Z87 or Z97 motherboard

[buildingacomputer]

Hi,
I already bought G3258 and 8 GB of memory. Now I need to buy a motherboard. I did my homework and found that the real difference between Z87 and Z97 are M2 socket and USB 3.1. Are these big deals that I must not miss out?

I don't have an SSD but will get one in the future. I don't game. SLI, multiple PCI-E x16 slots, etc, are not important to me. Overclocking of CPU and memory is not a big deal to me.

Price range: $100-120. ASUS Z87-PRO is $120 - $35 MIR. ASUS Z97-E is $120 - $20 MIR, and has USB 3.1 and M2.

 

[GreenOrbs]

In your case, perhaps an H97 motherboard might be a great fit. Doesn't have SLI, multi- PCIe 3.0 or overclocking you aren't really interested in but does have the M.2 support you are interested in. For example the Asus H97-Pro is $105 on Newegg.

Edit: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132415

 

[escrow4]

H97-D3H, high quality shielded ALC 1150, slab of slots and ports, M.2. That H97 Asus board is a joke - costs more and ALC 892? How is that "Pro"?

 

[GreenOrbs]

Of course, I agree he should definitely shop around for the best price.

Building seems to have been looking at ASUS mobos for the Z97 and Z87 options so the H97 Asus was just a direct comparison. Still I think the general point holds that H97 boards may fit his needs better.

 

[lyssword]

lol if gaming, overclocking pci slots etc are not important, just buy a cheap h81 board http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130731

 

[GreenOrbs]

Some H81 boards can overclock too but I think he was interested in the M.2 slots though. There was a thread with a list of boards that have non-Z overclocking that I found useful when building my G3258 build (linked below).

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2389948

 

[buildingacomputer]

Thanks for recommendations. I think I will choose from H97. It seems to be a little less than Z97 but still current with technology. Thanks again.

 

[escrow4]

lol if gaming, overclocking pci slots etc are not important, just buy a cheap h81 board http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130731

No onboard USB 3 connector on that. Unacceptable in 2015, no matter the price. I have an H81 in my office box and it has onboard USB 3. Danger of H81 you need to thoroughly check the models for the one that is actually suitable.

 

[Puffnstuff]

Get a z97 based board and you'll have the most current revisions for all included standards.

 

[lyssword]

No onboard USB 3 connector on that. Unacceptable in 2015, no matter the price. I have an H81 in my office box and it has onboard USB 3. Danger of H81 you need to thoroughly check the models for the one that is actually suitable.

What do u mean no onboard usb3? theres 2 of those (blue color)

 

[lyssword]

Oh and I'm running g3258 @4.6 24/7 for last 2 years on my asus h81

 

[nenforcer]

Thanks for recommendations. I think I will choose from H97. It seems to be a little less than Z97 but still current with technology. Thanks again.

That's a good choice - the 9X series is suppose to support the 2 socketed Broadwell processors, the i5 5675C and i7 577C whenever those release if you ever want to upgrade.

 

[Leyawiin]

Oh and I'm running g3258 @4.6 24/7 for last 2 years on my asus h81

It was only released in June of 2014.

I found a MSI MPower Max Z87 at Newegg for cheap. Flashed the BIOS and it recognized the G3258 fine. Tons of overclocking options.

 

[buildingacomputer]

Z87 is 32 nm lithography. Z97/H97 is 22 nm. No reason for me to choose Z87.