Results 1 to 13 of 13

Thread: Motherboard Choice

  1. #1
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    33
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    4 times in 3 posts

    Question Motherboard Choice

    Hi Guys

    Need some advice please on picking a motherboard:

    Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H (£104.12 Inc VAT) vs Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H (£153.32 Inc VAT)

    I'm leaning towards the D3H as when comparing to the two here there doesn't seem too much difference, except the UD5H has some extra USB and SATA connectivity, dual LAN and better (?) onboard sound with the Realtek ALC898 and support for X-Fi. I think the UD5H also looks to have better heatsinks/cooling on the VRM and mosfets etc. Anyone got experience on these 2 motherboards? Is the UD5H worth the extra £50?

    Then here's me perhaps being a bit silly! The Sabertooth with its 'Thermal Armor'. It's £70 more than the GA D3H, not sure if it's worth it and the 'Thermal Armor' is just a gimmick?

    Asus Sabertooth Z77 (£173.72 Inc VAT)

    FYI - I'm going to be putting an i5 3570K in there (and overclocking it) and a single GTX 270, maybe with scope to add another in the future.

    Advice much appreciated! Cheers, Paul

  2. #2
    Drum & Bass Till I Die deejayburnout's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Kinglassie, Fife
    Posts
    2,013
    Thanks
    296
    Thanked
    133 times in 114 posts
    • deejayburnout's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte x470 Aorus Ultra Gaming
      • CPU:
      • Ryzen 2600 at stock speeds ( for now)
      • Memory:
      • 2 x Corsair 8GB DDR4 Vengeance LPX 3000MHz
      • Storage:
      • Gigabyte 128GB M.2 PCIe x2 NVMe SSD, 120GB Kingston SV200, 2 x 1TB WD Drive, 2 x 2TB WD Drive
      • Graphics card(s):
      • ASUS ROG Strix RX 580 8G Gaming OC Edition
      • PSU:
      • OCZ 750 Watt
      • Case:
      • NZXT Noctis 450
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 64bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • LG 34UM65-P Ultrawide
      • Internet:
      • 72mb Down 19mb up - Vodafone
    One way to look at it is what features would you use on each motherboard. No point in spending cash on things you will not use.

    also look at what is most futureproof. better to spend a bit extra on a mobo if it will be a good base for future upgrades.

    Without having a look at the mobos ( cos I am on my blackberry ) if the spec is the same, maybe its down to build quality.
    Better to Burn out than Fade Away
    Check out my Youtube channel - Crispy Crisperson

  3. #3
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    33
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    4 times in 3 posts

    Re: Motherboard Choice

    Very true, I'm not sure the GA UD5H really offers much over the D3H that I would use. I'm not sure I would use the extra connectors or dual LAN, it's just whether the on-board sound is significantly better, or whether the extra/better cooling on the VRM and mosfets would give better longetivity.

    Not sure about the Sabertooth though. Anyone got experience of it?

  4. #4
    Drum & Bass Till I Die deejayburnout's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Kinglassie, Fife
    Posts
    2,013
    Thanks
    296
    Thanked
    133 times in 114 posts
    • deejayburnout's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte x470 Aorus Ultra Gaming
      • CPU:
      • Ryzen 2600 at stock speeds ( for now)
      • Memory:
      • 2 x Corsair 8GB DDR4 Vengeance LPX 3000MHz
      • Storage:
      • Gigabyte 128GB M.2 PCIe x2 NVMe SSD, 120GB Kingston SV200, 2 x 1TB WD Drive, 2 x 2TB WD Drive
      • Graphics card(s):
      • ASUS ROG Strix RX 580 8G Gaming OC Edition
      • PSU:
      • OCZ 750 Watt
      • Case:
      • NZXT Noctis 450
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 64bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • LG 34UM65-P Ultrawide
      • Internet:
      • 72mb Down 19mb up - Vodafone

    Re: Motherboard Choice

    Man that sabretooth looks nice but i suppose it for the extreme gamer who wants to overclock like a mofo and run crossfire/sli.
    Better to Burn out than Fade Away
    Check out my Youtube channel - Crispy Crisperson

  5. #5
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    18
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    Re: Motherboard Choice

    If you're like me then you'll want the mobo to fit in with your colour scheme

    In my opinion the "Thermal Armor" is a gimmick.

    If your going to OC then go for the UD5H if not then go for the D3H

  6. #6
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    33
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    4 times in 3 posts

    Re: Motherboard Choice

    Quote Originally Posted by VulgarDisplay88 View Post
    If your going to OC then go for the UD5H if not then go for the D3H
    That's exactly what I was thinking.

    But if I go for a Scan 3XS system, and both the D3H and UD5H is in the list of mobo choices (and I'm choosing the 'extreme overclock' option in the system build) then in theory Scan should be guaranteeing the stability of the system, so both should do for overclocking. It's just whether the UD5H has more longevity due to the better VRM and mosfet cooling.

  7. #7
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    18
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    Re: Motherboard Choice

    Very true. They should be guaranteeing the stability but they might not be able to OC it as much. Most companies will guarantee an OC between a min and max.

    Why are you buying a pre-built system?

    I made that mistake a few years ago and since then I have learnt to build and upgrade my own and also family members too.

  8. #8
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    33
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    4 times in 3 posts

    Re: Motherboard Choice

    Quote Originally Posted by VulgarDisplay88 View Post
    Why are you buying a pre-built system?
    I've built systems in the past, my last was 4-5 years ago - a Q6660 2.4 Ghz @ 3.2 Ghz (via air), and overclocked GTX 280 w/ custom 3rd party cooler. Stacks of case fans, cut blow-holes in my Akasa Mirage etc. I've just got to that age where I earn good money, and I can't be bothered to do it myself anymore. I've got enough stress in my life that I can do without the added stress of not getting a stable overclock, running burn-in tests in prime95 and wondering with every game crash whether I've pushed my GPU or RAM timings too much I'd much rather buy a pre-built and let someone else worry about that!

  9. #9
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    18
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    Re: Motherboard Choice

    Very true. I love building rigs but I can imagine that as I get older it'll get tedious. It sounds weird but I really like trying to get the best OC I can and yeah I get stressed out but it feels so good when you finally finish it.

  10. #10
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    33
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    4 times in 3 posts

    Re: Motherboard Choice

    Quote Originally Posted by VulgarDisplay88 View Post
    It sounds weird but I really like trying to get the best OC I can and yeah I get stressed out but it feels so good when you finally finish it.
    Agreed, I know exactly what you mean. But less time playing around with builds = more gaming time -and gawd knows I get enough flack from the wife for that

  11. #11
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    18
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    Re: Motherboard Choice

    I've been off work for 3 weeks due to knee surgery and I'm actually bored of gaming.

    As soon as this brace comes off I'm going to start modding my case just to keep me busy.

  12. #12
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    33
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    4 times in 3 posts

    Re: Motherboard Choice

    I think the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H (£104.12 Inc VAT) is winning out in my mind after reading the hexus reviews for the D3H and UD5H. The line that summed it up for me was in the UD5H review where they said:

    Is it worth buying, then? We think that you really need to take advantage of extensive SATA, USB 3.0 and LAN support for it to be of genuine benefit to the enthusiast, because it performs similarly to a reference board at stock speeds.
    I'm probably not, and considering it performs identically to the £50 cheaper D3H, I think the D3H it is. Thanks to all those that helped!

  13. #13
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    18
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    Re: Motherboard Choice

    Good choice.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •