I am upgrading one of my computers that was originally intended as a second machine to test software but is now used everyday as a mainstream computer. The mobo is a bit old and limited and I am trying to decide which of four motherboards to use for a replacement.
This machine will not be used for gaming but it will be used for business/office type appilications that require horsepower and the ability to quickly access large graphic and PDF files (off an SSD). The machine I am upgrading handles everything well now but it is limited to 4 Gb DDR2 RAM and I want something faster (and more satisfying) which primarily means more and faster memory (DDR2 now) because the dual core CPU is running at well over 3 Ghz now. Also the existing mobo does not have a USB 3.0 port and does not support 6 Gb/s SATA drives. If I was able to increase the memory easily I would probably stop there but since I cant I am replacing the mobo, CPU, SSD (for more storage), and memory. The new mobo needs to be a Micro ATX Z77 board. I already have the new CPU (Intel i5-3570k) and 256 GB Samsung 840 Pro. I also only need two memory slots as I think 8 Gb (2 X 4Gb) will be fine as I doubt there will be any noticeable gain going to 16 Gb.
The four boards I am considering in order of my preference are:
1-ASRock 277M $85 + $0 Shipping
2-ASUS P8Z77-M (not Pro) $115 + $0 Shipping
3-Gigabyte GA-Z77M-D3H $90 + $0 Shippng
4-MSI Z77MA-G45 $100 + $7.50 Shipping
All boards above easily meet my requirements with respect to features.
Any thoughts about the better choice will be appreciated. Reliability/Quality is my first priority and is more important than cost. Second priority is overclocking. I do not do extreme overclocking but I overclock to a point, with some reasonable margin, where I can still be confident of 100% reliability.
This machine will not be used for gaming but it will be used for business/office type appilications that require horsepower and the ability to quickly access large graphic and PDF files (off an SSD). The machine I am upgrading handles everything well now but it is limited to 4 Gb DDR2 RAM and I want something faster (and more satisfying) which primarily means more and faster memory (DDR2 now) because the dual core CPU is running at well over 3 Ghz now. Also the existing mobo does not have a USB 3.0 port and does not support 6 Gb/s SATA drives. If I was able to increase the memory easily I would probably stop there but since I cant I am replacing the mobo, CPU, SSD (for more storage), and memory. The new mobo needs to be a Micro ATX Z77 board. I already have the new CPU (Intel i5-3570k) and 256 GB Samsung 840 Pro. I also only need two memory slots as I think 8 Gb (2 X 4Gb) will be fine as I doubt there will be any noticeable gain going to 16 Gb.
The four boards I am considering in order of my preference are:
1-ASRock 277M $85 + $0 Shipping
2-ASUS P8Z77-M (not Pro) $115 + $0 Shipping
3-Gigabyte GA-Z77M-D3H $90 + $0 Shippng
4-MSI Z77MA-G45 $100 + $7.50 Shipping
All boards above easily meet my requirements with respect to features.
Any thoughts about the better choice will be appreciated. Reliability/Quality is my first priority and is more important than cost. Second priority is overclocking. I do not do extreme overclocking but I overclock to a point, with some reasonable margin, where I can still be confident of 100% reliability.
