What Haswell motherboard should I get?

[Constipated Crow]

Hi there,

 

Before I go on, here's my current build:

 

-XFX FX-777A-ZNF4 Radeon HD 7000 Series; AMD; Radeon HD 7770; 1000 MHz; CrossFire; 2048 x 1536 pixels; 2560 x 1600 pixels (FX-777A-ZNF4)

-Intel Core i3-3220 3300GHz 3MB Cache Socket LGA1155 Desktop CPU

-Corsair CMX8GX3M1A1333C9 XMS3 8GB (1x4GB) DDR3 1333 Mhz CL9 Performance Desktop Memory Module

-MSI LGA1155 u-ATX Motherboard (Intel H61, 2x DDR3, GBE, LAN)

-EVGA 500B 500W 80+ BRONZE PC Power Supply

-LiteOn IHAS124-04 24x SATA Half Height Internal DVDRW Drive

-Seagate Barracuda 3.5 inch 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB 6GB/S Internal SATA Drive

-Fractal Design Core 1000 Series Micro ATX Case

 

So, I'm going to upgrade my current GPU to a Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 Gaming at Christmas, but before that, I want to upgrade my CPU, simply because I don't want any bottlenecks once I get my new GPU. I was first thinking about staying on Ivy bridge and upgrade to an i7 3770, non 'K' (because my current MOBO doesn't allow CPU OC), but others have convinced me to upgrade motherboards and switch to an i7 4790k on Haswell.

 

I know that the i7 3770 and the i7 4790k are the same price on Amazon, but the advantage of upgrading my motherboard on top of my CPU, would be that I'd get better performance from a CPU which is an entire generation ahead, for the same price, and I'd be able to overclock my CPU too. I contacted Microsoft, and they assured me that changing motherboards won't require me to buy Windows again, but they may be wrong, so could you confirm that for me?

 

My question is, what motherboard should I get? My current case is a Micro ATX case, so could you recommend a good Micro ATX motherboard (Haswell) for me? I'm not 100% sure if Micro ATX motherboards support CPU OC or not either, so could you confirm that too? Anyway, I'm not looking to spend any more than £30-£40 maximum (in the UK).

 

Thanks in advance to anyone who replies.

 

Cheers!

[zyntaxable]

What are you going to use the system for? If i'ts just for gaming an i7 would be overpowered. Also you'll wanna get an additional 4GB of ram.

[Dencel]

Try Asus Z97 Series. They got bunch of mATX MOBOS. Can't say the correct one.

[Bordermick]

I believe that the ASRock z97m anniversary is a cheaper micro atx board. Your not going to get anything too cheap looking at the z97 chipset.

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-z97manniversary

[ImBleu]

the Z97M Motherboards (from Asus/Asrock mainly) would do you well and you'll get your Overclocking too.

 

I'd recommend the i5-4690k though if Gaming is your main thing, there is little benefit to the 4790k.

[Constipated Crow]

What are you going to use the system for? If i'ts just for gaming an i7 would be overpowered. Also you'll wanna get an additional 4GB of ram.

Okay, so would you recommend the i5 4690k more? Also, can Micro ATX motherboards OC CPUs?

 

Cheers!

[Constipated Crow]

the Z97M Motherboards (from Asus/Asrock mainly) would do you well and you'll get your Overclocking too.

 

I'd recommend the i5-4690k though if Gaming is your main thing, there is little benefit to the 4790k.

Okay yeah, on more thought, I'm probably going to go for an i5 4690k. I do a bit of video editing, rendering and livestreaming, but I don't think that's worth the extra £100 for the i7.

 

Cheers!

[Constipated Crow]

I believe that the ASRock z97m anniversary is a cheaper micro atx board. Your not going to get anything too cheap looking at the z97 chipset.

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-z97manniversary

Is there nothing any cheaper? Like I stated, I'm on a tight budget, and really don't want to spend more than £40.

 

Cheers!

[Constipated Crow]

Try Asus Z97 Series. They got bunch of mATX MOBOS. Can't say the correct one.

As stated before, I'm on a tight budget, so anything above £40 would really be tough to get. Could you recommend anything cheaper than £50? Could you also explain what the advantages of getting a more expensive one would be?

 

Cheers!