Getting New Motherboard, Need Help!

[The_Edster]

So I have been looking at some Z77 motherboards to replace my current gigabyte one, the reason I am not getting an Z87 or X79 is because I would like to keep my current CPU (i7-3770k) My budget is about 150-160 CAD, I was thinking of this ASrock or MSI one but I am not sure.. I only have one preference and that it is mainly black.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130645

 

[rtwjunkie]

I believe the Extreme 4 has gotten about the same user reviews as the Extreme 6. I have the Extreme 6 and it's a great motherboard. I believe professional reviews probable have the Extreme 4 as superior to the 6. It's also reasonably-priced. Pretty much I can recommend ASRock as a brand, bc the boards are easy to overclock and tune, and the service, at least my experience was great. I had to RMA the Z68 in my system specs, and within 10 days I had the new one installed. Very painless RMA. I have no experience with the MSI board.

 

[satindemon4u]

Both are great boards with great reviews. I haven't used either of the brands but based on rtwjunkie's answer above, I think you have an answer.

P.S. My old desktop used the case in your profile picture.

 

[The_Edster]

I believe the Extreme 4 has gotten about the same user reviews as the Extreme 6. I have the Extreme 6 and it's a great motherboard. I believe professional reviews probable have the Extreme 4 as superior to the 6. It's also reasonably-priced. Pretty much I can recommend ASRock as a brand, bc the boards are easy to overclock and tune, and the service, at least my experience was great. I had to RMA the Z68 in my system specs, and within 10 days I had the new one installed. Very painless RMA. I have no experience with the MSI board.

Thanks for the reply but I am looking for some more advice on the MSI one before I make my final decision!

 

[kn00tcn]

what's wrong with the gigabyte anyway?

 

[Snipe343]

In regards to you saying you want it to be black, I love how my board looks. Very dark and cool looking. I couldn't tell you anything bad about it if I had to honestly. Plus like rtwjunkie said it's a breeze to overclock and customize. I'm curious to see what someone says about MSI so I'll for sure be checking back in!

 

[silentbogo]

ASRock was my favorite brand since the early 2000. They make really affordable hardware with decent quality.
MSI on the other hand is very questionable. They've been around for a while and the hardware usually gets good reviews, but with my luck almost every piece of hardware I bought was either faulty or broke down within 1-2 months. I had a P55 motherboard, an x38 motherboard,NForce 400 mobo, GeForce 7800GT and a few other things that firmly discouraged me from buying MSI products again.

 

[brandonwh64]

I have been very happy with my gigabyte since getting into 1155. I have the Z68X-UD3H and I love it. It was easy to OC and has been stable for a long time. I have been eyeing the Z77X-UD3H for a while but I have talked myself out of an upgrade for a while.

 

[micropage7]

ASRock was my favorite brand since the early 2000. They make really affordable hardware with decent quality.
MSI on the other hand is very questionable. They've been around for a while and the hardware usually gets good reviews, but with my luck almost every piece of hardware I bought was either faulty or broke down within 1-2 months. I had a P55 motherboard, an x38 motherboard,NForce 400 mobo, GeForce 7800GT and a few other things that firmly discouraged me from buying MSI products again.

yeah Asrock is pretty nice, it has good price / performance and they have nice features too
i dunno about MSI

 

[BarbaricSoul]

Both boards are good. For those doubting the MSI board, MSI has been making very good boards for quite some time (ever since P67).

http://www.msi.com/news-media/news/1611.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/191896/msi-x79-motherboards-break-7-ivy-bridge-e-world-records.html

http://hothardware.com/News/Overclockers-Break-More-Records-With-MSI-Motherboards/

http://wccftech.com/msi-z87-xpower-unboxed-detailed-daddy-z87-overclocking-motherboards/


Aside from having to do a BIOs update to use my GTX 780ti video card, while my P55 chipset Gigabyte board didn't have a issue with the GTX 780ti, I have been very satisfied with my MSI board.

 

[BarbaricSoul]

For those doubting the MSI board, MSI has been making some very good motherboards ever since P67

http://wccftech.com/msi-z87-xpower-unboxed-detailed-daddy-z87-overclocking-motherboards/

http://www.msi.com/news-media/news/1611.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/191896/msi-x79-motherboards-break-7-ivy-bridge-e-world-records.html

http://hothardware.com/News/Overclockers-Break-More-Records-With-MSI-Motherboards/

Personally, aside from having to do a BIOs update for my GTX 780ti to work in my MSI board, while my older P55 chipset Gigabyte board didn't have any issues with the GTX 780ti (take that however you want), I have been nothing but pleased with my MSI board.

Bottom line, both boards are a good choice.

 

[rtwjunkie]

For those doubting the MSI board, MSI has been making some very good motherboards ever since P67

http://wccftech.com/msi-z87-xpower-unboxed-detailed-daddy-z87-overclocking-motherboards/

http://www.msi.com/news-media/news/1611.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/191896/msi-x79-motherboards-break-7-ivy-bridge-e-world-records.html

http://hothardware.com/News/Overclockers-Break-More-Records-With-MSI-Motherboards/

Personally, aside from having to do a BIOs update for my GTX 780ti to work in my MSI board, while my older P55 chipset Gigabyte board didn't have any issues with the GTX 780ti (take that however you want), I have been nothing but pleased with my MSI board.

Bottom line, both boards are a good choice.

I was hoping someone would come along with MSI experience, to give the OP some balance!

 

[micropage7]

Both boards are good. For those doubting the MSI board, MSI has been making very good boards for quite some time (ever since P67).

http://www.msi.com/news-media/news/1611.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/191896/msi-x79-motherboards-break-7-ivy-bridge-e-world-records.html

http://hothardware.com/News/Overclockers-Break-More-Records-With-MSI-Motherboards/

http://wccftech.com/msi-z87-xpower-unboxed-detailed-daddy-z87-overclocking-motherboards/


Aside from having to do a BIOs update to use my GTX 780ti video card, while my P55 chipset Gigabyte board didn't have a issue with the GTX 780ti, I have been very satisfied with my MSI board.

in here MSI is pretty well known. but so far i havent used any of their product, so i have no experince of MSI products at all
but from reviews their products is good too
sometimes we tend to choose from how comfortable we are with the brand

 

[BarbaricSoul]

in here MSI is pretty well known. but so far i havent used any of their product, so i have no experince of MSI products at all
but from reviews their products is good too
sometimes we tend to choose from how comfortable we are with the brand

Very true. I'll be perfectly honest, I was less than 100% confident in purchasing my MSI board, simply because a lack of experience with MSI products. But I remembered a friend of mine that had a MSI board for well over 5 years and I couldn't argue one bit with the price I was offered on the board (bought it used here on TPU), so I figured "why not?". I have been very happy with the board since I bought it, and will definitely consider buying another MSI board in the future.