Asus Z87- ?

[BioPulse]

Im building a new pc and not sure between the asus Z87-A and -Plus.  Any major differences worthy, for a mid gaming oriented build?

 

also can not figure out what ram speeds these board support, up to 1866MHz or more?

[Bubben]

It all pretty much boils down to more connections and such on the Plus, and I'm pretty sure it's with the Plus and onward that you get their fancy low layer 'software'(?) Which mainly helps with/dose the overclocking for you (it dose seem more capable than their last attempt).

Both boards are supposed to support up to 3000mhz memory.

[mgsstar]

I know that the Z87-A is an budget overclocking board that has the overclocking features of a regular Z87 Asus board. The Z87-A supports 3000(O.C.)/2933(O.C.)/2800(O.C.)/2666(O.C.)/2600(O.C.)/2500(O.C.)/2400(O.C.)/2200(O.C.)/2133(O.C.)/2000(O.C.)/1866(O.C.)/1800(O.C.)/1600/1333 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory.

I would go with the Z87-A if you don't need those extra SATA ports and don't overclock that much. The A version has 8 phase while the Plus has a 8+2 phase power.

[Bubben]

Asus mainstream z87 motherboard lineup from pcperspective livestream

[BioPulse]

Thanks for the help  :D

[Silveryhat]

Or if you don't wanna waste half an hour on the video, try Differences between All Mainstream ASUS Z87 Motherboards :lol:

 

[mgsstar]

Or if you don't wanna waste half an hour on the video, try Differences between All Mainstream ASUS Z87 Motherboards :lol:

Thanks for the info! Glad that custompcguide is still making these! :) Just a note that this does not offer the Z87-K comparison.

[DSD27]

and the Z87-K ?

It is not on the video..

[Bubben]

davidsd1990, on 10 Jun 2013 - 05:39 AM, said:

and the Z87-K ?

It is not on the video..

From what I can tell it has less power phases (4 instead of 8), scaled back cooling, and a few differences in terms of I/O.

I don't remember where I read this so don't just take my word for it, but I read an article where I'm pretty sure they came to the conclusion that all asus z87 mobos 'C' and up overclocked about the same, but with varying degrees of efficiency and heat output.

Assuming that it's for a smaller budget gaming rig. If I were you then I'd either save up for the 'A' or 'Plus', or I'd wait a bit until I could find a few more straight up comparisons, and until such a time when people could give me actual buyers feedback.

EDIT:

Found it http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1764942

 

Quote

For those of you interested in overclocking, rest assured every model in the mainstream line-up above the Z87-C is capable of pushing Haswell to maximum operating frequencies for everyday use. The power consumption of the Haswell processors is not very high. An 8 phase motherboard is perfectly adequate to supply Haswell with enough power for overclocking.

The C and K do seem similar but again they only have 4 phases, so make what you will out of it.

EDIT2:

Just realized that it's asus' own words, so again; make what you will out of it.

[DSD27]

I guess for people who will use the computer for gaming, MSI Z87 G45 gaming is a better choice than Asus Z87 - A and Plus, right?

[Bubben]

I guess for people who will use the computer for gaming, MSI Z87 G45 gaming is a better choice than Asus Z87 - A and Plus, right?

 

If you want a board capable of tri SLI then go with the msi board, if not then go with the board that (for you) has the most compelling I/O (usb, sata etc) and features at the best price.

 

The msi board dose have better if not necessarily good audio, and eSATA would be nice, but I still think I'd pick the Plus if I was shopping in that price range. I appreciate the extra sata, and in my opinion the software offered with the Plus and above dose seem compelling. I'm also slightly bias towards Asus so make your own choice ;) 

[DSD27]

I prefer the color scheme of the msi g45, tis nice :p

sorry my english is not good, did you sad that the msi board has better audio?

anyway I'm more undecided between msi g45 gaming and asus Z87-A. The plus is 10 euros more expensive than the msi board..

[Bubben]

I prefer the color scheme of the msi g45, tis nice :P

sorry my english is not good, did you sad that the msi board has better audio?

anyway I'm more undecided between msi g45 gaming and asus Z87-A. The plus is 10 euros more expensive than the msi board..

Don't worry about it :)

The MSI board dose have an onboard amp so yes it ought to have better audio. 

I'd pick the MSI g45 over the z87-A.