I'm going to second the sentiment of most. I bought a 5930k because I had an external raid controller and the THOUGHT of possibly adding another 980 (I sold my 980 and got a ti instead). Now I have the ability to move my raid controller and add a 950 ssd if I want, and at 4.4GHz with 6 cores I don't THINK I'm missing out on much with my decision.
It seems like you really just want X99. With Broadwell being x99 compatible it seems like a pretty safe choice to give you an upgrade path if you want the better chip. Heck you could go 5820 now and get a Broadwell chip after if you find yourself needing more than 28 lanes.
Yeah the awesome thing is that they have used the latest International Rectifier pwm controler on that board, the IR35201. These are the latest and the greatest basicly. The Asrock Z170 OC Fomula is the only Asrock Z170 board that uses this IR pwm controller, as far as i know.
I read this. I really like the tweak town has stepped up and committed to doing this from here on out
You see I noticed a good few of ASUS's boards use the hybrid PWM setup which pretty much all other boards use so theres nothing special. Actually its a little retarded that ASUS gets all the overclock attention when the z170 OC formula is the onyl board with a full true digi pwm setup
I expect that at the least. Its their top end board. If they didnt it would be a little sad LOL. Maybe im too picky about all the PWM and VRM stuff but to me it kinda matters as I frequently like to push my chips to their edge LOL
Too bad I cant find an MSI circuit board analysis on their website. Id be curious as to what crazy thing they did now
Well its about time because honestly. some of their boards are quite pretty. It was just the componentry holding me back as I choose function over form.
psst I think they were more scared of your whips @MisteryAngel LOL xP !
Inflation due to scarcity. When I built my Skylake system 2 months ago, the 6700k was ~$375 in most places. Doing Micro Center's mobo bundle deal dropped it to ~$330. At the same time, z97 stuff was sky high and x99 was basically the same as it is now. Very little fluctuation in x99 prices the past few months.
But the 6700k is constantly at low stock, so retailers and private sellers have been gouging prices a bit. The 6600k has had a similar arc, being as much as $20-30 cheaper than a 4770k, or as much as $70 more. It seems to have better stock and tighter average prices than the 6700k though. DDR4 prices are so close to DDR3 that going for x99/z170 just makes so much more sense right now. After Christmas I expect the Skylake CPUs will be back in line with their x99 counterparts.
If the review of the vrm cirquitry of the Msi Z170 Xpower is correct. I ofc found one minor thing to rant about lol. And that is that they only use 5 true phases for the cpu vcore connected to doublers which makes it 10 pwm phases, thats kinda a weird choice Msi?
The fact that its fully digital is a step in the correct direction. I just do not understand why they cant afford to make a very high end board? it doesnt make since to me
Well the Msi Z170 Xpower and Asrock Z170 OC Formula are both decent definitely. I would personaly pick the Asrock, because its cheaper, and they use 6 true phases from the pwm controler for the cpu Vcore, connected to doublers which makes it 12 pwm phases.
The Z170 Xpower on the otherhand, has realy a nice epic look, and comes with more feutures, but also costs more. Its a give or take.