Motherboard question (LGA 1155)

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From a pc builder point of view, I have a basic question about motherboards particularly the lga 1155's.


If you do not plan to overclock a system, is there really a reason to choose a mid range/ high end mother board vs a budget board?


Obviously I understand that there are features( sli support, more usb 3.0 ports, etc etc) included in motherboards that would be a deciding factor for the buyer, but for non clockers is there really a logical answer paying $100-200 more for that better motherboard?

Is the build quality any different between a budget vs the others? ( Disregard the MILL standards answer to this )

For instance an ASROCK extreme 4 vs a Gig 5dh or sabertooth?


The only reason I ask this is because from my understanding, the more expensive boards are designed to handle overclocking performance because its becoming a more popular/easier thing to do now.

Thanks for the responses!
 
If you are not overclocking no need to spend the extra.

I have an Asus Sabertooth Z77 but I overclock, so just get a sub $110 board as you want something basic.
 
The capabilities of boards depend on their chipsets. There are a few types. They are:

H77 - Most basic, no overclocking
P67 - Overclocking, reasonable amount of features, Sandy Bridge Era
Z77 - Overclocking, all features available
Q77 - Workstation Chipset, reliable

Theres more info on chipsets here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGA_1155

As with many electronics, motherboards are kinda a crapshoot. Sometimes, even the most reputable brands can fail. Build quality isn't much of a concern after you go over the $90 line. After that, its more about features. It is also important to realize that overclocking will shorten the life of a CPU.

The difference between an Extreme 4 (great motherboard, looks amazing IMO) and a Sabertooth and a Gigabyte 5DH is features. All four have good build quality and are high end. In terms of overclocking, all of them should be able to overclock quite well, and in fact, you dont need an expensive motherboard to overclock for a daily use.

Its also important to remember that you will never use half of the features that comes with the motherboards.

As for a $100 vs $200, not really, I'd much rather go for the $100 motherboard and put the extra $100 for an SSD, better GPU or a better case.
 
I have an MSI Z77 GD55 it's really fantastic visually and functionally:

five_pictures4_2534_20120308144654.jpg


And do not throw too much cash at a mobo when it can be spent on far more important things. (Like the above comments said).
 

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