Which to choose?

Origin Saint

Origin Saint

Well-Known Member
Hi all, I have been looking into parts for a build I'm going to do this year. I plan to do some pretty heavy gaming, some moderate to heavy video editing, and the general PC usage stuff and I'm going with a blue and black color scheme. I want to be able to expand later on and have a dual sli GPU set-up and possibly a RAID set-up as well. I already know pretty much every single part I want/need. I though I knew which motherboard I needed too, but I found another like the one I wanted and don't know which would be a better choice.

I was planning on getting the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H.
I really liked the price, the color and the features of this mobo, but then I ran across another. The MSI Z77A-GD65. This one has more allowance for faster RAM speeds, 3 PCI 3X16 slots, no PCI 2X16 slots, 4 PCI express slots, and just about everything else is the same except the brand specific features and the USB ports.

So what do you guys think would be best for my build? The Gigabyte, or the MSI? Thanks in advance for any and all help and advice you guys can give, I really appreciate it.
 
Out the two, Gigabyte. The MSI will give more options/features, but can't compete with the quality of the Gigabyte. If you go the MSI rout, get the GD80, that's the only MSI worth getting really. Don't know what your limit is on the money part, but if you can, get the GA-Z77X-UD5H. Hoped I helped, GL!
 
My main issue with the Gigabyte, not only the D3H, but all of the Z77 Gigabayte mobos in general, is that none are compatible with 1866Mhz RAM, which is what I plan to buy. I don't want to pay any more than $155 on a mobo really, I'm already over budget as it is with either option.
 
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Origin Saint said:
My main issue with the Gigabyte, not only the D3H, but all of the Z77 Gigabayte mobos in general, is that none are compatible with 1866Mhz RAM, which is what I plan to buy. I don't want to pay any more than $155 on a mobo really, I'm already over budget as it is with either option.
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The board you listed(Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H and the one I listed) can support up 2400Mhz, well beyond the 1866 mark. Most MoBo's will set ram speed to defualt @ 1333, then you will have to OC it to the rated ram speed, or enable the XMP setting.

Oh, I'm not saying you have to buy the UD5H, I didn't even know your limit. I was just recommending, sorry.
 
I'm going to agree with Tech Savvy here, get the UD5H if budget allows. If not, the UD3H would be a good board to get instead.
 
Exactly as spirit said.
I got the UD5H board and the build quality and feel to it is top quality.

I haven't had it for long now but it's looking and proving to be a solid board for me :D
 
+1 on the ud4h if you can swing the extra bucks, otherwise the GD65 is the way to go over the D3H. Better VRM cooling, better phase setup, better onboard sound, and both PCIe slots are 3.0.
 
Yeah it's good but not worth the money over the UD4H. There's very little difference.

What CPU are you going with? Did I read 3570k somewhere?
 
Symbol said:
Seriously dude go for MSI
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Unless you're going to back that statement, I will disregard it. Statements/opinions without showing reasoning can't be considered reliable by my standards, so if you want me to listen to you, you're going to have to do a little better than just telling me what to do. So far, more have recommended (not only this forum, but a few others) a Gigabyte branded motherboard than MSI motherboards, and I will agree with the majority vote until I see ample enough proof to think otherwise.
 
I explained why in post #10 to go with the MSI GD65 over the D3H, but if you are springing for the UD4 all those reasons are no longer there because the UD4 has everything the GD65 has at that point.
 
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