Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP7 vs. ASUS Maximus V Extreme

[antihero]

The title is pretty much self-explanatory. Out of the two, which would you prefer? These two boards seem to be the 1155 high end boards. They both scored a 10/10 for performance. I can get either for +/- 340€. I have not sided with Ivy Bridge for my future system. The other options are Sandy Bridge-E or Haswell. Ivy Bridge-E would be another one to consider, but I can't be arsed to wait another six months or so. I am merely looking at all the possibilities right now.

Right. So here's my take on it: I'm a bit of a sucker for aesthetics. I'm not a huge fan of the color of the Gigabyte board. Essentially, I can't imagine it going well with anything really. The ASUS board on the other hand would go perfectly well with a black and red theme. As far as the looks go, the ASUS board would be a match made in heaven. I watched boths reviews and TTL seemed a bit more enthusiastic about the overclocking ability of the Gigabyte board. Would I be sacrificing performance for aesthetics? I think the differences, if any, would be negligable.

 

[AverageNinja]

Personally I'd say the UP7, but that's purely if you're going to OC real bad.
In the end they're both amazing boards, so go for the one that'll fit your theme.

 

[jamesriley94]

I'd say neither tbh.

They don't offer enough performance over boards that cost half the price such as the Z77 mPower and the Asus P8 series to justify the cost.

If you're going with Z77, the most money I'd spend right now on a board would be the £140 or so for the mPower.

 

[antihero]

Fair enough, though the least I'd settle for would be something along the lines of an ASUS P8Z77-V Deluxe. I want my CPU running at a fairly beefy overclock. Anyway, I'll take a look at what Haswell has to offer and then make my decision.

 

[tinytomlogan]

will all depend on your cpu mate. Most boards will get a decent clock.

buying the up7 or the maxi wont get you more than about 100MHz/200MHz more for a lot more money (and obviously volts) which means youll need better cooling.

I think you need to do a bit more research because atm a fool and their money will be easily parted

 

[jamesriley94]

Fair enough, though the least I'd settle for would be something along the lines of an ASUS P8Z77-V Deluxe. I want my CPU running at a fairly beefy overclock. Anyway, I'll take a look at what Haswell has to offer and then make my decision.

I have the P8Z77-v Deluxe and I'm capped at about 4.6ghz before heat becomes a serious issue.
Other users on here with MSI Z77a-GD65s are in exactly the same position.

Most Z77 boards can handle high overclocks on Ivybridge. I mean, I've put mine up to 5.0ghz (as another user on a GD65 has) and the boards will handle it fine. But the heat is where you get caught. This wont really be much different between an MSI G45, and a UP7.

Save money on the board, get an mPower or something else similarly priced, and spend more on cooling.

I regret getting my P8Z77-v Deluxe now - not because there's anything wrong with it as it runs perfectly, but it's £80 more expensive than the GD65 which would have done exactly the same thing.

 

[tinytomlogan]

cooling its key but even water temps will rocket.

Delidding is well worth a punt if your not a spaz with tools.

 

[MacLeod]

Im a big believer in buying the best motherboard you can afford since its the foundation of your entire rig and is the hardest to upgrade and will largely determine how much performance you can squeeze out of your rig. That being said, the $300+ range of motherboards don't offer any more performance than the $200 high end boards do.

If I were building a Z77 system right now and cost wasn't a consideration, I would get the Sabertooth. Has all the durability and indestructibleness of the high end $350 motheroards but without all the fancy bells and whistles. If I were looking for some more value, it would be the MSI MPower which I think is the best Z77 board on the market when considering performance to dollar at least IMO.

 

[antihero]

will all depend on your cpu mate. Most boards will get a decent clock.

buying the up7 or the maxi wont get you more than about 100MHz/200MHz more for a lot more money (and obviously volts) which means youll need better cooling.

I think you need to do a bit more research because atm a fool and their money will be easily parted

Are you suggesting to get Haswell?

I know it depends on how lucky you are with your CPU. I'm just thinking ahead in case I get a below average CPU. However, if I get lucky and get a good one I'll end up with an amazing overclock if done correctly. Therefore, I'm not hesitant to spend a bit more on a motherboard that will "milk" any CPU you throw at it.

As for cooling, I'm going with the D5 kit by XSPC and an extra rad since I'll be watercooling two GPUs. Traditionally, I have always used air cooling, but I can't achieve optimal cooling performance for the type of system I'm building without using water.