Z87 (Haswell) vs Z77 (Ivy Bridge)

[Hank_Tech]

Hey forum,

I am looking at buying some parts for my build, and I noticed a really good deal on an Asus P8Z77-V Pro motherboard. I am able to get this for about U.S. $120, which is pretty cheap considering the features it has. The catch is that it's the Z77 chipset. I was planning on getting the Haswell based Xeon E3 1230v3 and a $240 Gigabyte motherboard, but then I saw this deal and switched my focus to the Ivy Bridge based Xeon E3 1230v2. The Asus board has all the features I want, and I am saving $120. But, is it worth the $120 to buy the Gigabyte and Haswell chip? Is Haswell that much better than Ivy Bridge, or will I not notice the difference? I was thinking I could buy the Ivy Bridge, and use the money to go towards my GPU or an SSD or some other part. 

 

And another quick question: how long can I run a computer out of the case (like run a "test bench" on my motherboard box?) My case sold out and it's gonna be on backorder when I buy it, so I will have all the pieces to run a PC just not a case to put them in It will probably be about a week to two weeks before I get my case, so is it okay to run a PC like that for that long?

 

Thanks!

[hawaiims]

Hey forum,

I am looking at buying some parts for my build, and I noticed a really good deal on an Asus P8Z77-V Pro motherboard. I am able to get this for about U.S. $120, which is pretty cheap considering the features it has. The catch is that it's the Z77 chipset. I was planning on getting the Haswell based Xeon E3 1230v3 and a $240 Gigabyte motherboard, but then I saw this deal and switched my focus to the Ivy Bridge based Xeon E3 1230v2. The Asus board has all the features I want, and I am saving $120. But, is it worth the $120 to buy the Gigabyte and Haswell chip? Is Haswell that much better than Ivy Bridge, or will I not notice the difference? I was thinking I could buy the Ivy Bridge, and use the money to go towards my GPU or an SSD or some other part. 

 

And another quick question: how long can I run a computer out of the case (like run a "test bench" on my motherboard box?) My case sold out and it's gonna be on backorder when I buy it, so I will have all the pieces to run a PC just not a case to put them in It will probably be about a week to two weeks before I get my case, so is it okay to run a PC like that for that long?

 

Thanks!

120$ is not particularly cheap for z77.

 

Depends on where you live though? What country are you in?

[ZetZet]

You don't need z87 for xeons dude. h87 will do just fine...

[Hank_Tech]

120$ is not particularly cheap for z77.

 

Depends on where you live though? What country are you in?

I live in the U.S.

And comparing the features in that board for $120 to some of the Z87 boards I can get for $120, it's a lot nicer. It's a much more robust board that can offer some nicer features.

[Hank_Tech]

You don't need z87 for xeons dude. h87 will do just fine...

Yeah I know, but the board is much more robust and has the features that I would like (WiFi, E-SATA, Thunderbolt headers, etc.). The H87 or B87 boards don't have those options, so I am getting a lot less for my money.

[ZetZet]

For some reason it's very hard to find performance comparison between 1230v2 and v3, but it's probably nothing much.

[1823alex]

For some reason it's very hard to find performance comparison between 1230v2 and v3, but it's probably nothing much.

Isn't Haswell just more energy efficient?

[Hank_Tech]

For some reason it's very hard to find performance comparison between 1230v2 and v3, but it's probably nothing much.

Yeah thats why I was wondering if there is any difference. Mostly just concerned about the architecture. The only main difference I have found is that the Haswell is more power efficient, but I'm not running this PC off a battery or something so it doesn't matter too much to me.

[Izaya Orihara]

Isn't Haswell just more energy efficient?

No. The TDP actually went up from 77 to 84 the thing that you are thinking about are the lower C states. And Haswell was about a 10% improvment or ivy. But it oc's worse which for the OP should not a concern since he won't oc a Xeon very far anyways. 

[Hank_Tech]

No. The TDP actually went up from 77 to 84 the thing that you are thinking about are the lower C states. And Haswell was about a 10% improvment or ivy. But it oc's worse which for the OP should not a concern since he won't oc a Xeon very far anyways.

Can you even OC a Xeon? I thought the multipliers were locked. I don't have much experience with OCing so what do you mean by this? Is it actually possible to get like .5Ghz more out of it?

[RatedBlam]

Haswell should be slightly Better performing, neglectably better.

But I'd say the main difference here is the chipset. Z87 has more sata 6gb ports, that I can remember of the top of my head. But I'm sure you can find some comparisons.

Also I think current thunderbolt implementations require iGPU, which is not present in the xeon e3-1230v2/3.

[hawaiims]

I live in the U.S.

And comparing the features in that board for $120 to some of the Z87 boards I can get for $120, it's a lot nicer. It's a much more robust board that can offer some nicer features.

what features in particular are you talking about?

 

Because these days motherboards are pretty damn similar and it's more about simply the number of particular ports and the color and brand more than anything it seems.

 

Some features also sound nice in theory but are actually crappy gimmicks which is why I'm curious as to what special z77 features you're talking about. 

[Hank_Tech]

Haswell should be slightly Better performing, neglectably better.

But I'd say the main difference here is the chipset. Z87 has more sata 6gb ports, that I can remember of the top of my head. But I'm sure you can find some comparisons.

Also I think current thunderbolt implementations require iGPU, which is not present in the xeon e3-1230v2/3.

TB is something I would like to add in the future, but its not necessary. The fact that it has the option to expand later though is enticing. And I probably won't run more than 2 drives, so I don't need loads of 6gb ports. Probably just gonna run an SSD and HDD.

[Izaya Orihara]

Can you even OC a Xeon? I thought the multipliers were locked. I don't have much experience with OCing so what do you mean by this? Is it actually possible to get like .5Ghz more out of it?

Yes you can oc it but not by upping the multiplier since it's locked. You would have to play wth the core clock speed. Minimal oc. 

[Hank_Tech]

what features in particular are you talking about?

 

Because these days motherboards are pretty damn similar and it's more about simply the number of particular ports and the color and brand more than anything it seems.

 

Some features also sound nice in theory but are actually crappy gimmicks which is why I'm curious as to what special z77 features you're talking about. 

Not the Z77 itself, but rather that the board has to offer. It has onboard WiFi which I like, E-SATA, Thunderbolt headers so I can add a TB card later, 12 phase digi VRM, 7.1 audio, and a few others I can't name off the top of my head. But the main thing I am getting at is that I get all this for the price of a basic H87 or B87 board that doesn't have the same features. It is just a much better deal for my money.

[Hank_Tech]

Yes you can oc it but not by upping the multiplier since it's locked. You would have to play wth the core clock speed. Minimal oc. 

Ohh ok, thanks for the clarification. I didn't plan on OCing really, so this isn't a concern for me. Now I know I can bump it a little bit though if I need to in the future

[Izaya Orihara]

Ohh ok, thanks for the clarification. I didn't plan on OCing really, so this isn't a concern for me. Now I know I can bump it a little bit though if I need to in the future

How about you say me a budget an i make you a build? (Also what is the pc going to be used for?)

[hawaiims]

Not the Z77 itself, but rather that the board has to offer. It has onboard WiFi which I like, E-SATA, Thunderbolt headers so I can add a TB card later, 12 phase digi VRM, 7.1 audio, and a few others I can't name off the top of my head. But the main thing I am getting at is that I get all this for the price of a basic H87 board. It is just a much better deal for my money.

yeah I know I was talking about the board itself.

 

If you really think you are going to use thunderbolt, then go for it. Otherwise there are plenty of other boards with onboard wifi.

 

The 7.1 audio is a gimmick, and the 12 phase digi vrm doesn't matter in your case. E-Sata is also pretty much pointless these days thanks to USB 3. 

 

Haswell gives about 10% better performance I believe if you give both the same speeds with comparable CPUs.

 

It's up to you I guess. I would go Haswell because you don't need USB 3 drivers, motherboards are less likely to fail (more stuff on the CPU instead), and power consumption is very important to me. Also ~the 10% improvement in CPU speed

[hawaiims]

How about you say me a budget an i make you a build? (Also what is the pc going to be used for?)

yup the OP should ask for a build rec. 

[Hank_Tech]

How about you say me a budget an i make you a build? (Also what is the pc going to be used for?)

It's gonna be used for video editing (Premiere and After Effects) and gaming. I went with the Xeon because its the cheapest CPU that has hyper threading, which is what I desperately need for editing. I am just buying the board, CPU, and case now though because a friend is letting me borrow some spare parts while I finish my current editing so I can make the rest of the money for my own parts. He is letting me use his 650Ti, RAM, and PSU.

[Izaya Orihara]

It's gonna be used for video editing (Premiere and After Effects) and gaming. I went with the Xeon because its the cheapest CPU that has hyper threading, which is what I desperately need for editing. I am just buying the board, CPU, and case now though because a friend is letting me borrow some spare parts while I finish my current editing so I can make the rest of the money for my own parts. He is letting me use his 650Ti, RAM, and PSU.

Budget? Also how much ram? 

[Hank_Tech]

yeah I know I was talking about the board itself.

 

If you really think you are going to use thunderbolt, then go for it. Otherwise there are plenty of other boards with onboard wifi.

 

The 7.1 audio is a gimmick, and the 12 phase digi vrm doesn't matter in your case. E-Sata is also pretty much pointless these days thanks to USB 3. 

 

Haswell gives about 10% better performance I believe if you give both the same speeds with comparable CPUs.

 

It's up to you I guess. I would go Haswell because you don't need USB 3 drivers, motherboards are less likely to fail (more stuff on the CPU instead), and power consumption is very important to me. Also ~the 10% improvement in CPU speed

Could you find me a board that has onboard WiFi for the 1150 socket and costs $120 then? I'm having a hard time finding one. Also, has to be ATX form factor.

[Hank_Tech]

Budget? Also how much ram? 

$550 is what I have, and I like to stick with Intel. I have tried using AMD and haven't had a good experience, so I would like to stick with what I know works. And I think 6 or 8 GB, I need to check on that.

[hawaiims]

Could you find me a board that has onboard WiFi for the 1150 socket and costs $120 then? I'm having a hard time finding one. Also, has to be ATX form factor.

mehhh not really possible unless maybe you go the used route.

 

However you can get this H87 gigabyte board for example that costs 104$ on amazon (101$ on other websites, but it's amazon so I trust this more)

 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CU4L3AU/

 

and then spend 15$ or more on a wi-fi card

 

The built in wi-fi solutions suck balls any way as they usually don't even have dual band wi-fi. It's absolutely pathetic and I would replace the card even if I were to buy the Z77 board you were talking about. 

 

The Z77 asus board you were talking about costs 120 something dollars, but that's after a MIR. So you'll end up paying 150$ never knowing when you're going to get a prepaid card back and you're going to waste a lot of time sending back a form and all that. 

[Hank_Tech]

mehhh not really possible unless maybe you go the used route.

 

However you can get this H87 gigabyte board for example that costs 104$ on amazon (101$ on other websites, but it's amazon so I trust this more)

 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CU4L3AU/

 

and then spend 15$ or more on a wi-fi card

 

The built in wi-fi solutions suck balls any way as they usually don't even have dual band wi-fi. It's absolutely pathetic and I would replace the card even if I were to buy the Z77 board you were talking about. 

 

The Z77 asus board you were talking about costs 120 something dollars, but that's after a MIR. So you'll end up paying 150$ never knowing when you're going to get a prepaid card back and you're going to waste a lot of time sending back a form and all that. 

So the Haswell is worth giving up a more robust board? I'm just looking to get the most bang for my buck, and the Asus board with the Ivy Bridge Xeon seemed to offer that.