MSI H270 Gaming M3 vs ASUS PRIME H270-PLUS or any B250 would be enough?

[NascarNSX]

The setup is:
CPU - Intel 7500 Kabylake 3.0 Ghz
PSU - Seasonic S12II 430/520w
SSD - Samsung 850 EVO 250 gb
GPU - MSI GeForce GTX 1050 or 1060 GTX
RAM - DDR4 8GB PC 2400 CL14 CORSAIR VengeanceT Black
Motherboard - ???

I am open for opinions and advises as I trust Tomshardware experts. I would play games mostly on the PC (WoW and Overwatch). Do I lose a lot by buying a B series instead of H? Also I am a little MSI fan but I read in many topics Asus is superior and better quality is it true?

Thank you

 

[raisonjohn]

The main differences between the B series (B250 chipset) and the H series (H270 chipset) are the number of PCIe lanes provided by the chipset, which translates to the maximum number of PCIe storage devices and USB ports you can use in a particular motherboard.

The B250 chipset offers a maximum of 12x PCIe3.0 lanes, while the H270 chipset offers up to 20x PCIe3.0 lanes. Depending on the manufacturer, this means that the B250 motherboards can only have 1x M.2 socket that can run in PCIex4 mode versus the H270 motherboards that can have 2x M.2 socket in PCIe4 mode. Likewise, the B250 can only have up to 6x USB3.0 ports while the H270 can go up to 8x USB3.0 ports. Other connectors also favor the H270 such as more LAN, Thunderbolt, etc. due to the availability of more PCIe3.0 lanes. Further reading: https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Z270-H270-Q270-Q250-B250---What-is-the-Difference-876/

In terms of gaming (which is more directly related to the GPU, CPU, RAM, and on a certain level, an SSD or HDD), these motherboards, which does not support overclocking the CPU, in itself, does not significantly affect the game performance. Note that the PCIe3.0 x16 slots used for the GPU are controlled by the CPU and not by the Chipset.

Having a locked CPU, I would choose from either the B250 or the H270 based on your budget and the number of connections that you need for your system (which varies from motherboard to motherboard).

 

[NascarNSX]

The main differences between the B series (B250 chipset) and the H series (H270 chipset) are the number of PCIe lanes provided by the chipset, which translates to the maximum number of PCIe storage devices and USB ports you can use in a particular motherboard.

The B250 chipset offers a maximum of 12x PCIe3.0 lanes, while the H270 chipset offers up to 20x PCIe3.0 lanes. Depending on the manufacturer, this means that the B250 motherboards can only have 1x M.2 socket that can run in PCIex4 mode versus the H270 motherboards that can have 2x M.2 socket in PCIe4 mode. Likewise, the B250 can only have up to 6x USB3.0 ports while the H270 can go up to 8x USB3.0 ports. Other connectors also favor the H270 such as more LAN, Thunderbolt, etc. due to the availability of more PCIe3.0 lanes. Further reading: https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Z270-H270-Q270-Q250-B250---What-is-the-Difference-876/

In terms of gaming (which is more directly related to the GPU, CPU, RAM, and on a certain level, an SSD or HDD), these motherboards, which does not support overclocking the CPU, in itself, does not significantly affect the game performance. Note that the PCIe3.0 x16 slots used for the GPU are controlled by the CPU and not by the Chipset.

Having a locked CPU, I would choose from either the B250 or the H270 based on your budget and the number of connections that you need for your system (which varies from motherboard to motherboard).

I see, yeah I knew this already because I read up on it, but I don't know out of MSI or Asus which brand is better. I know the 200 series of chipsets are relatively new, but I am curious if anyone knows between these categories which one is worth the price. I have 130 euro to spend on it but the question do I have to spend that much for an H one or a 30 euro cheaper B board could do the job for me.

 

[raisonjohn]

To be honest, it is difficult to select a motherboard that you need based on brand. Usually, as you may have already read in other forums and reviews, MSI "has poor QC" and Asus has a "lower rate of RMA". However, this is not the end-all-and-be-all when choosing a particular motherboard that suits your needs. Despite the Asus motherboards "being better" in so far as forums are concerned, you cannot discount the fact that there are also Asus motherboards that people had difficulties in getting it to working - and same goes for MSI which some people found that they had no issues whatsoever. Realistically, it is a case-to-case basis in deciding on which "brand" should you go for.

I personally like the Asus motherboards and can recommend them anytime. But I have also used Gigabyte and MSI which did not fail on me as well. In the end, it is all about what you really need based on what the brand has to offer.

A better comparison would not be "Asus vs MSI", but: Asus of A PARTICULAR MODEL vs MSI of A PARTICULAR MODEL.

Now, between the H and B motherboards, you don't have to spend 30 euros for additional ports you may not probably need. Just save that money to upgrade your other hardware. If you feel like 30 euros is not too big a deal for you financial-wise, then, by all means get an H motherboard as the saying goes: it is better to have something and not need it than to need something and not have it.