Need Motherboard Suggestions

[Ralphhh_]

I am in the middle of buying the parts for a new pc and wanted some help choosing a motherboard.The processor i'm planning on buying is the Intel Core i5-4690k and want to use the MSI Gtx 970 video card. I wanted to know what motherboard would go well with these 2 components. Is there really any difference in performance with motherboards or is it mostly personal preferences?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Richard Ricardo]

Motherboards vary in price depending on the types and number of connectors on the board. So if it lets you connect the newest and fastest components and lots of them, it will cost more. Also the more expensive boards come with more features like a visual display that shows errors during startup or a fancy bios with a multitude of features. I'd say that you should make sure that the motherboard is compatible with the CPU and that it has good reviews. A good motherboard would run you at about the $150 price range and the super fancy boards will run you 250 and up.

Keep in mind that the motherboard needs to support the RAM you will install, the GPU, CPU, drives, all the peripheral devices you think you might need, and will fit inside the case properly.

I have an Asrock Z77 Extreme 4 for the 3rd Gen Intel CPUs and I buy it for most of the computers I build because its cheap and it works for what I'm trying to do but yeah I think its all about preference once you get past all the important stuff.

 

[Ralphhh_]

Well i was recommended the ASRock Z97 EXTREME6 but didn't know whether it was a good choice/brand. Also, is the 4 and 6 after the word "EXTREME" just the generation or does it mean something else?

These are the parts I have so far in cade you want to take a look.
https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Ralphhh_/saved/

 

[Richard Ricardo]

I installed the Asrock Z77 Extreme4 on two of my computers and I'm most likely going to install it into my third as well so it is a good manufacturer. So far I've had minimal issues. As far as I remember, the number after Extreme is just the level of the motherboard. For example 6 would be more expensive than the 4 but not necessarily newer.

I suggest you get Windows 7 Pro unless you'll be using a touch screen. Windows 7 seems to work better with games and without a touch screen, Windows 8 is a pain. I prefer Seagate for Hard drives over Western Digital. I have a Rosewill Case and a Coolermaster HAF case and I personally prefer the Cooler Master because it seems to be easier to work inside for me. For Power Supply I know Antec and Seasonic make the best ones but I never actually used one so you should be fine.

Keep in mind these suggestions are all my opinion so if you choose to disregard it, you'll still have a great rig.

 

[Ralphhh_]

Sorry about that, mobile is such a pain.

I think i'll stick to the motherboard I chose then.

I was a bit unsure about Windows 8 since i never really liked the new design and just felt more comfortable with Windows 7. Also, I considered the Cooler Master HAF
912 so i'm in between that and the Rosewill and might go HAF since it's cheaper and I heard a lot of good things about it. And regarding the power supply I would have to look into it a bit more. Is wattage the biggest thing to look at in power supply? Is there anything else i should look for?

Is the cable management for the HAF you have as good as people say? I don't want to be dealing with cables to much since it is my first time building a pc and want it to be fairly simple.

Thanks for the answers so far! They have been extremely helpful and very thorough!

 

[Richard Ricardo]

Wattage is not the first thing you should look at when you look for a power supply. To better manage cables, you need to get a power supply that is modular (meaning all the cables are all separate and you only use the ones you need). You also need to make sure that the power supply offers all the cables you need to plug everything in. Sometimes a graphics card or a hard drive might come with its own cables though. Then you think about how efficient it is. Don't get any power supply that isn't 80+ certified. 80+ Bronze is good, 80+ Silver is better and 80+ Gold is the best.

Finally when you get that out of the way, you need to use a wattage calculator <a href="http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp">like this one </a> . When you put in all the info, you get an answer on how much wattage you need and then you add 30% to that for the sake of longevity.

The Cooler Master HAF is great for cable management but you will still have to deal with cables and figure out how to place them properly no matter what case you choose. Its the most annoying part of building a computer but there is no avoiding it.

If you think you need to brush up a little on building a PC, Newegg has videos on youtube that help a whole lot.

 

[Ralphhh_]

The website doesn't seem to be working. Maybe the site is down or something, but i'll keep trying.

I've watched some videos on Newegg and I re watch one with most if not all the process on how to build it. It's about two hours but it helps a lot.

Thank you for the answers though. Really appreciate it.