Which motherboard is better?

[Mayank0809]

Asus H97M-E vs Asus H97-Plus(10$ more) for i3 4130 and single GTX 960. Is the latter worth the extra? Thanks in advance...

 

[steji]

After having done some research recently on both boards, it all comes down to what you're wanting to do wit it long-term..

If you're wanting to upgrade later on; the H97-Plus is very versatile.

Seeing as though you're going for an i3 processor, I'd go for the H97M-E - mATX if I'm not mistaken?

...on another note, I'd stick to a MOBO and GPU of same branding. Seems like you're wanting high end graphics.. Why not go for an i5?

 

[yeskay]

Asus H97M-E vs Asus H97-Plus(10$ more) for i3 4130 and single GTX 960. Is the latter worth the extra? Thanks in advance...

Both are decent. The ASUS H97-Plus is a ATX board, while the ASUS H97M-E is a mATX. ASUS H97-Plus comes with the following extras:

- Supports CrossfireX.
- Has 2 more SATA 6GB/s ports (total 6 ports).

If any of those are important to you get the ASUS H97-Plus else go with ASUS H97M-E. Both are priced almost the same right now.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: Asus H97M-E Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($89.24 @ Amazon)
Total: $89.24
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-25 06:11 EDT-0400

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: Asus H97-PLUS ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($90.00 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $90.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-25 06:11 EDT-0400

Considering the price are almost same, I suggest you go with Plus.

Having said that I would suggest there are better boards in the same price range or costs even less that offers better functionality (like the 6 port audio, which either of those ASUS boards lack) and upgradable path. Consider any of these:

If you're going to upgrade to a new non-K/K i5 or i7 processors in future:

Micro ATX Form Factor:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($96.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $96.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-25 06:18 EDT-0400

ATX Form Factor:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: ASRock Z97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $89.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-25 06:19 EDT-0400

If you're going to upgrade "ONLY" to a non-K i5 or i7 processors in future:

ATX Form Factor:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty H97 Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($85.50 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $85.50
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-25 06:22 EDT-0400

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($81.00 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $81.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-25 06:23 EDT-0400

Micro ATX Form Factor:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($71.10 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $71.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-25 06:24 EDT-0400

Cheers!

 

[Mayank0809]

Are gigabyte and asrock good qualitywise(compared to asus)?

 

[Tradesman1]

Yes, the Rock and GB have good mobos also, but I'd go the Asus with 1150 socket mobos

 

[Mayank0809]

Thanks