1. #1

    I want the best motherboard for up to 250$ in terms of quality and performance

    Pretty much the title. I built my last computer 5 years ago on an M2N-E and have cursed my days ever since for not doing better research.

    This time, I'm looking at:

    http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813128558

    and

    http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813131819

    so far, but I would greatly appreciate any other input. Please, no Asus Sabertooths, I really don't want to pay extra for their plastic shields.

    By quality I mean that it's not reputed to DIE after a a year or two, and by performance I mean it doesn't bottleneck anything like read/write speed from hard disc/SSD or RAM without any fix or explanation.

    Thanks in advance!

    Extra info: I'll be using a Sandy i5K, 1600MHz Kingston HyperX RAM, HD/SSD combo and a GeForce 660 GTX.

  2. #2
    In my personal experience, don't go Gigabyte for quality. I'd recommend the Asrock Z68 Extreme 4 ,it's a great mobo for the price.
    Last edited by Nab; 2012-12-19 at 08:12 PM.
    Playing since 2007.

  3. #3
    Deleted
    Skipping Gigabyte for lack of quality.. I hope you can mount your tech on a non-existing board, if you think Gigabyte doesn't deliver quality

  4. #4
    Deleted
    gigabyte high end boards are same level as maximus boards from asus in that aspect.
    there are lots of good boards out there but once you reach a certain segment they all over pretty much the same and it boils down to brand choice and perhaps software support.

  5. #5
    All right thank you, I think I'll go with the first choice I linked, I'll order it from a store so I can put a warranty on it and return it quickly if it has problems. Thanks again.

  6. #6
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by ElvenArcher View Post
    All right thank you, I think I'll go with the first choice I linked, I'll order it from a store so I can put a warranty on it and return it quickly if it has problems. Thanks again.
    question is however do you need the thunderbolt connectors?

  7. #7
    I would like one, in case Thunderbolt turns out to be the next Jesus (I still don't understand what Thunderbolt is truly for), but I can definitely live without it.

  8. #8
    Dreadlord haxs101's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Good ol' Tennessee!
    Posts
    947
    Quote Originally Posted by Nab View Post
    In my personal experience, don't go Gigabyte for quality. I'd recommend the Asrock Z68 Extreme 4 ,it's a great mobo for the price.
    Asrock is awful for quality.
    Quote Originally Posted by Mwarren View Post
    It's a no brainer. Get MW3, Skyrim is just a rehash of Oblivion.
    Quote Originally Posted by Neezh View Post
    Because I'm brave enough to smoke. I see no point in quitting

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by haxs101 View Post
    Asrock is awful for quality.
    My extreme 4 and a lot more of the forums extreme 4 would like to have a word with you. Asrock is a perfectly fine brand. Everyone gets a lemon once in a while. Asus has horrible quality because I've had more lemons from them then any other company see what I did.
    CPU:i5 4670k@4.3Ghz GPU:Gigabyte GTX760 WF3 Mobo:Asrock Z87E-ITX RAM:8Gb GSkill Ares@1600MhzCase:Atomic Orange Bit Fenix Prodigy Cooling: Corsair H100i HDD:1Tb WD Cav Black SSD: Samsung 830 128Gb PSU:Seasonic M2II620 KB:Razer Black Widow Mouse:Razer Naga 2014

  10. #10
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by ElvenArcher View Post
    I would like one, in case Thunderbolt turns out to be the next Jesus (I still don't understand what Thunderbolt is truly for), but I can definitely live without it.
    only if you believe apple it would be the next jesus tech thing. (apple being moronic as usual imo)
    TB is like usb 3.0 on steriods but so far sata 3 should last for a long time and it can also be used for mini displayport iirc. (might be usefull but most newer gpu's got those and there they matter more)

  11. #11
    Ok then I don't give a damn about Thunderbolt. Now I give even less of a damn if you're telling me it's apple technology.

    I was looking at my usual computer store I buy parts from, they don't have the exact model of Gigabyte from Newegg, but they have this instead:

    http://www.microbytes.com/product_in...42b52c279be0eb

    Reading about it online, it looks pretty solid, except, there's something about its PIC-e controller, that it could use a newer version so it doesn't kick from 8x to 4x when you use 2 PICe-e cards. Except I have no intention of doing so.

    That's the kind of quirks I'm looking for, shit like that which could alter your performance without you really realizing it.
    Last edited by ElvenArcher; 2012-12-19 at 09:22 PM.

  12. #12
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by ElvenArcher View Post
    Ok then I don't give a damn about Thunderbolt. Now I give even less of a damn if you're telling me it's apple technology.
    well it's a apple/intel joint invention but i understand you
    also for the board do you want SLI for the future, lots of usb ports, lots of high speed ports for sata3 drives? (because after $150 you are mostly just getting more ports instead of better stuff)

  13. #13
    I'd like one frontal USB 3.0 and 2.0, in case I find a good case without frontal 3.0 (I hear 3.0 isn't compatible with 2.0). For the back, 3, max 4 2.0s or 3.0s, really don't matter for the back which revision it is. A PS/2 would be good. I only need one PCI-e 16x, no intention of ever going SLI/CF. As for Sata 3 ports, don't need more than 4 (1 HDD, 1 SSD, 1 DVD and 1 for who knows what in the future).

  14. #14
    Deleted
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128545
    solid choice for everything.
    usb 3.0 is backwards compatible to usb 2.0. (it will run slower that's it)
    you could always get a pci card to allow frontal ports function.

  15. #15
    Have owned every Asus Maximus card since they first launched. Never been disappointed and they are in my opinion the best mainstream boards around. They cost, but they are wort it. Currently have a Maximus V extreme and cannot say anything negative about it. Gigabyte on the other hand.........

Posting Permissions

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