Z77 Indecision Woes

[Aetherys]

Hey, folks.

Over the last week or two, I've been inundated with reviews, ads, unboxings, promo videos, etc. for Z77 boards and I've decided to come to the experts for a push in the right direction.

I've been using MSi boards and AMD cpus for my last 3 builds and I told myself I was going back to Intel when IB was available with the chipset I wanted. While I really have nothing bad to say about MSi, I'm leaning toward ASUS or Gigabyte for this next board.

I've been looking at the following boards:

ASUS Maximus V Formula

Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP5 TH

Gigabyte G1.Sniper 3


It would be nice to know if there will be some full-board blocks available for any of those, too, but apparently EK doesn't have plans for the UP5 which I thought was strange. I realize that the Formula does have an on-board block, but I imagine it's probably murder on flow rate. Still looks like a nice board.

Anyway, I've had friends suggesting a look at the ASRock Extreme4 or Extreme6 as well and I'm not dead-set against them, but I'd really like to check out ASUS or Gigabyte this time around unless anyone has a really compelling argument for the ASRock boards. (Or any other board I haven't considered, for that matter.)

I know you guys focus more on what you do AFTER you get the hardware, but I'm having a really tough time making a decision and I want to place an order by tomorrow night. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[boosteeddc]

right place to ask which board to get depends on ur needs, but waterblock would be in the wc section. i do know for sure the maximus v comes with a wc thingy already, but i did it see it online lastnight they make full block for.

 

[Knufire]

ASRock is recommended often because it's the basic. 8+4 VRMs, doesn't come with many extra accessories and doesn't have many extra features. But it's only $120-135, and on sale often. You won't find another solid quality board for that price. You'd need to go to the $150 Gigabyte UD3H or the $170 ASUS P8Z77-V for a similar VRM section.

Most here generally recommend against WCing the chipset/motherboard, just not worth the decrease on flow rates, and they don't get that hot anyway.

 

[Mandrake4565]

Assuming you are going to be overclocking it you really can't go wrong with any of those boards.

 

[Aetherys]

right place to ask which board to get depends on ur needs, but waterblock would be in the wc section. i do know for sure the maximus v comes with a wc thingy already, but i did it see it online lastnight they make full block for.

True, I should have mentioned that. I have a mild interest in GW2, but not much is required in the way of hardware for that game. However I do like having the capacity to play something bitchen if it comes out in the next year. I'm trying to avoid crippling addictions to MMO's such as I've had in the past but sometimes it's worth it.

I'm mostly doing this build to keep me busy. I've got bad tendencies with women and recreational substances so spending hours tinkering with a new machine, water cooling, and case modding will help keep me out of trouble. I want to get reacquainted with Intel and do some overclocking. Not trying to break any records or anything, but I would definitely like to push that little 3570k as far as I can. I will probably be going SLI later, but no more than 2 cards. I will definitely be putting this build under water.

Does that help any?

 

[Knufire]

Not trying to break any records or anything...

Honest suggestion, why not?

If you're looking into trying to find a hobby, the benchmarking team is always looking for new members.

Most usually have a separate gaming rig, you don't really want to be pushing what you use daily to near death, so you can continue with this build...just giving some food for thought.

 

[Aetherys]

ASRock is recommended often because it's the basic. 8+4 VRMs, doesn't come with many extra accessories and doesn't have many extra features. But it's only $120-135, and on sale often. You won't find another solid quality board for that price. You'd need to go to the $150 Gigabyte UD3H or the $170 ASUS P8Z77-V for a similar VRM section.

Most here generally recommend against WCing the chipset/motherboard, just not worth the decrease on flow rates, and they don't get that hot anyway.

Ah, good to know. See, I thought the VRM water block on the Formula looked really restrictive, but I didn't know that you guys generally recommend against aftermarket board blocks, too. I guess I still need to do a lot more reading.

 

[LoneWolf121188]

If you're not going to push it, don't bother WCing the mobo. If you are going to push it (benchmarking or folding), and you've got the cash, space, and noise tolerance for a bigger pump...might as well. VRM's definitely get hot, and they can definitely be a weak point in your OC.

 

[Aetherys]

Honest suggestion, why not?

If you're looking into trying to find a hobby, the benchmarking team is always looking for new members.

Most usually have a separate gaming rig, you don't really want to be pushing what you use daily to near death, so you can continue with this build...just giving some food for thought.

You're absolutely right.

I see no reason why not, once I have the money to drop on more hardware. Without risking any inappropriate (and awkward) disclosure, I'll just say my former lifestyle left me with a few financial hurdles to overcome before I can build a 3rd rig and start torturing it.

Otherwise, I wouldn't be trying to decide on middle-of-the-road mobos. I'd just use my old Phenom rig to play GW2 or whatever and build a monster IB box to abuse. Also part of the reason I'm going with the 3570k instead of 3770k. So any suggestions now?

 

[Aetherys]

If you're not going to push it, don't bother WCing the mobo. If you are going to push it (benchmarking or folding), and you've got the cash, space, and noise tolerance for a bigger pump...might as well. VRM's definitely get hot, and they can definitely be a weak point in your OC.

In all honesty, I'd like to get the most out of the 3570k as far as I can. Later, when I have more money to play with, I'll upgrade to a better cpu. Right now, I think I'll have more fun spending that money putting the build under water and modding a case. I'm using the MCP35X2 and only one gpu for now which is why I figured a board block wouldn't be an issue. I am very new to WC, though, so I try not to make any assumptions.

 

[Knufire]

I see no reason why not, once I have the money to drop on more hardware. Without risking any inappropriate (and awkward) disclosure, I'll just say my former lifestyle left me with a few financial hurdles to overcome before I can build a 3rd rig and start torturing it.

Benching is more about volume than sitting single records. From what I've read...it's cheaper than getting a new rig, since a lot of it is just done on older hardware (775) that you're continuously buying, benching, and selling. Just something to look into.

 

[Aetherys]

So since no one has said anything for or against any of those choices, I'll probably get the ASUS board. I thought for sure someone would have an opinion one way or the other, but I guess not. Seems like a safe bet to me.

 

[Mandrake4565]

You can't go wrong with that board.

 

[LoneWolf121188]

Yeah, they're all top of the line, great boards.

 

[White Runner]

I looked at Asus Z77 boards, but even after MC's deal, I just couldn't pull the trigger cause the price, though I love the color scheme... I ended up going with Asrock Z77 Extreme4, due to having good success with their Z68 board. With the $100 bucks I saved, I dumped it into a better video card.

That being said, get the board that you want/like, you're the one that's going to be using it. Good luck to you!

 

[Aetherys]

Thanks, fellas. I'll be back with 473874981 questions about overclocks in a few days.