Can anyone suggest a good motherboard for high end gaming?

MasterVampire

I'm upgrading a friends PC and I need suggestions for a good motherboard.

The CPU is a Intel Core i7 3770K and I was looking at maybe the ASRock Z77 Extreme4 Motherboard but I'm still not sure.

Any advice would be great thanks

Enmity · *Last edited by Enmity; 01-16-2013 at 09:22.*

For gaming the motherboard isnt really going to play a huge part. Even if he wants a good overclocker, the 3770k runs so hot that pretty much any decent z77 board should be able to push it to 4.5 - 4.8ghz which seems to be about where most people end up due to the chip hitting 90+C under stress testing with highend air or even under water. The cpu will for the most part dictate what clockspeed u end up at. If he has a window in his case and wants a board that looks nice, personally i like the msi z77 mpower as its just downright sexy but really, my asus p8z77-v is fine for gaming as would be pretty much any other compatible board out there. Key things are having enough sata ports for his liking, enough usbs for his liking and thats pretty much the jist of it man. The graphics card(s) is where gaming will be affected by your choice.

Oh sorry there is one more thing, whether or not he wants to run multiple gpus he will need to make sure his board choice can support it and depending on if he wants 3 or more gpus he will need a highend board with a plx chip to ensure the third card gets enough pcie lanes. Like the mpower for example.

sverek · 01-16-2013, 10:32 | posts: 1,036 | Location: Japan, Soka

Considering, you are making PC for him, better keep it simple and nice.

Core i5 3450 will be more than enough for gaming, with decent single GPU (ex 660Ti+ / 7870+).
Simple B75 Mobo (ex: Asus P8B75-M) would also be more than enough for gaming.

No really need to waste cash.

Enmity · 01-16-2013, 10:36 | posts: 1,091 | Location: New Zealand

By the sounds of it man i think he already has a 3770k , but i agree, its overkill for gaming. But hey i cant talk, ive got 7970 crossfire and my current res is still only 1920x1080 atm lol

sverek · 01-16-2013, 10:52 | posts: 1,036 | Location: Japan, Soka

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enmity

By the sounds of it man i think he already has a 3770k , but i agree, its overkill for gaming. But hey i cant talk, ive got 7970 crossfire and my current res is still only 1920x1080 atm lol

oh you right...
would be a waste not to get at least Z77 for that.

Maybe something like Asrock Z77 Extreme6 ?

More or less reasonable price / performance. Should serve well.

SLI-756 · 01-16-2013, 11:09 | posts: 3,142 | Location: Sunny Scotland

gigabyte z77x up4, up5, or up7

mikeysg · 01-16-2013, 12:11 | posts: 1,792 | Location: Babylon 5

Well, there's always Asrock Z77 Extreme 11
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...4ce5ed5c38e3e2

Not cheap though....what can I say? I'm attracted to boards with the with the word 'Extreme'....

sverek · 01-16-2013, 12:22 | posts: 1,036 | Location: Japan, Soka

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeysg

Well, there's always Asrock Z77 Extreme 11
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...4ce5ed5c38e3e2

Not cheap though....what can I say? I'm attracted to boards with the with the word 'Extreme'....

thats how exactly marketing works

eclap · 01-16-2013, 13:24 | posts: 18,516 | Location: Hampshire UK

To be fair, you don't really need to spend much on a motherboard. Just get one with all the features you need and make sure it's a z77 chipset. Most of them, even the entry level ones will have all the features most people need anyway. Look out for things like SLI etc. if he has a window in his side panel and is anal about how it looks inside, pick a nice looking one with a color that goes with the rest of the internals. But tbh, most £100 boards come feature packed and perform well enough.

RighteousRami · 01-16-2013, 13:49 | posts: 160 | Location: Australia

Hey, i have the Asrock Extreme 4 and i have to say, it is the best motherboard ive owned so far. I mean yes its not the most expensive but it has everything you actually will use.

the pcie is also good if you want to do sli as some other in the mid range section only have 16 and 4x compatibility in sli or cfx but it has 8x8x which is the good one.

Also the heatsyncs on the mobo dont get in the way of alot of coolers. Supports upto 2800mhz RAm too....if you figure that one out let me know. I cant get my RAM past 1600mhz...i havent looked too far into it though. For the price man its great i would have chosen this one or probably an MSI motherboard in the $180 range,

SLI-756 · 01-16-2013, 13:50 | posts: 3,142 | Location: Sunny Scotland

When you go to the supermarket do you head straight for the budget counter? I personally pick my food by ingredients, if possible price is secondary (within reason).
Is gaming your hobby?, it's fun spending hard earned cash on your hobby, or is it a past-time?

RighteousRami · 01-16-2013, 13:58 | posts: 160 | Location: Australia

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLI-756

When you go to the supermarket do you head straight for the budget counter? I personally pick my food by ingredients, if possible price is secondary (within reason).
Is gaming your hobby?, it's fun spending hard earned cash on your hobby, or is it a past-time?

What will a higher end motherboard provide him that the mid range doesnt...Z77 even the low end boards have alot of features these days.

sverek · *Last edited by sverek; 01-16-2013 at 14:49.*

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLI-756

When you go to the supermarket do you head straight for the budget counter? I personally pick my food by ingredients, if possible price is secondary (within reason).
Is gaming your hobby?, it's fun spending hard earned cash on your hobby, or is it a past-time?

The sad fact is, most gamers (the ones that dont open case) using only 30% of what mobo can actually provide. What do they get from those overpriced mobos? Stability while overclocking and pouring in liquid nitrogen?

Its like buying Ferrari, just to drive in town with 30 m/h restriction...

In your case, you just went to supermarket to buy a overpriced apple, just to give it a single bite.

RighteousRami · 01-16-2013, 14:49 | posts: 160 | Location: Australia

I take it back the Extreme 4 motherboard is not the best board ive had....dont get a corsair H80i if you get the extreme 4 as it is a dodgey fit on the mounting of the pump to the motherboard.

if your doing anything else though you should be fine haha.

eclap · 01-16-2013, 15:29 | posts: 18,516 | Location: Hampshire UK

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLI-756

When you go to the supermarket do you head straight for the budget counter? I personally pick my food by ingredients, if possible price is secondary (within reason).
Is gaming your hobby?, it's fun spending hard earned cash on your hobby, or is it a past-time?

I think you'll find that any decent z77 mobo will let him do everything he'll ever need. Look at my board, z68, cost me around £85. put it in, connected everything I needed and oced the cpu to 4.5ghz, no problem. I would not take advantage of a £300 board. sure, some more expensive boards have better cooling, look nicer and have more features, but this board runs everything I need it to run and I love it. Never missed a beat.

alanm · 01-16-2013, 16:29 | posts: 4,976

If I were to go Ivy Bridge before Haswell is out, this is probably the board I would get.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/P8Z77-V/1.html

lehtv · 01-16-2013, 17:43 | posts: 3,089

The two main things to choose a Z77 board by, for gaming:

1) how far do you want to OC
2) are you interested in dual GPU configs

If you're interested in only a midrange OC - anything below 4.4-4.5GHz long-term - you will get by with 4-phase CPU power (not iGPU and memory controller). This is the lowest it gets, any Z77 board will do. E.g. Asrock Z77 Pro3, Pro4, Asus P8Z77-V LX, LE, Gigabyte Z77-D3H, MSI Z77A-G43. I would put Asrock Pro3 on top of that list, it's usually the best bang for buck.

If you want a higher OC which will also require high end cooling, you will need at least 8 CPU phases, though some boards with 6 phases are also worth a look. This would rule out boards not compatible for SLI/Crossfire setups (i.e. no x8/x8 lane PCIe configuration). Which means that if you're interested in SLI/Crossfire, you choose from the same boards. 6 phases: Asus P8Z77-V LE Plus, Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H, MSI Z77A-G45. 8 phases: Asrock Z77 Extreme3, Extreme4, Asus P8Z77-V. Here, I'd prefer the Asrock Extreme4, it has the high end ALC898 audio codec and is among the cheapest SLI/CF boards while having 8 phase power, it's a very good gaming board. I do personally own the P8Z77-V, it's simply awesome but much more expensive; I got it used for the price of the Extreme4.

There are also some dual GPU boards with only 4 phase power like Asus P8Z77-V LK, but I would not even consider them. If going dual GPU, you want to be able to support the highest OC's that high end air cooling can handle in order to minimize CPU bottlenecking.

Also note that a very high OC will probably require you to disable HT on the 3770K, so if you're aiming for a high OC just get the 3570K and use the money saved on higher end cooling.

alanm · 01-16-2013, 18:47 | posts: 4,976

Quote:

Originally Posted by lehtv

Here, I'd prefer the Asrock Extreme4, it has the high end ALC898 audio codec and is among...

Interesting. Some high end boards dont even have that. I have an x-fi card since 2006 and wonder if the ALC898 matches it or surpasses it now. If as good or better, I may go for this board myself.

mf2385 · 01-18-2013, 19:50 | posts: 1,946 | Location: Long Island

Depending on your sata, and other connection needs, it kind of depends on you. But I really can vouch for Gigabyte boards. The UD3H or UD5H are nice choices either way.