Upgrading computer, need insight on a new motherboard

[aajohnny]

Hey,
It's about time I upgrade my computer!

My situation:
I only have 1 DIMM slot available on my ASUS P6X58D Premium motherboard (the rest are dead) and I am using one l 8gb ram stick in my only working DIMM slot.
Why is that important? Well I am a 3d artist for video games, so I use Autodesk 3ds max, Photoshop, Game engines, etc that require memory, I usually get memory leakage or errors if I have multiple applications up at once that take up a decent amount of resources... but it hinders my workflow. I am huge gamer too so a gaming rig is important to me as well, it's not just strictly a 3d modelling computer, more like... a good hybrid?

What I am looking for
I am looking for a good motherboard... that consists of reliability, features and durability(if that isn't the same as reliability) and a manufacturer with good support if it ever comes to that. I am pretty clueless about motherboards, I have no idea what to expect from certain manufacturers, right now ASUS is not my top choice (due to my experience with their customer support and other past experiences).

I am planning on upgrading to the Haswell CPU/LGA 1150 since I have a i7 930 (pretty old, not willing to go shell out big bucks for a old LGA 1366 CPU/Motherboard.

My Price Range
I am trying not to spend all of my money but I am not going cheap either, this is pretty much a huge investment for me so my price range I am hoping is within $100-180 (if it's slightly over okay but it has to be worth it!)

My Motherboard options

I am looking at a few (not limiting just to these) but I've had my eye on them:

This one is appealing to me the most (mainly because of the networking feature, I share the internet with 2 other people and I'm wireless so this sounds appealing)

MSI Z87-G45 Gaming LGA 1150 Intel Z87
www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130693

GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-UD4H LGA 1150 Intel Z87
www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128617

I'm obviously open to other suggestions, I just don't know who's a good manufacturer, and what is a good motherboard, MSI I've heard mixed things but I am hoping it's more good than bad.

Thanks for the read and help!

 

[rolli59]

Either go with the Gigabyte or this Asus http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131979

 

[Tradesman1]

I'd stay away from MSI, poor QC, I won't touch them, look to GB or Asus, the GB Rolli59 suggested is a good one, I'd lean towards the Asus Gryphon or the Asus Z87-Plus, seems like Asus has the best handle on the Z87 rigs

 

[aajohnny]

$200 might be out of my range :/
So out of these?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131981
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131980
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128617

 

[rolli59]

Both Asus boards good for the price.

 

[Tradesman1]

Both Asus boards good for the price.

_______________________

+1 I'd also go with Asus

 

[aajohnny]

Sounds good thanks guys. For some reason the networking features the MSI board has appeals, idk why I can't let go of it, do you guys know much about it?

 

[aajohnny]

Sounds good thanks guys. For some reason the networking features the MSI board has appeals, idk why I can't let go of it, do you guys know much about it?

 

[rolli59]

I have seen it somewhere in a post here that people have been experiencing problems with the Killer Nic and in the past I have always looked at it as hype rather than a +.

 

[aajohnny]

Awesome, well thanks for the help guys I will be getting the $154 ASUS

 

[Tradesman1]

The "killer NIC' was interesting bit of a problem that still pops up, haven't been able to confirm (but see below), anyway they manufactured, boxed and started sending out mobos, ...then found the problem with the NIC, mobos sent out for review had the fix, then they released a BIOS update to fix the issue on the mobos already sent out, seems odd they didn't catch it in QC testing on the earlier mobos since it was a BIOS problem and sound like the Ethernet port may not be part of their QC testing (or wasn't, hope it is now). Just one of the reasons I bring up QC, also they've had a number of mobos with failures of DRAM slots, USB ports, SATA ports, etc...again QC issues?