Need help on picking a X99 mobo

[Draculrider]

I recently built my first computer and I have a ASUS Z97-AR motherboard. I want to switch the mobo because I've got blue screens a few times even though I deep clean my PC everyday. So no viruses. (got blue screened while playing Final fantasy 14)

I've been looking at getting a X99 mobo so I can run Unreal Engine 4 without having problems with heavy loading.

I've narrowed it down to EVGA X99 Classified and Gigabyte X99-SOC champion, but I'm open to suggestions. I want to find a mobo that will last me a long time, be able to perform better and be able to run Unreal Engine 4 without blue screening or freezing.

Specs-
Case: Corsair 760T ATX Full Tower
Motherboard: ASUS Z97-AR LGA 1150 Intel Z97
Processor: Intel Core i5-4960K 3.50GHz
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB
Cooling: Corsair Hydro Series H100i Extreme Performance Water/Liquid CPU Cooler. 240mm
Video card: Gigabyte GTX 760 GDDR5-2GB
Power Supply: CORSAIR CX series CX750 750W ATX12V / EPS12V

 

[yeskay]

I recently built my first computer and I have a ASUS Z97-AR motherboard. I want to switch the mobo because I've got blue screens a few times even though I deep clean my PC everyday. So no viruses. (got blue screened while playing Final fantasy 14)

I've been looking at getting a X99 mobo so I can run Unreal Engine 4 without having problems with heavy loading.

I've narrowed it down to EVGA X99 Classified and Gigabyte X99-SOC champion, but I'm open to suggestions. I want to find a mobo that will last me a long time, be able to perform better and be able to run Unreal Engine 4 without blue screening or freezing.

Specs-
Case: Corsair 760T ATX Full Tower
Motherboard: ASUS Z97-AR LGA 1150 Intel Z97
Processor: Intel Core i5-4960K 3.50GHz
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB
Cooling: Corsair Hydro Series H100i Extreme Performance Water/Liquid CPU Cooler. 240mm
Video card: Gigabyte GTX 760 GDDR5-2GB
Power Supply: CORSAIR CX series CX750 750W ATX12V / EPS12V

Recent history of ASUS is a bit disappointing, considering the fact of RMAs in raise. Reliability and Performance are the things that comes to my mind whenever I see or hear about the Gigabyte name.

Gigabyte X99-SOC Champion is from Ultra Durable Series, a solid performer with great reliability. I would highly recommend this board over EVGA.

Grab it, Cheers!

 

[Draculrider]

I recently built my first computer and I have a ASUS Z97-AR motherboard. I want to switch the mobo because I've got blue screens a few times even though I deep clean my PC everyday. So no viruses. (got blue screened while playing Final fantasy 14)

I've been looking at getting a X99 mobo so I can run Unreal Engine 4 without having problems with heavy loading.

I've narrowed it down to EVGA X99 Classified and Gigabyte X99-SOC champion, but I'm open to suggestions. I want to find a mobo that will last me a long time, be able to perform better and be able to run Unreal Engine 4 without blue screening or freezing.

Specs-
Case: Corsair 760T ATX Full Tower
Motherboard: ASUS Z97-AR LGA 1150 Intel Z97
Processor: Intel Core i5-4960K 3.50GHz
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB
Cooling: Corsair Hydro Series H100i Extreme Performance Water/Liquid CPU Cooler. 240mm
Video card: Gigabyte GTX 760 GDDR5-2GB
Power Supply: CORSAIR CX series CX750 750W ATX12V / EPS12V

Recent history of ASUS is a bit disappointing, considering the fact of RMAs in raise. Reliability and Performance are the things that comes to my mind whenever I see or hear about the Gigabyte name.

Gigabyte X99-SOC Champion is from Ultra Durable Series, a solid performer with great reliability. I would highly recommend this board over EVGA.

Grab it, Cheers!

I kept seeing bad reviews on other Gigabyte mobos except for its X99-soc champion on newegg. A friend of mine told me that he's used EVGA and its last him. He's also used Gigabyte, but did have some issues with it. That's why I have no idea which to go for. Originally was going for ASUS Maximus hero VII until I heard from him that ASUS has been disappointing lately for the price of their maximus series boards.

Do you have any suggestions? Is MSI better?

 

[yeskay]

I recently built my first computer and I have a ASUS Z97-AR motherboard. I want to switch the mobo because I've got blue screens a few times even though I deep clean my PC everyday. So no viruses. (got blue screened while playing Final fantasy 14)

I've been looking at getting a X99 mobo so I can run Unreal Engine 4 without having problems with heavy loading.

I've narrowed it down to EVGA X99 Classified and Gigabyte X99-SOC champion, but I'm open to suggestions. I want to find a mobo that will last me a long time, be able to perform better and be able to run Unreal Engine 4 without blue screening or freezing.

Specs-
Case: Corsair 760T ATX Full Tower
Motherboard: ASUS Z97-AR LGA 1150 Intel Z97
Processor: Intel Core i5-4960K 3.50GHz
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB
Cooling: Corsair Hydro Series H100i Extreme Performance Water/Liquid CPU Cooler. 240mm
Video card: Gigabyte GTX 760 GDDR5-2GB
Power Supply: CORSAIR CX series CX750 750W ATX12V / EPS12V

Recent history of ASUS is a bit disappointing, considering the fact of RMAs in raise. Reliability and Performance are the things that comes to my mind whenever I see or hear about the Gigabyte name.

Gigabyte X99-SOC Champion is from Ultra Durable Series, a solid performer with great reliability. I would highly recommend this board over EVGA.

Grab it, Cheers!

I kept seeing bad reviews on other Gigabyte mobos except for its X99-soc champion on newegg. A friend of mine told me that he's used EVGA and its last him. He's also used Gigabyte, but did have some issues with it. That's why I have no idea which to go for. Originally was going for ASUS Maximus hero VII until I heard from him that ASUS has been disappointing lately for the price of their maximus series boards.

Do you have any suggestions? Is MSI better?

These boards are in the top of the line segment. As far as I see, most of them has at least one top-notch X99 motherboard in their armory. Since you are not comfortable with Gigabyte, I would suggest this, Tom's Hardware Approved! & Techpowerup Recommended:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: MSI X99S Gaming 7 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($218.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $218.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-21 15:39 EDT-0400

In our part of the world, there are no EVGA boards available. So I can't comment on that.

But I would conclude by saying this:

On Newegg.com, 21 X99 motherboards including the above mentioned MSI, have 4/5 ratings (MSI , ASUS, ASRock, Gigabyte, EVGA). Only 4 X99 motherboards have 5/5 ratings, out of which GIGABYTE GA-X99-SOC Champion tops the list:

Newegg.com X99 boards with only 5 and 4 ratings, sorted by highest rated motherboard first.

- GIGABYTE GA-X99-SOC Champion 6 ratings - 5/5 5 times, 4/5 1 time.
- ASRock X99 WS-E 3 ratings - 5/5 2 times, 4/5 1 time.
- ASUS SABERTOOTH X99 & MSI X99A GAMING 7 1 rating - 5/5 1 time each.

Though I've suggested the MSI X99 S Gaming 7 above, if you look closely in the reviews, it has 29 ratings, 20 being positive, 9 negative. So considering these stats, I would still go with GIGABYTE GA-X99-SOC Champion which has high ratio of positive to negative ratings, i.e., 6 positive and 0 negative ratings. Give it a try you may like it and will never look back on other brands when it comes to motherboards.

Cheers!