Which Z87 motherboard - budget or premium?

[Schern]

Hi, I'm planning an upgrade fairly soon and I'm trying to decide which motherboard to go for.

The pragmatist in me thinks I should go for this at £107

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigab...dport-hdmi-atx

But another part of me wants to go for something high end like this at £219

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-...dport-hdmi-atx

Is there any compelling case from a technical point of view for the more expensive board? Both seem to overclock well. I'll be pairing it a 4770k and 8gb of 2400 Corsair Vengeance Pro RAM. I don't have any plans to run SLI or Crossfire and I'm trying to be pragmatic rather than extravagant but I don't want to be in the position where I regret not spending more - but I don't want to spend more just for a premium badge and some plastic add ons.

So throwing it out there, what would you do? Is there something I should consider that I haven't? The higher-ish end onboard sound is what appeals on both boards so that's a consideration, and I want to (hopefully - luck of the draw on the i7) be able to run a decent overclock (planning on getting an H105).

[Macadee]

Higher end boards have more tweaks available to maximise on any overclock potential, I have the Asus Hero and I don't know what half the things it can do are!!!

This http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigab...ayport-hdmi-at is highly regarded as the best 'budget' overclocking board (if you can live with the colour scheme).

[MrJim]

More expensive boards have more features (number of USB3 sockets, built-in wifi, etc), and more elaborate designs such as more power-phases etc to aid overclocking. I guess you need to ask yourself whether you'll ever use the features they provide? I tend to stick to Asus boards as I've always found them to be extremely reliable, but they tend to cost a bit more than other brands. Of course if you did want SLI, you'll need a certified board, which will affect your choice.

[kalniel]

As long as the lower end board has the required functionality then you'd have to justify £100 not being spent elsewhere. Depending on the other components, that's potentially a lot of performance.

[Schern]

I'm unlikely to ever want to run more than 3 drives so don't really need more than 3 SATA ports. SLI is unlikely so that functionality isn't really needed either (but's nice to have just in case). As you say kalniel, £100 is a lot of money towards other components. I want to get a new case and cooler at some point and £100 is the H105's price so I could get it sooner rather than later... I'm definitely leaning towards the cheaper motherboard but kind of wanted reassurance that I wasn't missing out on some features. The main thing that appeals about the Formula is the digital control for CPU voltage but the Sniper seems to overclock well without this fancy feature so it doesn't seem to be that important.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Any of the £80 to £100 Z87 motherboards should be fine. Haswell has part of the VRM circuitry in the CPU now,meaning the motherboard has even less important functionality than before. I would probably invest in better cooling than a better motherboard if you are overclocking a Haswell CPU.

[Willzzz]

Buy a motherboard based on features.
More expensive isn't necessarily better.

If you aren't sure if you need a feature then you probably don't.
Generally speaking the cheapest model will do 95% of people just fine.

[aidanjt]

If you don't have any plans to fill your system with 5-6 PCIe cards, go for the man in the middle with an mATX board, the Maximius VI Gene can be had for £150. Plenty of room for a high-end GPU, soundcard, and a spare PCIe slot for whatever else. Most people who buy full ATX boards these days will never fill more than 3 or 4 slots anyway.

[Schern]

I stuck with my original budget-ish choice of the G1.sniper in the end. Should arrive Monday.

[kalniel]

Cool, let us know your thoughts when you've tried it.

[Schern]

Will do. I don't plan to overclock straight away as I'll be running the stock i7 cooler to start with until my bank balance recovers but I plan to get an H105 and a Fractal Arc Midi to put it all in.

[Tknibbs31]

The Msi g45 is a very good board that offers great overclocking and can support high speed ram and sli even if you don't think you need it now, it may be useful in the future

[jonesi100]

Z87 if you want a mackintosh. Only one issue and that is the Wifi doesn't work, but hardwire it, its a desktop anyway.

[Shivy011]

G1 Sniper is excellent, good choice

[Skierbruce]

if you intend to over clock - premium
if you can afford it - premium
if on budget - budget (obviously)

or get a happy medium around £70