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geekhack Community => Other Geeky Stuff => Topic started by: Icte on Sat, 07 September 2013, 14:00:42

Title: Best Z87 m-ITX board?
Post by: Icte on Sat, 07 September 2013, 14:00:42
Which 'n why?

k thx bai  :thumb:
Title: Re: Best Z87 m-ITX board?
Post by: eth0s on Sat, 07 September 2013, 14:08:36
You really need m-itx?

I don't have an m-itx mobo, but I've heard and read good things about the following.

If you want "the best", the you want Asus Maximus IV m-itx: 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132039

If that's too expensive, then I've heard good things about the Asrock m-itx:

ASRock Z87E-ITX LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157374

If you can handle m-ATX, then this one would be my choice:

GIGABYTE GA-G1.Sniper M5 LGA 1150 Intel Z87 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128604


Title: Re: Best Z87 m-ITX board?
Post by: Icte on Sat, 07 September 2013, 14:26:47
Quote from: eth0s on Sat, 07 September 2013, 14:08:36
You really need m-itx?

I don't have an m-itx mobo, but I've heard and read good things about the following.

If you want "the best", the you want Asus Maximus IV m-itx: 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132039

If that's too expensive, then I've heard good things about the Asrock m-itx:

ASRock Z87E-ITX LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157374

If you can handle m-ATX, then this one would be my choice:

GIGABYTE GA-G1.Sniper M5 LGA 1150 Intel Z87 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128604
What about ASUS Z87I-Pro?
Title: Re: Best Z87 m-ITX board?
Post by: tp4tissue on Sat, 07 September 2013, 16:16:16
they're all pretty decent.. you can't go wrong with any of um...

Stick with the Asus if you can, their bios is easier to work with than the other companies.

That's really the only advantage, hardware wise, they're all super similar.(http://www.cute-factor.com/images/smilies/onion/4e5dd44a.gif)
Title: Re: Best Z87 m-ITX board?
Post by: Icte on Sun, 08 September 2013, 05:36:32
Quote from: tp4tissue on Sat, 07 September 2013, 16:16:16
they're all pretty decent.. you can't go wrong with any of um...

Stick with the Asus if you can, their bios is easier to work with than the other companies.

That's really the only advantage, hardware wise, they're all super similar.
Show Image
(http://www.cute-factor.com/images/smilies/onion/4e5dd44a.gif)

ASUS does have that power phase thingy mounted on their M-ITX boards that allows for higher overclocks but will it really matter compared to the ASRock Z87E-ITX, since Haswell will run hot anyway?
Title: Re: Best Z87 m-ITX board?
Post by: nubbinator on Mon, 09 September 2013, 17:51:40
Quote from: tp4tissue on Sat, 07 September 2013, 16:16:16
they're all pretty decent.. you can't go wrong with any of um...

Stick with the Asus if you can, their bios is easier to work with than the other companies.

That's really the only advantage, hardware wise, they're all super similar.
Show Image
(http://www.cute-factor.com/images/smilies/onion/4e5dd44a.gif)


And pray that you never need to use their customer service or have any warranty issues.

Quote from: Icte on Sun, 08 September 2013, 05:36:32
ASUS does have that power phase thingy mounted on their M-ITX boards that allows for higher overclocks but will it really matter compared to the ASRock Z87E-ITX, since Haswell will run hot anyway?

The VRM daughterboard is a gimmick and does nothing for overclocking.  In fact, if anything, it hurts the overclocking ability since the additional VRMs are slower due to being offloaded to the daughterboard.

Last I looked, the Gigabyte mITX board was looking pretty good.
Title: Re: Best Z87 m-ITX board?
Post by: mkawa on Mon, 09 September 2013, 18:51:18
Quote from: eth0s on Sat, 07 September 2013, 14:08:36
You really need m-itx?

I don't have an m-itx mobo, but I've heard and read good things about the following.

If you want "the best", the you want Asus Maximus IV m-itx: 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132039

If that's too expensive, then I've heard good things about the Asrock m-itx:

ASRock Z87E-ITX LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157374

If you can handle m-ATX, then this one would be my choice:

GIGABYTE GA-G1.Sniper M5 LGA 1150 Intel Z87 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128604



that maximus looks exactly like the z77-i deluxe i have with red on it and + 40$. oh and a silly little boot status indicator. i think the asus uefi is the most developed, personally, i have two z77 boards that have been solid with few to no weird/stupid hardware quirks, but frankly even if you go with a good proven design it's kind of a crap shoot. the qc on pc components just isn't what it used to be.
Title: Re: Best Z87 m-ITX board?
Post by: Jokrik on Tue, 10 September 2013, 02:03:25
I think you should watch this
its a reference work from oc3d and Linus has helped proven it

all in all, it all comes down to the CPU itself, motherboard make only a slight different to the performance other than product support and features
Title: Re: Best Z87 m-ITX board?
Post by: Leslieann on Tue, 10 September 2013, 03:07:04
Quote from: tp4tissue on Sat, 07 September 2013, 16:16:16
Stick with the Asus if you can, their bios is easier to work with than the other companies.
Agreed, Asus and Asrock.
Others are okay, but they always drive me nuts. Odd drivers, odd bios layout, poor overclocking. A few even have a short lifespan.

The only time I had an issue with Asus was on a refurb I bought that filed after a week. They took care of it though.