in need of a new mobo. will be used with a i7 4790k, msi gtx 970 and will be overclocked
MSI Z97 Gaming 5/7 comes off the top of my head.
Gigabyte's GA-z97X Gaming 5
Not too familiar with ASUS boards, although I have seen the Z97-A be slightly slower in some games. I might want to avoid that one. I'd also avoid the MSI Krait board - that performs terribly.
If you had to take into account overclocking while using one of these boards which would you go with and the Gaming 5/7 seems to be everywhere for top performance and price
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128709
I just got this thing and it rocks so far. I can understand if you hate the red and black look though. It does have a red led light strip separating the audio portion of the board. It goes well with my set up so I love it. as far as overclocking I have my i7 4790k at 4.7 and the only reason its not higher is the thermals with my hyper 212. Anyways it is a really good board with great features for the price.
If you're wanting to look specifically at overclocking, there's the Gigabyte Z97X SOC Force. I'm in the same situation, so looking and inexperienced, so take my suggestion with a grain of salt. I hear that's a very good board though - they said in the NewEgg review, I think, that most vendors use these boards to show off their products on the show floor.
I did make a run at 4.9 on this board and it was fine except for the temps on my set up so I wouldn't pay much more than 150 for a board. Plus all of the pci slots are too close together on that SOC. I run sli 780s and they would be on fire unless I was doing a custom loop. So unless you are doing a 2500$+ rig or never ever plan on doing sli/crossfire I would stay away from that board.
Okay, I'll trust your better judgement.
Though, if I were building a $2500 rig, I'd probably spend a little more on the motherboard anyways. :P
I have the MSI Gaming Z97m. Its like the other gaming boards but in mATX.
You aren't really going to buy one board that's super significantly better at overclocking anymore. With that said, the z97 msi boards are fucking great. I own the Gaming 7. Most of what your choice should go into should be what features the board has, the layout, etc.
Do you have a max budget in mind for a mobo?
Asus recently launched a very nice budget related gaming board in Europe, idk if you can also get this in the states. Asus Z97 Pro Gamer.
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z97PRO_GAMER/
But offcourse there are allot more decent gaming boards out there, But it depends on how much you can spend for a mobo.
unless you get one of the few with a crappy 4 power phase... dont do that
Well that highly depends on what you mean by "crappy 4 powerphase" boards.
There are exaly allot of decent 4+1 true powerphase boards for that matter.
Msi Z97 Gaming 5 for example.
my budget would be $195 at the highest
wow thats a big budget
just a moment, i will select some nice boards.
MSi:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-motherboard-z97gaming5
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-motherboard-z97gaming7
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-motherboard-z97gd65gaming
Gigabyte:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gaz97xsocforce
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gaz97xgaming7
Here are a few decent gaming boards, the Gigabyte Soc force is offcourse more an overclockers board.
I'm personally a ASUS fan.... So if your looking in the $200 range I would recommend the ROG line up.
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-MAX7HER&c=CJ
I personally run the Maximus 7 Formula and have a stable overclock to 4.8Ghz on my 4790k with a Noctua NH-D14.
Here is that new "Gamer" board mentioned above:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132412&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
If you plan on using on board audio I don't think you can beat ROG stuff IMO.
Just to throw my two cents in to the mix, I'd +1 the gigabyte z97x gaming 5 suggestion - I own the micro atx version and its a pretty sweet deal for the price. m.2, great audio on board and overclocking in the gigabyte UEFI is a breeze. I'd back that one, and save some $$$.
I don't think you should spend it all on the motherboard. You can get what you need for less. No point in buying something with features that you'll never use. Then use the rest for something else. Maybe more RAM, or an SSD or cooler, or add it to the GPU budget etc. Something that will really make a difference in gaming. These new ASUS gaming motherboards are very affordable and they have everything a gamer needs.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128709
this board is all that is needed. I run my 4790k at 4.7 all day long. I would go higher but my little hyper 212 cant take the heat.