Z97 vs Z170

[Athis]

Hi, this is my first post here.

 

I am researching for my first self-build. I was more or less fixed on a Z97 with an i5-4690k. Then I found out about Z170.

I am wondering is there any reason to prefer the one or the other in my particular case?

I am building for general use and medium level gaming...meaning, I am not a latest AAA at ultra guy.

I play a lot of older games and generally get around to the better new ones a couple of years after release when they are patched and stable and cheaper.

I dont use SLI etc.

 

Thanks

[The Official Czex]

Hi, this is my first post here.

 

I am researching for my first self-build. I was more or less fixed on a Z97 with an i54690k. Then I found out about Z170.

I am wondering is there any reason to prefer the one or the other in my particular case?

I am building for general use and medium level gaming...meaning, I am not a latest AAA at ultra guy.

I play a lot of older games and generally get around to the better new ones a couple of years after release when they are patched and stable and cheaper.

I dont use SLI etc.

 

Thanks

 

Only thing a Z170 offers over a Z97 is the Skylake processor series. You'll probably want to run the i5-6600K for gaming.

[The Pizza Thief]

Hi, this is my first post here.

 

I am researching for my first self-build. I was more or less fixed on a Z97 with an i5-4690k. Then I found out about Z170.

I am wondering is there any reason to prefer the one or the other in my particular case?

I am building for general use and medium level gaming...meaning, I am not a latest AAA at ultra guy.

I play a lot of older games and generally get around to the better new ones a couple of years after release when they are patched and stable and cheaper.

I dont use SLI etc.

 

Thanks

 

By your description I can tell you, get whatever is cheaper looks cooler to you. You don't even need z97 for gaming older titles. Focus more on your graphics card.

[Elfuego]

The huge advantage of Z170 is if you wanna run a lot of storage. For a couple drives and single GPU a Z97 is fine. If you want 2 GPUs + a PCI-E SSD then go Z170.

[KemoKa]

Z170 has 20 PCIe Gen3 lanes on the PCH that it can use for PCIe-based SSDs. Z97 has the historical 8 PCIe Gen2 lanes.

[typographie]

Hi, this is my first post here.

 

I am researching for my first self-build. I was more or less fixed on a Z97 with an i5-4690k. Then I found out about Z170.

I am wondering is there any reason to prefer the one or the other in my particular case?

I am building for general use and medium level gaming...meaning, I am not a latest AAA at ultra guy.

I play a lot of older games and generally get around to the better new ones a couple of years after release when they are patched and stable and cheaper.

I dont use SLI etc.

 

Thanks

 

Z170 includes support for USB 3.1 and it has some features that make using a PCIe SSD faster and a bit more practical. You've also got DDR4, which is faster and more power efficient than DDR3, and enables you to use up to 64 GB in four DIMM slots. Additionally, a Core i5-6600K is slightly faster than a 4690K.. 0-10% faster depending on what you're doing. In games, particularly older ones that either of these CPUs will run effortlessly, closer to 0%.

 

Realistically, most of us are not likely to use any of the Z170-specific features. It's likely going to come down to price for you. If you can put together a Z170 system (including CPU and RAM) for a price comparable to a Z97 system, there's no point in getting the older platform.

 

Question: Do you actually intend to overclock? If you do, great, but it sounds like you might not be the sort who would. If you don't intend to overclock, paying extra for a K-series Core i5 is just wasted money. You can get a Core i5-4460/4590/4690 or wait until the Core i5-6500 or 6600 are out and save some money. In that case, you may as well get an H97 or H170 motherboard instead. The two main things Z-series boards do for you are overclocking, and SLI/Crossfire.

[Athis]

Thank you guys for your replies

 

I can see that at this time there is no need for me to go with the Z170. For now the Z97 will be more than adequate.

 

@ Typographie  there is only a €10 difference in price betweem the k and non-k versions; so price is not a consideration in my choice of the k version

  I will probably overclock a little further down the road to get more longevity from the system; but initially I wont need to overclock