MSI Z97 Gaming 5 VS Gigabyte Z97X Gaming 5.

[MishoK]

I'm really confused at the moment. I'm going to be running an i5 4690K and I can't seem to figure out which of the above boards is better.

In terms of quality, BIOS features, and overclocking which one should I go for?

In terms of price the Gigabyte board is around $163 in my region and the MSI one is around $180.

Also wanted to ask would any of the boards require a BIOS update right out of the box?

Would there be any trade-offs if I selected on over the other?

[ultrakiller21]

 

i5 4690K

Also wanted to ask would any of the boards require a BIOS update right out of the box?

 

No update needed if you're using a 4690K and a Z97 board.

[Sumsar]

Gigabyte > MSI (personal pref.)

[tnlich]

In my opinion its basically for looks here. I own the MSI z97 Gaming5 and love it.. iIs basic click and play and the MSI Live update works well to keep everything upgraded. Also I check Newegg and TigerDirect a lot for feedback on what peeps posted on there experiences with the products.. Hope this kind of helps you.

[MishoK]

Gigabyte > MSI (personal pref.)

Simply just a brand preference or have you experienced any issues with MSI motherboards?

[MishoK]

In my opinion its basically for looks here. I own the MSI z97 Gaming5 and love it.. iIs basic click and play and the MSI Live update works well to keep everything upgraded. Also I check Newegg and TigerDirect a lot for feedback on what peeps posted on there experiences with the products.. Hope this kind of helps you.

Thanks, I'll take a look over there for reviews.

[Sumsar]

Simply just a brand preference or have you experienced any issues with MSI motherboards?

Just a brand preference. 

[Cheese4395]

So I have a gigabyte ud5h mb in my computer (yes i know this isn't the gaming 5.). And I just recently put a msi gaming 5 into my brothers new pc.

 

Anyways they both work great. They are both perfectly good at what they do. And I had looked at both of the gaming 5s before getting my brother the msi version.

 

The reason we got msi's version is it was much cheaper than the gigabyte where we are. (80 bucks compared to 150) And lastly, my brother was perfectly happy with the look of the msi version.

 

Honestly theres no significant difference, just look at the style, layout, and price and go from there.

[MishoK]

So I have a gigabyte ud5h mb in my computer (yes i know this isn't the gaming 5.). And I just recently put a msi gaming 5 into my brothers new pc.

 

Anyways they both work great. They are both perfectly good at what they do. And I had looked at both of the gaming 5s before getting my brother the msi version.

 

The reason we got msi's version is it was much cheaper than the gigabyte where we are. (80 bucks compared to 150) And lastly, my brother was perfectly happy with the look of the msi version.

 

Honestly theres no significant difference, just look at the style, layout, and price and go from there.

Well I do like the look of the MSI one too but if there's no significant difference between the two I'd rather go for the Gigabyte one since it's cheaper where I live.

Thanks for the reply