New motherboard for build

[asus]

I am building a new water cooled rig.  I am using the latest LGA1150 socket.  I want something that is going to last, high quality, supports SLI and doesn't break the bank.  I have a few options here that might give you an idea as to where I am going with this..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=-1&IsNodeId=1&Description=GIGABYTE%20G1.Sniper%205%20LGA&bop=And&CompareItemList=-1%7C13-131-976%5E13-131-976-TS%2C13-128-681%5E13-128-681-TS%2C13-131-989%5E13-131-989-TS%2C13-157-380%5E13-157-380-TS%2C13-128-595%5E13-128-595-TS&percm=13-128-595%3A%24%24%24%24%24%24%24

 

I will be doing SLI in my water cooled setup.  Here is a list of my parts so far. 

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=18951149

[wevsspot]

Wow, wide range of prices on the motherboards you're considering  

 

Great looking proposed build regardless.  It's hard to nit-pick because you've apparently done plenty of research and I can't find anything on your list that I wouldn't love to own.  

 

If I were to make at least one friendly observation..............................  It appears that you're running a 30" Dell high resolution display, and I'm going to assume that you like gaming on some of the latest and most demanding titles available.  If both of those statements are true, I'm concerned that you're over spending on GPU horsepower but hampering that expense by choosing 2Gb video cards.  Even though you have twin GTX 770s on your wish list, they are 2Gb cards and depending on your monitor resolution, AA, eye candy, texture settings etc. you might be better served by investing in a single card that has more VRAM (like 3Gb or 4Gb).

 

If you were gaming at 1920x1080 or even 1920x1200 I'd say that the twin GTX 770 2Gb cards would be a beastly combination - and of course they are going to blow benchmarks out of the water.  However, if you are gaming at resolutions higher than that, or even considering multi-monitor setups in the future, you'd be better served by going with a card (or cards) that have more than 2Gb VRAM.

 

As for the motherboards, all of the ones you've put on your wish list would make a great foundation for your build.  Just speaking for myself, my last few builds have been Gigabyte based and I've been really happy with the results.  I ended up with my first Gigabyte board after a couple terrible experiences with Asus and MSI Z68 boards that I ended up returning.  The last really great Asus board that I used was the Asus P6TD Deluxe x58.  I say all that leading in to this, if I were spending my own money it would be on the GB G1 Sniper Z5S.  To me it's hard to beat the value of that board.  That saves you enough money that you could seriously consider a GTX 780, R290 or even twin GTX 770 4Gb video cards.

 

Again, I want to stress I'm just talking about how I would spend my own money.  That doesn't make it the best recommendation, or even one that many might agree with.  But that's the route I'd go. 

[asus]

True.. I may get the bigger 4 Gb card.  I am just bouncing between what mobo to actually get.. Currently, I am leaning toward this..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157371

[asus]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU:  Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($339.99 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard:  ASRock Z87 Extreme6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($158.49 @ Newegg) 

Memory:  Crucial Ballistix Tactical 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($199.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage:  Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk 

Video Card:  Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($335.91 @ Newegg) 

Video Card:  Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($335.91 @ Newegg) 

Case:  Phanteks Enthoo Series Primo Aluminum ATX Full Tower Case  ($219.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply:  Corsair RM 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($149.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $1740.27

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-13 01:44 EDT-0400)

[wevsspot]

If I were given the choice between the ASRock board or the G1.Sniper Z5S I'd take the G1 any day of the week.  Hands down.

 

And, I'll take the liberty of going off on an other tangent...........

 

Still not convinced that twin GTX 770 2Gb cards is a great choice with a high resolution monitor.  And unless you have a compelling reason to need hyper-threading you could save money by going with the i5 3570K and putting that difference towards 3Gb or 4Gb video card(s).

 

And while I'm personally a big fan and user of Corsair power supplies, there is one other slightly more cost efficient unit in that power range that is of equal or better quality;

 

SeaSonic M12II 850 SS-850AM

[asus]

Yeah, I may end up grabbing a 4GB card instead. 

 

Why would you get the G1.Sniper over the ASRock?  There are some more "features" on the ASRock, but it's a brand that I know has some quality control issues many years back.  Sort of like a Hyundai 10 years ago. 

[asus]

Okay, I said screw it.  If I am building this computer, I am putting what I want in it and I am only doing it once!

 

So, I am getting a 4GB 780.. Now onto the motherboard.. 

I have these two picked out..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007627%2050001314%2050001315%20600438202&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&CompareItemList=280%7C13-132-038%5E13-132-038-TS%2C13-128-595%5E13-128-595-TS&percm=13-132-038%3A%24%24%24%24%24%24%24%3B13-128-593%3A%24%24%24%24%24%24%24%3B13-128-595%3A%24%24%24%24%24%24%24%3B13-128-596%3A%24%24%24%24%24%24%24%3B13-131-976%3A%24%24%24%24%24%24%24

 

1st is a Asus Maximus VI Formula

2nd is a Gigabyte G1.Sniper 5

Both are roughly 299.00.  The gigabyte is 294 after 100 MIR.

[wevsspot]

My only fear on the ASRock motherboards are consistency.  You can't beat their value dollar for dollar, but sometimes it can be hit or miss whether you get a board that has long term durability and reliability.  With that said I wasn't necessarily thinking you were going to jump to the other end of the price spectrum either  

 

I know you want a BA build, but now it seems to me like you're really going over board on the motherboard selection.  It's definitely your build and your money and no one here can tell you how to spend it.  But I can tell you that I would be hard pressed to spend $300 on a motherboard.  I've done it in the past (more that once) and for the most part I've been either disgusted with myself or under-whelmed by what I got for my hard earned cash.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking either of the boards you're considering, just pointing out that I wouldn't spend my money there.

 

When I make hardware recommendations I always come at it from the perspective of what I'd like to own or how I'd spend my money.  So here are some boards I'd consider if I were building for myself;

 

Asus Z87-Pro V Edition

Gigabyte G1 Sniper Z5S

Asus Maximus VI Hero

Asus Sabretooth Z87

MSI Z87 MPower

Gigabyte Z87X-UD4H

[Hyper Threaded]

Maybe it's possible to narrow things down further; is there a specific feature or colour scheme you want? Those are the main reasons to spend that much on a motherboard.