H77 redundant

[robbiess]

With the launch of z77 a few moth agoalong with the less glamours "workhorse" chipsets of B75, Q75 and H77 which generally no one takes seriously well because they aren't the flagship of the generation.

But h77 prices aren't any cheaper than Z77 boards so whats the point of buying them when B75 boards are cheaper and take the place of H series even where previously the H series succeeded with prebuilt supliers few have adopdeted the new chipset.

So far the only selling point of H77 boards compared to Z77 is the more reasonably priced mini-itx but still this a niche market

Any explanation for these prices.

 

[jamesriley94]

H77 boards are far cheaper than Z77?

 

[robbiess]

dabs h77 http://www.dabs.com/category/compon...-and-processors,motherboards/11143-4294943313
dabs z77 http://www.dabs.com/category/compon...-and-processors,motherboards/11143-4294943314

ebuyer h77 http://www.ebuyer.com/search?page=1...0&store=2&cat=14&filterca50=Intel+H77+Express
ebuyer z77 http://www.ebuyer.com/search?sort=p...&filterca50=Intel+Z77+Express&limit=10&page=1

in terms of averages yes but then theres a massive range between the budget and the high end z77 but in the area of 70-100 of which h77 retail at they have a direct competion in z77

 

[jamesriley94]

Well not really...
The difference between the two chipsets is overclocking abilities on Z77 and some shit about PCIE lanes that I dont really understand
So if you arent bothered about overclocking, then you can save money and go for H77...

I wouldnt really say the same price... You're comparing £70-100 Z77 and £70-100 H77, not actually like for like.
http://www.dabs.com/products/asus-p...-z77-ddr3-atx-80TJ.html?refs=4294943314&src=3
http://www.dabs.com/products/asus-p...-h77-ddr3-atx-80TV.html?refs=4294943313&src=3

That's pretty much the same board, but if the consumer isnt bothered about overclocking, they can save £30 in not getting those features.

The priced Z77 boards you're listing are the cheap Z77 boards with extra features stripped down, such as power phases, pcie lanes, usb connections, whereas the H77 boards are likely to have more features on the board for experience, but obviously restricts the overclocking due to the chipset.

I wouldnt say the H77 is redundant, as the big companies like Dell who restrict overclocking anyway will use them, but also they are perfect for someone building a budget gaming rig, trying to save money at every corner, but would like more features than the cheap Z77 boards without the overclocking abilities.
Just gives the consumer more choice really - never anything wrong with that

 

[robbiess]

fair point but in my opinion some of the price competive-ness from the h6... chipsets has certaintly been lost; thats just my opinion though