Help me pick a Z97 board!

GingerBraFace

New member
I'm planning to switch from my fx-9590 to a 4790k. This is going to be the first time I've had an intel CPU in my main computer (I have built computers for other people that have intel in) and am not to sure of which one is right for me.

-I use a soundcard, which is legacy PCI. So the motherboard ideally should have legacy PCI. If it doesn't then I may upgrade my soundcard. But the one Is fairly new so I would like to keep it.

-I use one graphics card.

-I use a watercooling (cosair h80i) from my current build.

-4 RAM slots (this was on every board I looked at but just in case one differs I thought I'd mention it).

Lastly, I putting this in a case that I have painted blue. So I would like to avoid one that clashes with any bright reds or yellows (ROG and Mpower boards in mind here). Though I am open to painting or modifying it otherwise if you think it'd be doable :)

I'd like to spend South of £150. Though if there's something that costs more that is worth it, I can spend a little bit more.

Cheers guys! :D
 
I have a Gigabyte UD3H Black Edition, It's a great board with a PCI slot and minimalist looks. (Black with yellow/gold lettering) The lettering really doesn't stand out as much as you would think.
You can get them for around £125. :)
Oh and they're tested for a fully week by Gigabyte before being sent from the factory.

http://www.ebuyer.com/642528-gigaby...channel-audio-atx-motherboard-ga-z97x-ud3h-bk

That's subtle enough to not ruin the aesthetic I think. I think that should do nicely :) Cheers!
 
I was in the same boat as you. Have also a PCI soundcard which i wanted to keep using but I also wanted M.2 and SATA Express. So I picked the Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5.

Headphones is what I mainly use and the onboard sound(Realtek ALC1150) is good enough so in the end I could do without PCI.

I know you like to avoid red and blue but keep in mind M.2, EXPRESS and the onboard sound.

I hope this helps picking a board.

Good luck with your build!
 
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