Choosing a motherboard. Why is this so difficult?

[Vanderburg]

Okay, I'm going to start working on my new build in February, but I'm having a terrible time deciding on a motherboard. I'm kinda stuck between the Maximus V Formula, One of the P8Z77-V boards or the Intel DZ77GA-70K.

Price isn't a huge factor, but I think I'm putting too much emphasis on the UEFI. I am wanting to do a blue themed build, but when I decide to watercool, I'll be able to put blocks on the board that take care of a lot of red on the Maximus. Every other part in the build is decided, but I'm exceptionally torn on the board. The RoG badge is a nice one to have, Intel says "quality" and the P8Z77-V is "plenty good enough".

Am I thinking too much about this at this point and should I just flip a coin?

[ScuderiaNerd]

If money isn't a problem, check the P8Z77 Premium.:) In a more serious note, i'd choose the P8Z77-V PRO/Thunderbolt.

[m0n5t3r]

I would go for the Maximus. If you can hide the red with loading up the motherboards with water blocks, GPU's, Sound card(s) :P, and any other expansion cards. If you decide to to some overclocking in the future, I tend to find that the ROG motherboards do have a better power delivery system than their P8/P9 series boards.

[ScuderiaNerd]

In my opinion, unless he's going for extreme overclocking, the difference between P8 and ROG is more or less irrelevant. Anyway, stick with Asus and you'll be fine, whatever the board.

[Helltech]

Don't worry too much about the motherboard anymore, get what is aesthetically pleasing to you. The differences between motherboards are minimul now really, as overclocking isn't as strenuous as it used to be. Asus, Gigabyte, AsRock, MSI, EVGA, Intel, all good brands.

[Whaler_99]

My recent purchase of the MSI Z77A-GD65 was exactly that - to blend in with my blue, black and white theme. And the board has excellent featues and part of MSI's overclocking group.

[Art Vandelay]

If you are looking at the Maximus V formula, then you should look at the G1 Sniper 3, as well. It has a similar target demographic.

It's the one I have and I really like it.

[Guest]

One thing I used when I had narrowed it down to Asus boards was their comparison tool on their website. Lists all the features and things against each other and you can compare up to 5 boards at once.

[c.pryor2223]

other than some key features like thunderbolt / onboard wifi/ and UEFI, most mid-high end boards are identical performance wise. Go with the one that will fit your rig :]

[killerx525]

It's either aesthetics or performance, pick one.

[Vanderburg]

It's either aesthetics or performance, pick one.

Not only is this the opposite of helpful, but I really don't think I have to compromise on either of those.

[killerx525]

I am not trying to make you more confused or "putting you down" in anyway, just saying that sometimes you can get the aesthetics easily but the performance isn't top notch. For performance, the Maximus V Formula would be the way to go.

[Oisin Maguire]

or get both with MSI's MPOWER

http://www.msi.com/product/mb/Z77-MPOWER.html

I like it, each board is hand tested by overclocking on each board. :-)

[Vanderburg]

That yellow and black is so pretty... I hate you. Now I have to rethink my whole theme...

[ThaChosun1]

I would go with the Maximus! It is a great performance mobo and it looks nice. :)

What is the color theme you are going with? you said blue, but you were thinking about getting a red mobo... I would love to help if you could give me more specifications!

[vishalaestro]

if you are on a budget based motherboard refer this link http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/z77-express-ivy-bridge-benchmark,3254.html if money isn't your problem refer this link http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/z77x-up5-th-z77a-gd80-z77-oc-formula,3305.html these reviews never go wrong.

[fade]

Take the Gigabyte Z77X-UP5 into consideration

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=74293&vpn=GA-Z77X-UP5-TH&manufacture=Gigabyte

It came late to the party but it seems to outperform most the other Z77 boards in almost everything. It also has some blue on it for your build.

[Sharp_3yE]

Go for aesthetics and buy a mother board that has good performance. My suggestion if you are going for a blue color theme is either MSI or ASUS. They tend to have some nice blue motherboards that have good features and good quality.

[fade]

If you're going for a blue themed build Id go with the gigabyte UP5

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=74293&vpn=GA-Z77X-UP5-TH&manufacture=Gigabyte

It came late to the party and seems to outperform the others in most benches by a smidgeon.

[YowZman]

i personally don't think it matters a huge deal, just make sure its got all the features you want, and is from a reputable manufacturer, asus, msi, gigabyte etc. stay clear of asrock, check your feature list, and get one that fits your build.

[Art Vandelay]

Having a greater knowledge about the VRM components of motherboards, I would recommend the Gigabyte Z77X UP5.

Both the Maximus V Formula and the P8Z77-V have doubled 4 phase VRMs, whereas the UP5 has an 8 phase VRM with better components, so the UP5 will probably overclock better. There's also the G1 Sniper 3, which has a doubled 6 phase VRM (no idea about the VRM quality, but the chokes on the Asus are a bit better), so it might perform a bit better than the Asus boards.

You can also look at all the features on the boards. The G1 Sniper 3 has great audio (with a headphone amp), a free dual band wireless card, and networking, in addition to the ability to use 4 graphics cards at x8. The UP5 has thunderbolt, a headphone amp and a free dual band wireless card. They look like good boards. I'm not really sure of the features of the Asus boards.

Also, the VRM cooling on the maximus V formula is useless.