Question No idea how to pick a motherboard...

zmihlrad

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Seems to be the most complicated part of a build and it always has me lost every 3-5 years that I build a new PC. I can't really figure out how the $110 boards differ from the $300 ones.

Im looking to use an Intel i7 12700, and I need wifi.

Thats about the extent of my known needs... I will be using for gaming and CAD modeling which is ram and processor intensive.

I guess a big factor is z690 vs B660. In my modest research I don't think I need the 690 I am not likely to be overclocking etc.

Also, DDR5 vs DDR4, worth it?

Going by the top of the list on PC parts picker I am looking at

MSI MAG Z690 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4 - $260

Asus ROG STRIX Z690-A GAMING WIFI D4 - $310

Asus ROG STRIX B660-I GAMING WIFI - $200
 
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If you are just going to put the cpu in and go right to work and touch nothing in bios like overclocking the memory (other than xmp) and cpu then the least expensive motherboard is fine. As long as it meets your desired memory speeds, provides space for your storage and has wifi you are fine. The more expensive boards are for doing all the other things I mentioned and have more bells and whistles to make people think they need the best.
 

zmihlrad

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Thanks for speedy reply.

So you wouldn't bother with the z690 then?

Is something like this more appropriate? Realistically we're talking a $30 difference for the z690 over the B660 with an MSI board. Maybe both are way overkill though.

I don't really have budget constraints so much as I don't need to waste funds for no reason either.
MSI MAG B660 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4


The MSI z690 pro is $215 vs the MSI Tomahawk z690 which is $260. On the comparison the only difference is an extra usb gen 2 header.

The tomahawk looks cooler too. The Pro is very bland.

Theres also the gigabyte z690.
 
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There is very little difference between B660 based motherboards and Z690 based motherboards.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGA_1700
Z690 allows you to overclock inf you have a K suffix processor.

You probably do not want the third item which is a ITX sized motherboard with only a graphics expansion slot.
MATX has 4 expansion slots vs.7 for full ATX and will likely be cheaper.
Something like this MSI PRO B660-A DDR4 wifi should be suitable.
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813144524?quicklink=true

On DDR4 vs. DDR5, there is very little difference in actual app performance.
DDR5 speeds are impressive, but they come with higher latency that negates much of that advantage.
Intel uses a ram controller that does a good job of anticipating ram needs.
 
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Seems to be the most complicated part of a build and it always has me lost every 3-5 years that I build a new PC. I can't really figure out how the $110 boards differ from the $300 ones.

Im looking to use an Intel i7 12700, and I need wifi.

Thats about the extent of my known needs... I will be using for gaming and CAD modeling which is ram and processor intensive.

I guess a big factor is z690 vs B660. In my modest research I don't think I need the 690 I am not likely to be overclocking etc.

Also, DDR5 vs DDR4, worth it?

Going by the top of the list on PC parts picker I am looking at

MSI MAG Z690 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4 - $260

Asus ROG STRIX Z690-A GAMING WIFI D4 - $310

Asus ROG STRIX B660-I GAMING WIFI - $200
The Z690 / H670 chipsets allows you to run dual M.2 SSD's due to the amount of PCIe lanes. A lot of people don't need dual M.2 SSD's so they opt for the less expensive B660 boards.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QNVD2SW
GIGABYTE B660 AORUS Master DDR4 $164.99

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B660-AORUS-MASTER-DDR4-rev-10

 

zmihlrad

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The Z690 / H670 chipsets allows you to run dual M.2 SSD's due to the amount of PCIe lanes. A lot of people don't need dual M.2 SSD's so they opt for the less expensive B660 boards.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QNVD2SW
GIGABYTE B660 AORUS Master DDR4 $164.99

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B660-AORUS-MASTER-DDR4-rev-10

Sorry I know we're kind of in two separate threads here because im a spaz.

So if I dont care for two internal SSDs, ditch the z690 basically. The drives I have on hand to reuse are all external SSDs. I might buy an internal just to clean up the inside of the case, its kind of a mess to run 3 external drives.
 
Nothing wrong with 2.5" sata ssd's.
Much preferable to hard drives so far as performance goes.
Motherboards will usually have at least 4 sata connections available, and the case will determine how many will physically fit.
The nice thing about m.2 drives is simplicity.
All you need is a connector on the motherboard; no power cable, and no sata data cable needed.
 
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zmihlrad

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Nothing wrong with 2.5" sata ssd's.
Much preferable to hard drives so far as performance goes.
Motherboards will usually have at least 4 sata connections available, and the case will determine how many will physically fit.
The nice thing about m.2 drives is simplicity.
All you need is a connector on the motherboard; no power cable, and no sata data cable needed.

Yah just by virtue of them being cheap now, I would probably order one to avoid cable management. Between the PSU wires and SATA it gets to be a lot.

So with that in mind, the z690 is just wasted funds?

I have maybe 750g total on my current machine and im nowhere near maxing it out between 3 older SSDs. I could easily buy a 1 TB m.2 drive and call it a day with the largest of my Sata drives on standby or reserved for booting windows.