Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 or Asus Z97-A or MSI Z97 GAMING 5

[Nuluvius]

Sorry, can't post links as yet.

Which one is best in this bracket and why?

[Infinite]

Feature-wise they seem about the same. Just about personal brand preference.

If judged by layout and looks I think MSI wins. Gigabyte looks bland, and Asus looks messy and boring.

MSI only has PCIE slots which I think is a bonus.

[Nuluvius]

Feature-wise they seem about the same. Just about personal brand preference.

If judged by layout and looks I think MSI wins. Gigabyte looks bland, and Asus looks messy and boring.

MSI only has PCIE slots which I think is a bonus.

I'm inclined to agree. However the Asus does pack a pile of features that nether the Gigabyte nor MSI support.

Aesthetically (something I am not particularly bothered by) the Asus just doesn't sit right somehow and as you say looks messy and boring. The Gigabyte is actually shorter along the width than a standard ATX - leading to problems when you have a giant CPU cut out like on my intended case! It's also got a strange eye that looks a great deal like the ROG eye or the Big Brother (ugh) eye. While the MSI has weird heat sinks... they are raised... up in the air... and overhang... I mean really... otherwise I agree that it wins the beauty contest.

But to counterbalance: I did find all three of them reviewed on Hexus. Surprisingly that Asus (while being loaded with features the others don't have) comes up a little worse on performance, specifically memory performance.

hexus.net/tech/reviews/mainboard/70133-gigabyte-z97x-gaming-5/?page=4
hexus.net/tech/reviews/mainboard/69517-asus-z97-a/
hexus.net/tech/reviews/mainboard/69525-msi-z97-gaming-5/

[Zhaix]

If you aren't concerned about looks, the Asus is probably the way to go. Otherwise, the MSI is also a good choice.

[RoryMcK]

I agree with infinite, I was also contemplating which one to choose and I think I have been swayed towards the MSI.

[mynameissi]

MSI all the way bro

[PowerPie5000]

I went with the Asrock Z97 Extreme4 over the MSI Gaming 5. The Asrock board has a quality 12 phase power design, decent onboard audio with headphone amp (probably similar to the MSI board) and a good hardware based Intel NIC... Amongst other features. Great board for the price .