Which of these 3-4 Motherboards for i7 6700 build?

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detroitwillfall

detroitwillfall

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Sep 27, 2014
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so im trying to decide which of these motherboards i should go with. the obvious answer is any of the 3 will probably suit me fine. but im looking for more opinions with those more experienced, with more knowledge, and who own/work with these.

Gigabyte: https://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gah170md3h



Asus: https://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-h170mplus

OR https://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-h170mpluscsm
(microcenter has this one and if its bundled with the i7 i save $20)



ASrock: https://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-h170mpro4s (microcenter also has this one and if its bundled with the i7 i save $20)


Build w/ no Mobo: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zH8NXL

Thanks!!
 
Solution
Bearmann
I've been agonizing over you build looking for special deals, etc. Of the MB's you selected, I also would go with the Gigabyte as first choice and the Asrock as second. The Asus CSM does have 3 USB 3.0 ports (2 x type A, 1 x type C) and 2 USB 2.0 ports. The Asrock and Gigabyte both have 6 rear USB ports. You really don't need all of them to be USB 3.0. USB 2.0 is fine for many things and preferable for keyboards and mice (some 2.0 things don't always work well with USB 3 even though it is supposed to be compatible). I would go with the following build however, trying to keep you budget neutral. The upgraded Asrock adds USB 3.1 (no USB 2.0 however), a better quality board with 12K capacitors, and better audio.

PCPartPicker part...
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not at this time at some point i may go msi r9 380 but this wasnt meant as a primary gaming build. thankyou for the feedback. i wish the asus had more usb 3.0's!
 
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I've been agonizing over you build looking for special deals, etc. Of the MB's you selected, I also would go with the Gigabyte as first choice and the Asrock as second. The Asus CSM does have 3 USB 3.0 ports (2 x type A, 1 x type C) and 2 USB 2.0 ports. The Asrock and Gigabyte both have 6 rear USB ports. You really don't need all of them to be USB 3.0. USB 2.0 is fine for many things and preferable for keyboards and mice (some 2.0 things don't always work well with USB 3 even though it is supposed to be compatible). I would go with the following build however, trying to keep you budget neutral. The upgraded Asrock adds USB 3.1 (no USB 2.0 however), a better quality board with 12K capacitors, and better audio.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($327.99 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.50 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z170M Extreme4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($118.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($61.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.85 @ OutletPC)
Case: Thermaltake Core V21 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($62.00 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Corsair CO-9050011-WW 37.9 CFM 120mm Fan ($14.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $709.18
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-26 20:16 EDT-0400

For $20 more the Gigabyte GA-Z170MX-Gaming 5 motherboard would be nice too.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=348

http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z170M%20Extreme4/?cat=Specifications

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5530#sp
 
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Solution


thanks bearman, i see you changed the psu to a seasonic, from the platinum evga to the gold+, saving roughly $40 not bad. whats the performance savings drop comparing both? and is seasonic a reputable and rival/comparable model and brand to that evga?


also, if im not doing to be doing loads @ 100% 24/7 ive been reading i may as well go for a bronze rated, but if i can get gold at roughly the same price thats fine. i just dont know much about seasonic or why i should get one vs the other for psu. I will just stick with the p2 evga.

as for the mobo, i just want a solid performer and the best bang for my buck. ive been switching parts here the last few weeks and im going crazy lol. i see that gaming 5 and the extreme both are z170m and i have a non OC cpu..not a big deal but i dont plan to OC

when i get to microcenter this week i will ask their 2 cents between the pro4s, the d3h or the PLUS/CSM

thanks again for the suggestion!
 
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Both PSU's are excellent. Both are very highly rated. The Seasonic is slightly less efficient, so you might pay 25 cents more in electricity each year. The Seasonic is semi-modular rather than fully modular, so you'll have one extra unused CPU cable to tuck and hide somewhere. I know you won't be oveclocking, but with the Z boards you sometimes get extra features (such as USB 3.1) or better quality components. You should consider an overclocking build though. I did my first build and OC last year and it's very easy with Skylake. Some boards have a one button OC feature. What is the primary use of the computer? The link to the Seasonic review is above. Here is the one for the EVGA P2:

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=446

A 550 watt PSU would be fine for a r9 380 too.
 
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primary use is not for gaming, virtualization, multitasking, simulations for my network/server admin class.

althought thats not to say i wont enjoy playing any at some point.
 
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I chose the boards based on features and build. Read the reviews of the ones you are interested in on Newegg and Amazon. Here is some info about Asus CSM:

https://avp.asus.com/csm/

You probably won't be using USB 3.1 initially, but maybe in the future. The upgraded sound, I don't know. Better board quality is always good and for only $20 extra, you might as well. Same with the PSU, a good quality bronze unit would be fine but only save you less than $20. Still, if you need the $35, there's nothing wrong with the original boards and a bronze rated PSU.
 
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I would probably go with it. The Extreme4 is nice, but I'm not sure it's $39 nicer 😉

Here is a suggested build. I had to manually enter the Microcenter price for the MB with $20 MB/CPU combo discount. Maybe they will price match the other stuff in your build.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.50 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z170M Pro4S Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($60.00)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($61.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.85 @ OutletPC)
Case: Thermaltake Core V21 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($62.00 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Corsair CO-9050011-WW 37.9 CFM 120mm Fan ($14.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $642.20
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-27 10:41 EDT-0400

By the way, you can purchase it on line for in store pick-up. That way, you won't have to worry about it being sold out. I would go ahead and order it. If you change your mind, they will credit it back to your account after 3 days of not being picked up or you can cancel before 3 days.

You could also get this faster Corsair RAM for a bit less money:

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-memory-cmk16gx4m2a2666c16r

 
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with that kind of savings I can get a nice monitor.. thanks man yeah I'm just doing some more number crunching and research but the pro4s was my original mobo I picked when I first started this journey of building the 6700 sooo its a safe bet I may end up with that..dnt quote me on that though lol
 
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Here it is with the better memory:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.50 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z170M Pro4S Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($60.00)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.85 @ OutletPC)
Case: Thermaltake Core V21 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($62.00 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Corsair CO-9050011-WW 37.9 CFM 120mm Fan ($14.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $640.20
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-27 11:06 EDT-0400

The faster RAM may be helpful since you will be using on-board graphics. I think it is a really sweet build for $640.........and 20 cents!
 
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thanks for the ram its cas 16 though but I'm sure +1 cas for faster freq speed is a acceptable trade off. and cheaper. all depends on that mobo if I do get that.i read johnny gurus reviews and this forums on tier 1/2 psu's I still like the evga p2 650w. I have two dell lcds vga and dvi d that work fine I'm in no rush for a monitor atm.
 
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Yes, the RAM is much better. You can divide the RAM frequency by the CAS for a quick approximation. The higher the number the better. And it is likely to benefit you since you are using on board graphics. I can't speak against the EVGA 650 P2 since I own it 😉 but the Seasonic is also fantastic,
 
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thanks for the tip about cas and freq! good to know.. and for $30 more the p2 seems like a must to me. glad you have it and approve! unfortunately I dnt have a credit card just cash so I dnt think the online checkout will work for me 🙁
 
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Except that its an upgrade from the H170 to the Z170 :)
 
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i do like the fact its only like 1-2$ more for the z170. future proofing the best i can i guess 😀
 
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