Picking out parts for 1st (gaming) build, mobo troubles!

[ironbeany]

I'm going for a mini pc build via PC Specialist. Because it's in the Bitfenix Prodigy case, the only two boards I can choose from are the H87 and the Maximus Impact...now there's about a 100 quid price gap there, but I was happy to go with the Impact when I was also opting for the 4670k cpu.

After much internal debate due to the price tag reaching the sensible limit of £1000, and deciding I don't need an overclockable core for gaming, I'm happy to save some money and go for the non-K series i5 4670...which brings me to the next brain wracking dilemma!

Does the lack of an overclock friendly cpu make the Impact mobo not worth it? Factoring in the other features it brings to the table, and the lack of ability to attain a sound card on a standard board, would it be worth the extra £100 in terms of how it would improve gaming?

 

[ACTechy]

Which H87 board are you referring to?

 

[ironbeany]

Which H87 board are you referring to?

The H87i-Plus...from what I understand the H-series of boards are basically acceptable for a non cpu overclock centered build, and it would do me fine for gaming. Also, if I were to go with the H87i-Plus, I don't suppose anyone could confirm whether I could overclock my gpu via that? As from what I gather there are returns to be had from gpu overclocking.

 

[ACTechy]

The H87i-Plus...from what I understand the H-series of boards are basically acceptable for a non cpu overclock centered build, and it would do me fine for gaming. Also, if I were to go with the H87i-Plus, I don't suppose anyone could confirm whether I could overclock my gpu via that? As from what I gather there are returns to be had from gpu overclocking.

Yeah, if you're not going to overclock your CPU H87 board is fine. You can overclock your GPU on any motherboard, you just need an overclocking software like MSI Afterburner or EVGA Precision X. The H87 has 2 more SATA 6.0Gb/s ports onboard than the Z87 board, so that would be a nice perk. The Maximus has onboard Wifi, which is pretty nice, but not that big of a deal. Overclocking your GPU can get you small fps gain, but it's nothing super crazy, still nice to have.

 

[ironbeany]

Yah the wireless is nice, but when at home I'll mainly/exclusively be using ethernet anyway.

I don't suppose anyone has any firsthand experience with the Maximus Impact and knows if it honestly feels like it brings £100 of extra value to the table outside of its BIOS for overclocking? E.g. is the SupremeFX sound that applicable as a noticeable improvement, or do any other features stand out as enhancing gaming/improving performance or reliability?

Anyone know the same of the Maximus Gene VI, as I'm now also considering going for a MAtx build in a different case? The Bitfenix Prodigy just seems a tad too popular!