Quick Mobo Question - Z170 or B150?

satindemon4u · May 25, 2016

Hello all. For a while now I have been eyeing the board below and plan on getting it pretty soon.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157635

However, now I see that on the shellshocker they have an MSI Gaming board that is a B150 instead of a Z170. When looking up the difference between the Z series and B series I see the B series is considered "Business class". What throws me off though is that the MSI is entitled as a gaming board.

I also see that with the B series it states that CPU overclocking isn't available....yet the MSI has one click overclocking? Am I missing something here?

MSI Board: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130887

Schmuckley · May 26, 2016

B170s don't really support overclocking.
You could search for the list of ones that do.
Some can,and can even overclock a "locked multiplier" chip with the straps.

http://www.pcgamer.com/asrock-gets-around-non-k-skylake-overclocking-limits-again/#!

^That one does with the right BIOS.

Extreme3-4 are decent enough boards.

satindemon4u · May 26, 2016

Schmuckley said:
B170s don't really support overclocking.
You could search for the list of ones that do.
Some can,and can even overclock a "locked multiplier" chip with the straps.

http://www.pcgamer.com/asrock-gets-around-non-k-skylake-overclocking-limits-again/#!

^That one does with the right BIOS.

Extreme3-4 are decent enough boards.

So, would I be better to snag up the MSI on sale or just go for my original board?

Caring1 · May 26, 2016

Depends how much overclocking you want to do.
As long as the board has the features you need, and it is only for regular use, the B series should be fine.

Enterprise24 · May 26, 2016

Asrock Z170 Pro 4 for overclocking. It has quiet decent 10 phases VRM.
If you don't interest in overclock then choose whatever you want.

ASOT · May 26, 2016

Get the most cheap Z170 chipset,better suport for high frq ram,oc,features,stability,etc ..

Shou Miko · May 26, 2016

Some Asrock models still have OC available on B150 chipset bcs they use a Clock generator on their boards

Link: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/asrock-non-z170-bclk-overclocking-motherboards,news-52551.html

So depends on prices on these boards vs a oki Z170 chipset board pick the once that got the outputs/features u need if u can't find a good Z170 on sale or as a demo board.

cadaveca · May 26, 2016

Having tested many boards... buy Z170 for less headaches. They want you to pay to play OC, so pay the cost, and enjoy the benefits of not having features disabled on your "K" CPU. If you do not plan to OC at all, then buy B150.

For about the same price you can also get Biostar Racing GT7... Lots of affordable and reliable Z170 boards out there for every budget.

B150 has less SATA ports possible, less PCIe configurations for CPU, and less PCIe lanes on chipset. Puget Systems has a nice page with the physical differences: https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/a...-B170-Q150-Q170---What-is-the-Difference-635/

ASOT · May 26, 2016

Why not a H110 is more cheap and almost like a b150 ...

))

If u oc u want the z170 tier chipset if not get the h110 it will do the JOB

satindemon4u · May 26, 2016

I think I will opt for the Z170 as planned. I have OC'ed a little in the past but with this new board and processor I plan on getting (skylake) I really wanna push it.

P4-630 · May 26, 2016

I wonder if you could run for example memory at 3000MHz XMP profile with a B150 motherboard?
I'm running 3000MHz memory on a Z170 board and it overclocked my CPU slightly (which is not a K CPU).

jboydgolfer · May 26, 2016

The h variants,and b variants DO offer LIMITED oc options, sometimes you need to run an older bios(likr the asrock h97) but be warned to not expect full oc suport,the b150 msi also offers limited oc support,but im not sure how or what,i just built the pc,and did limited testing.

If u wanna oc, go with a Z

satindemon4u · May 27, 2016

Well now I am debating between two different z170's lol. That original AsRock and now an MSI. Thoughts between these two?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157635

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130876

System Name	Desktop
Processor	Intel Core i5 6600k
Motherboard	Asus Z170-E
Cooling	Cooler Master 212 Evo
Memory	16 GB Ballistix DDR4 2400
Video Card(s)	NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1060
Storage	120GB OCZ Vector SSD & 1TB Western Digital Black
Case	Rosewill
Audio Device(s)	N/A
Power Supply	630w Raidmax Hybrid 2 RX-630SS
Mouse	Logitech G402
Keyboard	Rosewill Mechanical
Software	Windows 10

System Name	Some computer stuff
Processor	Mostly Intel or AMD
Motherboard	ATX or mATX
Cooling	Bong Cooler
Memory	DDR2-4
Video Card(s)	A few
Storage	Plenty Platters or SSDs or USBs
Display(s)	Samsung 23"
Case	5 on the floor
Audio Device(s)	There's one for my M7 Gene, Oh I have 3-4 PCI 5.1 ones.Sabrent! lol
Power Supply	750-1000W
Mouse	cheap
Keyboard	Used ps2 from garage sales
Software	Yeah
Benchmark Scores	http://hwbot.org/user/schmuckley/#Hardware_Library http://valid.canardpc.com/rbjpbg

System Name	Desktop
Processor	Intel Core i5 6600k
Motherboard	Asus Z170-E
Cooling	Cooler Master 212 Evo
Memory	16 GB Ballistix DDR4 2400
Video Card(s)	NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1060
Storage	120GB OCZ Vector SSD & 1TB Western Digital Black
Case	Rosewill
Audio Device(s)	N/A
Power Supply	630w Raidmax Hybrid 2 RX-630SS
Mouse	Logitech G402
Keyboard	Rosewill Mechanical
Software	Windows 10

System Name	Black Box
Processor	Intel Xeon E3-1260L v5
Motherboard	MSI E3 KRAIT Gaming v5
Cooling	Tt tower + 120mm Tt fan
Memory	G.Skill 16GB 3600 C18
Video Card(s)	Asus GTX 970 Mini
Storage	Kingston A2000 512Gb NVME
Display(s)	AOC 24" Freesync 1m.s. 75Hz
Case	Corsair 450D High Air Flow.
Audio Device(s)	No need.
Power Supply	FSP Aurum 650W
Mouse	Yes
Keyboard	Of course
Software	W10 Pro 64 bit

System Name	Can I run it
Processor	delidded i9-10900KF @ 5.1Ghz SVID best case scenario +LLC5+Supercool direct die waterblock
Motherboard	ASUS Maximus XII Apex 2801 BIOS
Cooling	Main = GTS 360 GTX 240, EK PE 360,XSPC EX 360,2x EK-XRES 100 Revo D5 PWM, 12x T30, AC High Flow Next
Memory	2x16GB TridentZ 3600@4600 16-16-16-36@1.61V+EK Monarch, Separate loop with GTS 120&Freezemod DDC
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte RTX 3080 Ti Gaming OC @ 0.762V 1785Mhz core 20.8Gbps mem + Barrow full cover waterblock
Storage	Transcend PCIE 220S 1TB (main), WD Blue 3D NAND 250GB for OC testing, Seagate Barracuda 4TB
Display(s)	Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 49" 5120x1440 240Hz calibrated by X-Rite i1 Display Pro Plus
Case	Thermaltake View 71
Audio Device(s)	Q Acoustics M20 HD speakers with Q Acoustics QB12 subwoofer
Power Supply	Silverstone ST-1200 PTS 1200W 80+ Platinum
Mouse	Logitech G Pro Wireless
Keyboard	Logitech G913 (GL Linear)
Software	Windows 11

System Name	Comet Lake
Processor	Intel® Core™ i5-10600K CPU @ 5.0GHz
Motherboard	MSI MPG Z490 GAMING PLUS
Cooling	Arctic Freezer 34 eSports Duo
Memory	CORSAIR LPX 32GB DDR4 3200 CL16 B-die
Video Card(s)	GeForce® RTX 3060Ti™
Storage	Samsung 970 Evo Plus M2 1TB & Seagate 2TB ST2000DM008-2UB102
Display(s)	Dell 24 Gaming Monitor - S2422HG 165 Hz Curved
Case	AQIRYS Arcturus
Audio Device(s)	Realtek® ALC1200 Codec \| Logitech Z533
Power Supply	RMx White Series™ RM750x
Mouse	Genesis Krypton 770
Keyboard	Logitech G910
VR HMD	N/A Skip
Software	W10 Pro x64
Benchmark Scores	XXX

System Name	Lynni PS \ Lenowo TwinkPad T480
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7700 Raphael \ i7-8550U Kaby Lake-R
Motherboard	ASRock B650M PG Riptide Bios v. 2.02 AMD AGESA 1.1.0.0 \ Lenowo 20L60036MX Bios 1.47
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15 Chromax.Black (Only middle fan) \ Lenowo WN-2
Memory	G.Skill Flare X5 2x16GB DDR5 6000MHZ CL36-36-36-96 AMD EXPO \ Willk Elektronik 2x16GB 2666MHZ CL17
Video Card(s)	Asus GeForce RTX™ 4070 Dual OC GPU: 2325-2355 MEM: 1462\| Nvidia GeForce MX™ 150 2GB GDDR5 Micron
Storage	Gigabyte M30 1TB\|Sabrent Rocket 2TB\| HDD: 10TB\|1TB \ SKHynix 256GB 2242 3x2 \| WD SN700 1TB
Display(s)	LG UltraGear 27GP850-B 1440p@165Hz \| LG 48CX OLED 4K HDR \| AUO 14" 1440p IPS
Case	Asus Prime AP201 White Mesh \| Lenowo T480 chassis
Audio Device(s)	Steelseries Arctis Pro Wireless
Power Supply	Be Quiet! Pure Power 12 M 750W Goldie \| 65W
Mouse	Logitech G305 Lightspeedy Wireless \| Lenowo TouchPad & Logitech G305
Keyboard	Akko 3108 DS Horizon V2 Cream Yellow \| T480 UK Lumi
Software	Win11 Pro 23H2 UK
Benchmark Scores	3DMARK: https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/89434432? GPU-Z: https://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/details/v3zbr

System Name	AlderLake / Laptop
Processor	Intel i7 12700K P-Cores @ 5Ghz / Intel i3 7100U
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master / HP 83A3 (U3E1)
Cooling	Noctua NH-U12A 2 fans + Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme + 5 case fans / Fan
Memory	32GB DDR5 Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 6000MHz CL36 / 8GB DDR4 HyperX CL13
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 2070 Super Gaming X Trio / Intel HD620
Storage	Samsung 980 Pro 1TB + 970 Evo 500GB + 850 Pro 512GB + 860 Evo 1TB x2 / Samsung 256GB M.2 SSD
Display(s)	23.8" Dell S2417DG 165Hz G-Sync 1440p / 14" 1080p IPS Glossy
Case	Be quiet! Silent Base 600 - Window / HP Pavilion
Audio Device(s)	Panasonic SA-PMX94 / Realtek onboard + B&O speaker system / Harman Kardon Go + Play / Logitech G533
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 750W / Powerbrick
Mouse	Logitech MX Anywhere 2 Laser wireless / Logitech M330 wireless
Keyboard	RAPOO E9270P Black 5GHz wireless / HP backlit
Software	Windows 11 / Windows 10
Benchmark Scores	Cinebench R23 (Single Core) 1936 @ stock Cinebench R23 (Multi Core) 23006 @ stock

System Name	Americas cure is the death of Social Justice & Political Correctness
Processor	i7-11700K
Motherboard	Asrock Z590 Extreme wifi 6E
Cooling	Noctua NH-U12A
Memory	32GB Corsair RGB fancy boi 5000
Video Card(s)	RTX 3090 Reference
Storage	Samsung 970 Evo 1Tb + Samsung 970 Evo 500Gb
Display(s)	Dell - 27" LED QHD G-SYNC x2
Case	Fractal Design Meshify-C
Audio Device(s)	on board
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus+ Gold 1000 Watt
Mouse	Logitech G502 spectrum
Keyboard	AZIO MGK-1 RGB (Kaith Blue)
Software	Win 10 Professional 64 bit
Benchmark Scores	the MLGeesiest

Quick Mobo Question - Z170 or B150?

My name is Dave