ITX boards will be fine.

I do realize that every chip is different although I don't know what's the batting average of the chip. I'll be oc'ing a 4790k chip (forgot to mention that sorry), that's why I'm hoping to get at least 4.6 since that's just a .2 increase from stock boost. So any of those 3 in tier 3 (pun intended) would be ok? I really appreciate the advice, thanks

 

[MeteorsRaining]

You must realize that every chip is different, and in some you may push to 4.4Ghz without even touching VCore but in others, they might struggle to touch 4.4 with the best of setups. Anyways, given you get a good enough chip, then the mentioned Tier 3 ITX boards will be fine.

I do realize that every chip is different although I don't know what's the batting average of the chip. I'll be oc'ing a 4790k chip (forgot to mention that sorry), that's why I'm hoping to get at least 4.6 since that's just a .2 increase from stock boost. So any of those 3 in tier 3 (pun intended) would be ok? I really appreciate the advice, thanks

An average chip (not the average of all chips, mind you) shall be do-able for 4.5Ghz or a 100Mhz more with Tier 3 boards, but I'd rather call 4.7Ghz a moderate and not a light one, and the worst chips won't be able to reach them.

 

[Riggah]

So from what I can see, MSI Krait edition, Extreme4 and z97x SLI are in the same tier?

 

[MeteorsRaining]

Yes, Riggah.