Dane Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 So I am in the market for a new mobo for a new build. I seems like quality is hit and mess for everything. What mobo out there for $150 or less is good out of box right away, and lasts? I've beening eyeing the MSI Z97 Gaming 5, it gets good reviews on new egg, but some other places rate it less then ok. For a first build, I'd rather everything work correctly out of the box. I am also looking for a total of 4 fan connections, one for the CPU, then three case fans. Any recommendations? It's gotta work with an I5-4690, no overclocking will be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+PeterUK MVC Posted June 27, 2015 MVC Share Posted June 27, 2015 I prefer recommending GIGABYTE or ASUS GIGABYTE GA-G1.Sniperhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128706 ASUS Z97-A/USB 3.1http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132510 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dane Posted June 27, 2015 Author Share Posted June 27, 2015 I prefer recommending GIGABYTE or ASUS GIGABYTE GA-G1.Sniper http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128706 ASUS Z97-A/USB 3.1 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132510 Thanks I will check into these two! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+devHead Subscriber² Posted June 27, 2015 Subscriber² Share Posted June 27, 2015 I prefer recommending GIGABYTE or ASUS GIGABYTE GA-G1.Sniper http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128706 ASUS Z97-A/USB 3.1 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132510 +1 On that Gigabyte board. I recently purchased the same model, and it works very well. Nice thick sturdy board. Originally, I was going to go with Asus, but the ones I was looking at had not so favorable reviews. This Gigabyte gamer board (I'm not really a gamer mind you) got excellent reviews and was a great price on Newegg. It has very good onboard sound, although I don't use it, and the network adapter is excellent as well. I slapped a Intel i5 CPU in there and 8 GB of RAM; thing runs very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorD Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 MSI Z97-GD65 is a few bucks more than you want to spend http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130769 The MSi Z87 isn't no slouch either http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130848&cm_re=MSI_z87-_-13-130-848-_-Product Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmeunit Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 I've got an ASRock Extreme4 and have had it for a little over two years with my i5-3xxx. Can't remember the exact processor model right off. I have been happy with it. It is picky on memory, but running Crucial Ballistix now and it's great. I tried some Corsair XMS and it won't boot with it. The Extreme6 is right at $150 and the Extreme4 is a little under. Both have rebates right now. I used to stick with Asus strictly, but the last few boards I've bought have had NIC driver issues, and apparently it's common front what I've read. Had them for YEARS, though and they ran fine. I bought a Gigabyte board for my new work machine, but not a gaming board, either. Solid, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dane Posted June 28, 2015 Author Share Posted June 28, 2015 For the GIGABYTE GA-G1.Sniper, what's the deal with all the reviews of stuck bios or boot loops? The MSI Z97-GD65 looks good. Would it be better to get a refurb board? That way it has been used/tested and corrected? With the MSI Gaming 5, there is a coupon that takes off $25 so it makes it a bit cheaper. As for ASrock, browsing new egg, it seems like every board has about the same uneasy reviews for each board. I think I will pass their boards completely. Edit: How about this Asus? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131976 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aergan Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 I'd avoid the Qualcomm Atheros Killer E2200 platform unless you want a severely undependable implementation of QoS. It's on (broken) by default unless you install the control centre to turn off bandwidth control (which will re-enable itself at will). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dane Posted June 28, 2015 Author Share Posted June 28, 2015 I'd avoid the Qualcomm Atheros Killer E2200 platform unless you want a severely undependable implementation of QoS. It's on (broken) by default unless you install the control centre to turn off bandwidth control (which will re-enable itself at will). Is that on the MSI boards only? I could install a regular NIC card, or wifi, right? I just saw that ASUS I linked has a 5 year warranty, that's pretty nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+PeterUK MVC Posted June 28, 2015 MVC Share Posted June 28, 2015 I just saw that ASUS I linked has a 5 year warranty, that's pretty nice! Its based on a older chipset or the PCH supports the Haswell Refresh but will need a BIOS update. So you could go with that theirs not much different between Z97 and Z87 that I can tell apart from not supporting the The 5th Gen Intel CPU (Broadwell). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dane Posted June 28, 2015 Author Share Posted June 28, 2015 Its based on a older chipset or the PCH supports the Haswell Refresh but will need a BIOS update. So you could go with that theirs not much different between Z97 and Z87 that I can tell apart from not supporting the The 5th Gen Intel CPU (Broadwell). I assume bios updates are fairy easy with that board? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+PeterUK MVC Posted June 28, 2015 MVC Share Posted June 28, 2015 I assume bios updates are fairy easy with that board? All boards past 2007 or about are easy to update BIOS just stick it on USB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dane Posted June 28, 2015 Author Share Posted June 28, 2015 All boards past 2007 or about are easy to update BIOS just stick it on USB. That's not too bad. Which do you think would be the better deal? The gaming 5 or The Asus board? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+PeterUK MVC Posted June 28, 2015 MVC Share Posted June 28, 2015 That's not too bad. Which do you think would be the better deal? The gaming 5 or The Asus board? The Asus if your not going to upgrade the CPU to 5th Gen (Broadwell) which your likely not going to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dane Posted June 29, 2015 Author Share Posted June 29, 2015 The Asus if your not going to upgrade the CPU to 5th Gen (Broadwell) which your likely not going to do. Yeah I don't think I will. So the Asus I posted should be fairly good right out of the box minus a bios update you stated, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+PeterUK MVC Posted June 29, 2015 MVC Share Posted June 29, 2015 Yeah I don't think I will. So the Asus I posted should be fairly good right out of the box minus a bios update you stated, right? Ideally you should update the bios for newer CPU's it will likely boot up but the CPU might not run at full speed or be listed correctly as ASUS lists it on their site Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dane Posted June 29, 2015 Author Share Posted June 29, 2015 Ideally you should update the bios for newer CPU's it will likely boot up but the CPU might not run at full speed or be listed correctly as ASUS lists it on their site Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+PeterUK MVC Posted June 29, 2015 MVC Share Posted June 29, 2015 It doesn't seem like there are too many highly rated boards at the $150 range. It's all: Doesn't boot. Boot Loop Dead out of the box Ports dont work and so on. Even ones that cost more don't get high ratings for the most part its people who didn't handle with case or just got a bad board to which they rate as having a bad time with it and most don't have a problem but don't feel the need to rate plus if you do rate to soon it could fail so you can't really go by ratings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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