Need some advice on motherboards for my build

Wyind

Thinking about which mobo to get for a new pc am building, so I hope you can give me a bit of advice on which one to get.




The one I did have in mind was a Gigabyte Z87-D3HP, but recently found out that not all the 4 dimm slots are working properly, have been reading post on forums that there would be a lot of BSOD's and restarts and everything would run fine using only 2 dimms, like say only 8 gb ram of 2 x 4 gbs, but using the all 4 dimms 16gbs at 4 x 4 gbs the crashes will start. I would hate to purchase something faulty, so am gonna avoid that mobo and look for something else.


New options I have are Asus Z87-C or Gigabyte G1.SNIPER M5, havent heard bad things on them, or do you guys know what would be good for me?






Specs so far are


i5 4670K


Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 2 CPU Cooler


Seagate Barracuda 3.5 inch 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB 6GB


Corsair CML8GX3M2A1600C9 LP Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 1600MHz CL9 DDR3 XMP


Corsair Builder Series CXM 600W Modular 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX/EPS PSU


Also note that I will be overclocking the i5, so the dark rock pro 2 should do the job, however will that cooler fit inside the G1.SNIPER M5, or will I come across problems like say will it hit against the gpu when in there, because I have seen some pics of the G1.SNIPER M5 and it looks like the gpu and cpu sockets are closer together, or am I wrong and there shouldnt be problems?


I know this might be tricky to answer but any help will do!

BloodBath

Some questions.

What's your total budget?

What card/s are you pairing up with this?

That board is an matx board. What case were you planning on using? A dark rock pro 2 is not going to fit inside any matx case I know of. Possibly into a prodigy but that's going to be a very tight squeeze leaving hardly any room for case airflow.

Wyind

Would be spending around 100-200 euros on mobo,

Will be having a 660gtx for the meantime, plan to upgrade to maxwell in future, no plans for sli

case is old, cooler master 330, but its good enough to upgrade for todays standards, have a large heatstink at the mo, up to 160mm in height and there's still room for another 10mm,(If dark rock doesnt fit will have to leave the side panal open til i get another case). Also case am using at the mo allows for standard ATX and micro-atx.

BloodBath

Your budget is a bit lopsided for a gaming pc. You're pumping a lot into the board and cpu + cooler and not much into the card when it should be the other way around.

That's €500 for the board, proc and cooler paired with a €175 graphics card.

What's the point paying for a high end matx board that supports sli when you have no plans of using an matx case or sli?

Wyind

It doesnt really matter to me that i can get an matx and use it in my case that supports both atx and matx, the Gigabyte G1.SNIPER M5, its just something that i might consider on gettting, but not sure yet that i will, and as for the gpu, i will be upgrading it to a higher end card in future. Do you think the dark rock pro 2 can fit with the G1.SNIPER M5 without hitting against the gpu?, to me it looks like a tight squezze, Asus Z87-C seems like there's a better distance, but am not too sure

BloodBath

It does matter when you are paying a premium price for the best available z87 matx board. A standard atx board with the same features would be nearly half the price.

Why not just get a standard cheap atx board like the Asrock z87 pro 3? Do you have the 660 gtx already?

For the money you are spending there you could get a 3570k, cm 212 evo, an Asrock Z77 extreme 3 and a second 660 gtx.

Or leave the second 660 for now and get a decent modern case. There is 0 point putting that big ass expensive cooler in that old crappy case.

Wyind

Got my plans on a haswell built, Asrock z87 pro 3 looks good, and no havent got the 660 gtx yet.

BloodBath

So you are pretty much making a completely new build. If you were to fill this in we could recommend some parts for you.

I don't know where you planned on ordering from or what your budget is but you could probably spend your money a little better.

You can also get these 7870's for €150 each + €10 p&p. It would be a better choice than the 660 gtx.


1. What is your budget? [€xxx]

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? [Gaming/Video editing/3D Modelling/HTPC/Internet] (If gaming include which games)

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [Yes/No]

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? [Hard drive/DVD Drive/Case/PSU/etc.] (If possible state brand and model of the parts to ensure compatibility)

5. Do you need a monitor? [Yes/No]

5a. If yes, what size do you need. [19'/20'/22'/24'/etc.]

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? [1920x1080/1440x900/etc.] [Yes/No]

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [Keyboard/Mouse/Wireless Card/Card Reader/Speakers/etc.]

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [Yes/No]

8. How can you pay? [Bank Transfer/Credit Card/Laser]

9. When are you purchasing? [In x days]

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? [South Dublin City/Cork City/Kerry/etc.]

Wyind

1. What is your budget? 800 euros

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? [Gaming/Video editing/3D Modelling/HTPC/Internet] (If gaming include which games) gaming, bf3/4, skyrim, valves games, ac 3

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [Yes/No] NO

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? [Hard drive/DVD Drive/Case/PSU/etc.] (If possible state brand and model of the parts to ensure compatibility)DVD DRIVE, CASE, PSU

5. Do you need a monitor? [Yes/No] NO

5a. If yes, what size do you need. [19'/20'/22'/24'/etc.] N/A

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? [1920x1080/1440x900/etc.] [Yes/No] 1920x1080, NO UPGRADE

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [Keyboard/Mouse/Wireless Card/Card Reader/Speakers/etc.] NO

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [Yes/No] YES

8. How can you pay? [Bank Transfer/Credit Card/Laser] CREDIT CARD

9. When are you purchasing? [In x days] MONTH OR SO

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? [South Dublin City/Cork City/Kerry/etc.] BUILD MYSELF


good mobo is what am looking for with an overclocked haswell, Gigabyte Z87-D3HP has my eye, but 4 dimms causes alot of crashes, think i might just go with it and use only 2 dimms, (2 x 4 gb ram), Asus Z87-C not so bad either

BloodBath

There's no point paying for high end boards and coolers to only eke out an extra 100 - 200mhz on the cpu overclock unless you have money to burn. The money can be spent better elsewhere. The majority of games will benefit a lot more from gpu power rather than cpu power. Only older games that use only 2 cpu cores really benefit from the cpu.

You have to remember the case you are using is going to limit your overclocks as well. Adding an ssd would also make your pc experience a lot better. Here is an example build below for what you could get for €800. That cpu will still overclock to around 4.5ghz with that board and cooler. It would only be about 10% slower than the Haswell at the same speed. With the extra money you can get a great new case and ssd. The 7870 is a better card than the 660 once overclocked as well. The board supports sli/crossfire as well so you add a second card when you want/need to.

Item|Price
8GB-Kit G-Skill RipJaws PC3-12800U CL9|€60.71
Samsung SSD 840 120GB SATA 6Gb/s|€85.04
WD Caviar Blue 1TB 6Gb's|€56.12
Nanoxia Deep Silence Two Anthracite, ohne Netzteil|€78.33
Intel Core i5-3570K Box, LGA1155|€202.90
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - Intel/AMD|€29.68
ASRock Z77 Extreme3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€107.09
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€638.86


Graphics card €160

Total €799