Z170 Types is it worth paying more?

[pete29555]

Hi im trying to choose a bare bones i7 6700 bundle & ive got to pick out of a long list of Z170 motherboards. In laymans terms what extra is offered by the more expensive boards?

I know the more expensive are slightly faster in benchmark tests but what else do the more expensive boards offer?. I`ll just be using it for gaming & internet, im not interested in attaching extra SSD, hard drives etc..., im looking to future proof as much as possible though:

GIGABYTE GA-Z170XP-SLI Intel Z170 (Socket 1151) Motherboard

[Included in price]


ASUS Z170-E Intel Z170 (Socket 1151) Motherboard

Add £5.10 inc vat - (View Spec)


GIGABYTE GA-Z170X-Gaming 3 Intel Z170 (Socket 1151) Motherboard

Add £16.43 inc vat - (View Spec)


MSI Z170A KRAIT GAMING Intel Z170 (Socket 1151) Motherboard

Add £17.29 inc vat - (View Spec)


ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming Intel Z170 (Socket 1151) Motherboard

Add £26.30 inc vat - (View Spec)


MSI Z170A GAMING M5 Intel Z170 (Socket 1151) Motherboard

Add £40.82 inc vat - (View Spec)


GIGABYTE GA-Z170X-Gaming 5 Intel Z170 (Socket 1151) Motherboard

Add £44.63 inc vat - (View Spec)


ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Ranger Intel Z170 (Socket 1151) Motherboard

Add £46.09 inc vat - (View Spec)


GIGABYTE GA-Z170X-Gaming 7 Intel Z170 (Socket 1151) Motherboard

Add £74.59 inc vat - (View Spec)


MSI Z170A GAMING M7 Intel Z170 (Socket 1151) Motherboard

Add £77.47 inc vat - (View Spec)


ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero Intel Z170 (Socket 1151) Motherboard

Add £84.19 inc vat - (View Spec)


ASUS TUF SABERTOOTH Z170 MARK 1 Intel Z170 (Socket 1151) ATX Motherboard

Add £120.25 inc vat - (View Spec)

 

[turkey3_scratch]

Expensive motherboards offer better overclocking, more slots and ports, better VRM cooling. Do they really help performance? Not really. A lot of expensive motherboards can be cash cows. The motherboard has the littlest to do with performance. It may give you 1-2 FPS at most, or a slightly higher benchmark score, but that's all.

if you plan on overclocking, a normal-priced Z170 is perfect. If not, you could always just buy a $50 H110 board.

90% of the features of high-end boards will probably go unused.

 

[pete29555]

ok thanks for the reply