Which M-ITX board to get for gaming?

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dogbyte_13

[H]ard|Gawd
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Dec 21, 2004
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My choices are the following, the reason is because there are so many damn mixed reviews on all of these, mostly because it seems like people expect thing like being able to use them as a hackintosh or have no clue about putting together a PC, So i would like a recommendation. Also gonna put a Zalman CNPS9500 AT on it, with a gtx 980 in a Prodigy M-Itx case. Thanks for the input in advance.


Asrock
http://www.microcenter.com/product/433091/Z97E-ITX_LGA1150_Intel_mITX_Motherboard

Gigabyte
http://www.microcenter.com/product/432995/Z97_LGA_1150_mITX_Intel__Motherboard

Another Asrock
http://www.microcenter.com/product/...1150_mini_ITX_Intel_Motherboard_-_Refurbished

Asus
http://www.microcenter.com/product/433199/Z97I-Plus_LGA_1150_Mini-ITX_Intel_Motherboard
 
I went with the asrock, and have it in my build right now.

Downsides: m.2 x2 is the only option for itx boards that isnt the Maximus VII
I/O shield is terribly cheap feeling.
8 pin is in a weird location
2 fan headers

Upside: After rebate $40 cheaper than the z97i plus, offers just as good power phases.


Not sure about the integrated audio differences between the two. Not really a make or break for me as anything serious should be done on an external DAC.
 
You're buying a processor too, right? Microcenter usually gives you $40 off the motherboard if you buy it with "compatible" processor. The i5-4690k and i7-4790k count, as do a few others (I know the i3-4370 does) - you can "add to cart" on the MC website a processor and motherboard to see if the discount applies.

Anyways, I have both the ASrock Z87E-ITX and Asus Z97I-Plus. I can't recommend one over the other based on their performance, as both have been solid there for me so far (the Asus board I've had since shortly after the Z97 launch, the ASrock I picked up on clearance at my local microcenter about two weeks ago).

However, I can't recommend the Z87E-ITX at that price ($152 for refurb? Yikes). I managed to snag one for $80, and at that price it was a no-brainer. Unfortunately the mSATA slot on mine is bad, and the local store is out of stock, but ASrock is gonna RMA it for me.

The biggest differentiating factor is really going to be available slots. The Asus Z97I-plus, for instance, will take m2 SSDs in 2260 or 2280 length, but the ASrock Z97E-ITX is limited to the shorter ones only - 2230 and 2242. I don't think the gigabyte board has an m2 slot.

Beyond that, you're going to wind up with the same wifi capabilities on any of them (also have a recent Gigabyte board, B85N-Phoenix wifi, and all three are using an Atheros wifi module powered by Broadcom BCM4352), similar onboard audio (the ASrock does have ALC1150 instead of the ALC892 used on the Asus and Gigabyte, but I can't hear a difference between the two on a decent pair of speakers). Oh, number of fan headers might be an issue. The Asus has three onboard, the ASrock and Gigabyte only have two.

If I had to pick one again, I'd go with the Asus board, for the extra fan headers and longer m2 format support. Bonus: fantastic BIOS on this thing. ASrock's on the Z87 is really nice, too, but not quite as detailed for fan controls. No experience with Gigabyte's fancy BIOS - the phoenix board only has the stripped-down interface on it.
 
I'm running the Asus Z97I-Plus in my ITX build (in sig) and am very pleased with its performance. Not a single problem since I built my rig about six months ago. Asus are the only mobos that have never failed on me in eight years of building PCs.
 
Cat1yst said:
I went with the asrock, and have it in my build right now.

Downsides: m.2 x2 is the only option for itx boards that isnt the Maximus VII
I/O shield is terribly cheap feeling.
8 pin is in a weird location
2 fan headers

Upside: After rebate $40 cheaper than the z97i plus, offers just as good power phases.


Not sure about the integrated audio differences between the two. Not really a make or break for me as anything serious should be done on an external DAC.
Click to expand...

I've got the AsRock as well and really like it. Good layout, easy to work with, and plenty of space for a dual-slot GPU (I'm running a 290x). Super stable, have my i5-4690k clocked to 4.7ghz (on stock cooler, no less) all day. Having used Asus and MSI m-ITX, really no reason to pay extra, IMO.
 
I do have a microcenter near me so i will go for a 4690k with it. Looks like the asrock seems good and im not gonna use m.2 and it looks like the zalman should clear the gpu. Thank for being an awesome community. Also any thoughts on the zalman cooler?
 
I love my Asus Z87i Deluxe. Not a Z97 but can support 4690K and 4790K with the latest BIOS. You can get it a lot cheaper now, too. It has that great VRM daughterboard, Intel Gigabit Ethernet, 4 PWM fan headers, very easy and perfect layout for me, 6 SATA ports, wireless, and it overclocks very well. I'm considering swapping out my 4670K for a 4790K if I can find a good deal. The only thing you'd be missing out is the M.2 support, but it's limited with ITX boards anyway. Just an option.
 
also who has the better customer support? Asrock or Asus? i know Asrock is a shoot off of Asus.
 
asrock's support is pretty good, in my experience - they replied to my emails quickly and hooked me up with an RMA for the dodgy mSATA slot I mentioned.

I don't think I've ever had to contact Asus support, though, so I couldn't say how they are about it. Maybe once, back in the P2B days?
 
I have a ASRock z87 itx board that I really like... the msata is on the underside and leaves everything feeling very compact
 
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