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Motherboards Are gaming specific motherboards worth it?

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Greg_Head, 28 Jul 2013.

  1. Greg_Head

    Greg_Head What's a Dremel?

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    I'm currently in the process of upgrading my mobo, CPU and RAM. Most manufacturers have a motherboard that is specific for gaming but costs more. Is it worth it and what's the difference?
     
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  2. GeorgeK

    GeorgeK Swinging the banhammer Super Moderator

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    It's all marketing tbh - if it has the features or looks that you're after then it's worth the extra money but if not then go for another board that's cheaper :thumb:
     
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  3. Greg_Head

    Greg_Head What's a Dremel?

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  4. MSHunter

    MSHunter Minimodder

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    Sort of. I go for what ever scores best in OC and durability test and my last 2 MD have been Asus premium boards, P5B-Wifi Delux and then Gene-V ROG mATX. Both boards are still running and are/have been greatly OCed and remain stable. (except when I forgot to dust the Freezer pro 7 one summer)

    If you use the features like onboard powers witches and OC a lot then hell yeah. If you consider buying Dell laptops then..... Well honestly this isn't the right forum for you. ;)
     
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  5. fdbh96

    fdbh96 What's a Dremel?

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    If you ever read a motherboard review, most differences in FPS tend to be +/- 5fps but the price range doesn't really justify the performance. Also the difference in overclocking performance is usually within a few hundred Mhz most of which relies on the chip itself.

    Most of the performance stuff is now included on the CPU anyway, so its mainly the power circuitry that changes.
     
  6. GoodBytes

    GoodBytes How many wifi's does it have?

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    Exactly. It's usually not worth the premium, unless you really want specific features it has to offer.
    Other get it simply for the look of the motherboard, and that is part of the price you pay, as they select components for the colors. For example, if the motherboard is black, they'll order black solid state capacitors instead of the standard gray with colored text. They'll design also a special looking heatsink for the north and south bridge chipset, and so on.
     
  7. Harlequin

    Harlequin Modder

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    personally I look for a motherboard with a damn good VRM setup
     
  8. RedFlames

    RedFlames ...is not a Belgian football team

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    depends on how you define 'gaming specific' [and 'worth it']...

    only thing i really look for is 2x Gigabit LAN... and a board layout that wasn't thought out by a complete retread...
     
  9. Ch33sefiend

    Ch33sefiend What's a Dremel?

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    Just an excuse to over price a motherboard. Same goes for mice, keyboards.... I could go on :)
     
  10. Stanley Tweedle

    Stanley Tweedle NO VR NO PLAY

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    Overclocking, stability and depending on whether you want SLI or Crossfire.

    Anything else is sales bollocks. All of the mobo makers have taken to misleading information about SLI. Invariably listing many mobos as x16 x16 so you have to read the reviews to learn that one of the slots only runs at x1 or x4 (yes there have been a few mobos like that I've read about this week).

    Styling mobo heatsinks in the shape of guns and bullets dunt really do it for me.

    If I was like 12 years old I might be swayed.

    Also number of USB and sata ports important for me.
     
  11. Elton

    Elton Officially a Whisky Nerd

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    Gaming motherboads? Useless.

    Now feature filled motherboards? Maybe worth it. The OC ability, the slots, the placement, all that matters. Stability is primary.
     
  12. boiled_elephant

    boiled_elephant Merom Celeron 4 lyfe

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    Yep. Gaming anything. Gamers are an easy sell because a lot of them aren't adults and are spending money that isn't theirs, often getting gear as gifts or with gift money. And money you don't earn, you spend very easily. And young gamers have a religious, almost fanatical devotion to being BETTAR in games, which often metamorphoses into a boy racer sort of obsession with having the BEST gear (rather than appropriate gear for the task at hand). So you end up with people buying 32GB "quad channel" memory kits, keyboards with custom paint jobs to "enhance" a specific game, and other such invented, over-hyped and unnecessary garbage.

    The mouse I'm currently using, for instance, has an RRP of £90. Because...gaming. (I got it half-price.) Anybody who spends £90 on a mouse needs a slap.

    The pinnacle of this irrational nonsense was the Killer "gaming network card". The best way to waste money since scratch cards.
     
  13. Elton

    Elton Officially a Whisky Nerd

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    I will say thought that some things advertised as gaming peripherals (such as mechanical keyboards or mice) are at times worth the cost.

    My steelseries Ikari was about $50 new. I got it for $10, but they aren't bad by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, they're more comfortable than regular things. Mechanical keyboards are just plain expensive for what they are, but they have quality to back them up.

    Gaming motherboards on the other hand, are just baffling.

    The worst of them being the Fatal1ty boards and the garish versions of the G.1 Gigabyte boards.

    At least the ROG boards had some class to them. I'll also add that I do like the G.1 color schemes just not the garish heatsinks.
     
  14. Greg_Head

    Greg_Head What's a Dremel?

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    Also the RAM, currently thinking 1600mhz 8gb, any reasons for me to get any more? In other news I have a very obscure case which to be honest is a bit rubbish. It's the "11 Advanced X-Station" *cringe* and I was wondering if anyone could tell how to tell if it was ATX since the usual way is to check the specs but I have yet to find a reliable source. Any pointers?
     
  15. Elton

    Elton Officially a Whisky Nerd

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    It's ATX. Pretty much every non Dell case is ATX (even dell stopped using BTX) based since 2002.
     

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