I am looking to upgrade to a new mobo either the MSI z97a gaming
6 or the ASUS maximus vii hero. Any suggestions?
Do you already have a Z97 mobo? "Upgrading" your mobo doesn't make any real sense if you stick with the same CPU tbh.
I am taking my current mobo ASUS m5a99 fx pro and putting into another system with the fx 8350.
Oh so you're upgrading CPU anyway. I thought you just wanted to switch the mobo. Gotcha.
Anyway, I personally only have had good experiences with Asus mobos, but the ROG series seems so incredibly overpriced and usually doesn't offer any actual useful features compared to others. I personally would go with a really solid, "lower end" Asus mobo personally.
If you want to choose between the two, pick the cheaper one if there is a big difference and the ASUS one if the prices are similar.
I've only owned an MSI mobo for like 2-3 months, not sure if they are reliable in the long run. The rest if the times it has always being Asus. I agree the rog editions can be overpriced if you don't really need any of their extra software.
well it depends a bit on your personaly needs realy.
Both the Msi Z97 Gaming 7 and Asus maximus 7 Hero are great boards.
The Asus Maximus 7 hero, has a better vreg design then the Msi basicly, and a more / better overclocking friendly bios.
But as far as overclocking goes on Z97, the vreg design is a bit less imporant, cause its more a matter of silicon lottery luck with the cpu.
The Asus also comes with a Intel nic, which i personaly prefer over the atheros killer that msi comes with.
But other then that, both boards are pretty similar, in terms of connectivity and what not.
I have to agree with @anon10737550 that the Hero does not have much more extra´s to offer over Msi gaming 7 for the average gamer.
both boards have great onboard audio so yeah.
I personaly prefer the Asus board, but going with the Gaming 7 would not be a mistake either.
A factory tuner board is good for the overclocking features in their bios and the additional heat sinks on key components. However, if you go that route make sure to only use what you need, as they tend to come with a lot of tuner software that's fairly bloated to make sure their brand image is in your face. Another thing to look at is the pci-e configuration if you plan on running multiple cards. A cheaper board may support sli, but with one of the slots running at x8. Audio is another big feature on a specialized gaming boards. Stay clear of anything that hints around the term "virtual" when sifting through surround sound features.