Helpful ReplyMotherBoard recommendation for 8th Gen i5/i7 CPU?

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cecelius2
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2018/02/28 01:34:42 (permalink)

MotherBoard recommendation for 8th Gen i5/i7 CPU?

I may be building a new DAW computer, but it seems that we are in-between seasons right now for Intel MotherBoards.  There are more AMD MBs, but very few motherboards out right now for the new 8th generation i5's and i7's.  When I go to my local Fry's, their Intel section is almost empty.  The sales reps tell me that Intel motherboards are sold out and they are waiting for the new MBs to come out later this summer.  I do see that newegg has some Z370's, but the reviews are not real solid on these.
 
I tend to trust ASUS and ASRock brands more than Gigabye and MSI (just bad luck with the latter two over the years).  I don't need a killer Gammer's board, just a good solid one for my DAW.
 
Would this AsRocks be dependable?  https://www.asrock.com/MB/Intel/Z370%20Pro4/index.us.asp
 
What motherboards do you guys recommend for an 8th Generation i5 or i7?
 
Thanks C2
post edited by cecelius2 - 2018/02/28 02:16:19




#1
fireberd
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Re: MotherBoard recommendation for 8th Gen i5/i7 CPU? 2018/02/28 11:53:30 (permalink)
If I were to build a new desktop/DAW system now, I would use an ASUS.  I've had all the major brands except MSI and the ASUS motherboards have been more reliable and easier to build.  My current DAW system is an ASUS "ROG" model.  I don't game but it had some features and more USB ports on the rear I/O panel than some of the others so I went with the ROG.  It even has a header for Thunderbolt, if I ever wanted to use it.
 
I like the CPU "installer" tool that came with the ASUS.  It makes installing the CPU on the socket and not damaging any of the pins much easier and safer.  

"GCSG Productions"
Franklin D-10 Pedal Steel Guitar (primary instrument). Nashville Telecaster, Bass, etc. 
ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero M/B, i7 6700K CPU, 16GB Ram, SSD and conventional hard drives, Win 10 Pro and Win 10 Pro Insider Pre-Release
Sonar Platinum/CbB. MOTU 896MK3 Hybrid, Tranzport, X-Touch, JBL LSR308 Monitors,  
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#2
batsbrew
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Re: MotherBoard recommendation for 8th Gen i5/i7 CPU? 2018/03/01 15:14:00 (permalink)
i just built a new DAW using a MSI B250M  motherboard....
works great.

Bats Brew music Streaming
Bats Brew albums:
"Trouble"
"Stay"
"The Time is Magic"
--
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#3
batsbrew
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Re: MotherBoard recommendation for 8th Gen i5/i7 CPU? 2018/03/01 15:14:35 (permalink)

Bats Brew music Streaming
Bats Brew albums:
"Trouble"
"Stay"
"The Time is Magic"
--
Sonar 6 PE>Bandlab Cakewalk>Studio One 3.5>RME BFP>i7-7700 3.6GHz>MSI B250M>G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 16GB>Samsung 960 EVO m.2ssd>W 10 Pro
 
#4
mettelus
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Re: MotherBoard recommendation for 8th Gen i5/i7 CPU? 2018/03/02 06:11:39 (permalink)
I have grown fond of ASUS as well, but even then you will want to research benchmarks of boards with whatever your chosen CPU is (not just overall, but also in specific tasks). They can vary drastically in performance, and some perform better in some areas, then poorly in others. Even with ASUS, they run a wide gambit, and had 12 MoBos available for the i7-8700K alone. Once you see MB data using "x" chip, you will be able to hone in on what is important to you for your price range. As I was searching, I found a lot of folks who like to benchmark and post results on MBs by CPU (you can also use this to narrow in on CPU options). Try googling "Motherboard benchmarks for [x CPU]" and go from there.

ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero (Wi-Fi AC), i7-8700k, 16GB RAM, GTX-1070Ti, Win 10 Pro, Saffire PRO 24 DSP, A-300 PRO, plus numerous gadgets and gizmos that make or manipulate sound in some way.
#5
fireberd
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Re: MotherBoard recommendation for 8th Gen i5/i7 CPU? 2018/03/02 11:23:01 (permalink)
I don't think a low end $69 motherboard (the linked MSI) is what the user is looking for.
 

"GCSG Productions"
Franklin D-10 Pedal Steel Guitar (primary instrument). Nashville Telecaster, Bass, etc. 
ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero M/B, i7 6700K CPU, 16GB Ram, SSD and conventional hard drives, Win 10 Pro and Win 10 Pro Insider Pre-Release
Sonar Platinum/CbB. MOTU 896MK3 Hybrid, Tranzport, X-Touch, JBL LSR308 Monitors,  
Ozone 5,  Studio One 4.1
ISRC Registered
Member of Nashville based R.O.P.E. Assn.
#6
batsbrew
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Re: MotherBoard recommendation for 8th Gen i5/i7 CPU? 2018/03/02 15:22:56 (permalink)
fireberd
I don't think a low end $69 motherboard (the linked MSI) is what the user is looking for.
 


like is said,
works like a charm for me.
 
4k graphics, which i do not need..
no gaming here.
 
just a good on cpu graphics, you can always spend more just to spend more.

Bats Brew music Streaming
Bats Brew albums:
"Trouble"
"Stay"
"The Time is Magic"
--
Sonar 6 PE>Bandlab Cakewalk>Studio One 3.5>RME BFP>i7-7700 3.6GHz>MSI B250M>G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 16GB>Samsung 960 EVO m.2ssd>W 10 Pro
 
#7
batsbrew
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Re: MotherBoard recommendation for 8th Gen i5/i7 CPU? 2018/03/02 15:26:20 (permalink)
i had originally requested a Gigabyte GA-Z270XP-SLI ATX LGA1151, 
and the builder i hired to put it together for me,
brought the msi card to my attention...
we dig into the stats,
and afer all was said and done,
decided that spending any more for what i needed was just wasting money.
 
the build in total:
Intel Core i7-7700 3.6GHz Quad-Core
MSI B250M
Seasonic SSR-450FM
G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 16GB(2x8)
Samsung 960 EVO 250 GB
Western Digital Mainstream 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM
Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit
Asus DVD-RW
Antec P100
Asus PCE-N15
 
this thing is lightning fast, 
and to date, solid as a rock.
time will tell,
but it feels like a really dialed in build.
 

Bats Brew music Streaming
Bats Brew albums:
"Trouble"
"Stay"
"The Time is Magic"
--
Sonar 6 PE>Bandlab Cakewalk>Studio One 3.5>RME BFP>i7-7700 3.6GHz>MSI B250M>G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 16GB>Samsung 960 EVO m.2ssd>W 10 Pro
 
#8
haydn12
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Re: MotherBoard recommendation for 8th Gen i5/i7 CPU? 2018/03/03 02:36:24 (permalink)
I have the ASRock Z370 Pro4 motherboard.  Built it up about 3 months ago with Core i7 8700K processor.  So far it has been solid with no crashes. 
 
Jim
#9
fret_man
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Re: MotherBoard recommendation for 8th Gen i5/i7 CPU? 2018/03/03 02:53:51 (permalink)
+1 to ASRock. Very impressed.
#10
cecelius2
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Re: MotherBoard recommendation for 8th Gen i5/i7 CPU? 2018/03/03 04:11:38 (permalink)
I appreciate all the responses.  I have not decided yet which MB to get, but you all are helping me think through this.  I will definitely research more and figure out which one has the features that I will need. 
 
I definitely want one that will have the option for a M.2 bootable PCIe but one where the M.2 does not take away one of the SATA 6 ports; not all boards have these options or they require additon add on cards to make it work.
 
I have come to believe that getting the best possible MB is as important as the CPU.
 
My local Frys is just sold out of Intel MBs right now, but Newegg does stock a growing variety of Z370 boards and has helpful reviews.
 
Again, thanks for all the advice and discussion.
 
C2




#11
mettelus
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Re: MotherBoard recommendation for 8th Gen i5/i7 CPU? 2018/03/03 05:27:31 (permalink)
Since you mentioned the SATA ports, another thing to consider is the case itself. I didn't put much thought into that part and got a case that is literally wide open in the MB area (top section), and has the liquid cooler along the front panel area (at the expense of NO drive bays up top). The bottom section is enclosed so a cooler rupture cannot get the drives or P/S (upside), but that bottom enclosure can only fit two 3.5"drives (or 4 SSDs) in it. The case is smaller than my old one, but set up much better for cooling at the expense of drive bays. If I want to use all 6 SATA connections (I am only using 2 + an NVMe M.2 OS drive), I would need another case.

ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero (Wi-Fi AC), i7-8700k, 16GB RAM, GTX-1070Ti, Win 10 Pro, Saffire PRO 24 DSP, A-300 PRO, plus numerous gadgets and gizmos that make or manipulate sound in some way.
#12
cecelius2
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Re: MotherBoard recommendation for 8th Gen i5/i7 CPU? 2018/03/03 08:21:57 (permalink)
I have a very big case (5 x 5.25 and 5x 3.5 slots). 
What I am now realizing is that I do NOT want to have the m.2 in pcie to take awy sata ports, but I don't care if it steals from any of the PCIe3.0x16 lanes.  I really don't need the PCI3 3.0x16 because I am not running big GUI cards.  I will just use the onboard GUI on the CPU chip.  I have read that there are some MBs that borrow the lanes from the PCIe3.0x16 and not from the SATA ports.  However, most of the MBs seem to take away one or even 2 of the Sata ports.  
 
I run 5 Sata HDs and want to keep them.  So finding a MB that will have M.2 in pcie mode that will NOT steal away any of the SATA ports is most important.   
 
The problem is that the ASUS and ASRock websites do not always make it perfectly clear where the m.2 steals from.  Even downloading the pdf manuals does not always make it clear if the m.2 borrows/steals the SATA or the PCI3 lanes.
 
I would even get a more expensive MB with extra PCIe3.0x16 slots, because I would not need them for anything other than using the m.2 to take their lanes.
 
Still, thanks for all the help.  The more I read, the more confusing it gets, but also the more I am learning about these new z370 MBs.
 
Thanks again for all the help.
C2
 
[[EDIT:  I just realized that I would be able to add a  SIIG M.2 NGFF SSD PCIe Card Adapter in one of the PCIe slots which would allow the use of the M.2 M key pcie card.  This would add the M.2 without taking away any SATA lanes.  Now I can focus more on a Z390 MB with the best overall stability and other features.  Thanks again for the help you guys have given;  You really do help so much! ]]
post edited by cecelius2 - 2018/03/04 16:12:28




#13
mudgel
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Re: MotherBoard recommendation for 8th Gen i5/i7 CPU? 2018/03/06 11:18:42 (permalink)
I’ve just finished my build based on an ASUS Z370-A with and i8700k.

Mike V. (MUDGEL)

STUDIO: Win 10 Pro x64, SPlat & CbB x64,
PC: ASUS Z370-A, INTEL i7 8700k, 32GIG DDR4 2400, OC 4.7Ghz.
Storage: 7 TB SATA III, 750GiG SSD & Samsung 500 Gig 960 EVO NVMe M.2.
Monitors: Adam A7X, JBL 10” Sub.
Audio I/O & DSP Server: DIGIGRID IOS & IOX.
Screen: Raven MTi + 43" HD 4K TV Monitor.
Keyboard Controller: Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol S88.
#14
mettelus
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Re: MotherBoard recommendation for 8th Gen i5/i7 CPU? 2018/03/06 14:52:04 (permalink) ☄ Helpfulby cecelius2 2018/03/08 21:36:35
This is a good starting point for the Z370 comparisons (17 MBs compared to the same test). If you click on the comparison tab, it opens this link (if you like the eye chart version). The benchmarks are all the way at the bottom.
 
I got the updated ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero (Wi-FI AC) when I built mine, but that one is not listed here. Many of the parameters are very close across all boards, so do not get distracted by details as much as the high level features available.
 
Another side note is my board shipped with the stock BIOS, which has had two updates since release. The new BIOS benched 10% above listed values after installation with no overclocking (I have since bumped it up to 39% but didn't re-evaluate it yet).

ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero (Wi-Fi AC), i7-8700k, 16GB RAM, GTX-1070Ti, Win 10 Pro, Saffire PRO 24 DSP, A-300 PRO, plus numerous gadgets and gizmos that make or manipulate sound in some way.
#15
cecelius2
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Re: MotherBoard recommendation for 8th Gen i5/i7 CPU? 2018/03/08 21:39:51 (permalink)
mettelus
This is a good starting point for the Z370 comparisons (17 MBs compared to the same test). If you click on the comparison tab, it opens this link (if you like the eye chart version). The benchmarks are all the way at the bottom.
 
I got the updated ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero (Wi-FI AC) when I built mine, but that one is not listed here. Many of the parameters are very close across all boards, so do not get distracted by details as much as the high level features available.
 
Another side note is my board shipped with the stock BIOS, which has had two updates since release. The new BIOS benched 10% above listed values after installation with no overclocking (I have since bumped it up to 39% but didn't re-evaluate it yet).


Thanks for this.  I had not seen this benchmark comparison.  The second link is also very helpful by showing all the details in a side-by-side "chart".  
 
Everyone has been very helpful.  Thanks again for all the help.
 
C2




#16
patm300e
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Re: MotherBoard recommendation for 8th Gen i5/i7 CPU? 2018/03/09 20:28:27 (permalink)
Just put a build together for my nephew using this one:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132855
 
VERY easy build.  The Noctura cooler works GREAT! and is silent.  He also got a Fractal Design case that had VERY quiet fans.  In the end his i7 8700 with 16GB RAM is quieter than my studio box (AND A LOT FASTER!)
 
These motherboards are very well laid out and easy to make a nice install.  The fractal case is nice because the wiring is run below the motherboard.
 
The ONLY drawback with his entire system was that the case did not have a 5 1/4" slot for the Blu-ray drive.
 
Here is the case:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352070&ignorebbr=1
 
 
Here is the cooler (it is Large, but EASY to install!)
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608045
 
BTW, the second fan is optional!!!  You only need the one between the coolers.  That is all we used.
 

SPLAT on a Home built i3 16 GB RAM 64-bit Windows 10 Home Premium 120GB SSD (OS) 2TB Data Drive.  Behringer XR-18 USB 2.0 Interface. FaderPort control.
#17
fireberd
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Re: MotherBoard recommendation for 8th Gen i5/i7 CPU? 2018/03/10 18:05:50 (permalink)
My build is an ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero.  I tried the Noctua cooler but its big and my CPU temps idled around 40C.  I replaced the Noctua with a Deepcool Captain 120EX liquid cooler and the temps dropped to around 31/32C and it was as quiet as the Noctua.  I'm using a "BeQuiet" case that has room for two CD/DVD drives and it too is quiet. 

"GCSG Productions"
Franklin D-10 Pedal Steel Guitar (primary instrument). Nashville Telecaster, Bass, etc. 
ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero M/B, i7 6700K CPU, 16GB Ram, SSD and conventional hard drives, Win 10 Pro and Win 10 Pro Insider Pre-Release
Sonar Platinum/CbB. MOTU 896MK3 Hybrid, Tranzport, X-Touch, JBL LSR308 Monitors,  
Ozone 5,  Studio One 4.1
ISRC Registered
Member of Nashville based R.O.P.E. Assn.
#18
kitekrazy1
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Re: MotherBoard recommendation for 8th Gen i5/i7 CPU? 2018/03/11 16:27:22 (permalink)
I've used Asus, Gigabyte, AsRock, and Intel.  Never had an issue with any of them.  I still have my socket A stuff in a closet. I never spend over $150 on a board since I don't need a lot of bells and whistles. 

Sonar Platinum, W7 Pro 32GB Ram, Intel i7 4790, AsRock Z97 Pro 4,  NVidia 750ti, AP2496
 
Sonar Platinum, W7 Pro, 16GB Ram, AMD FX 6300, Gigabyte GA 970 -UD3 P, nVidia 9800GT, Guitar Port, Terratec EWX 2496
#19
batsbrew
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Re: MotherBoard recommendation for 8th Gen i5/i7 CPU? 2018/03/12 15:21:41 (permalink)
my MSI B250M is still rockin', a month into the new build.

Bats Brew music Streaming
Bats Brew albums:
"Trouble"
"Stay"
"The Time is Magic"
--
Sonar 6 PE>Bandlab Cakewalk>Studio One 3.5>RME BFP>i7-7700 3.6GHz>MSI B250M>G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 16GB>Samsung 960 EVO m.2ssd>W 10 Pro
 
#20
patm300e
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Re: MotherBoard recommendation for 8th Gen i5/i7 CPU? 2018/03/13 16:31:37 (permalink)
fireberd
My build is an ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero.  I tried the Noctua cooler but its big and my CPU temps idled around 40C.  I replaced the Noctua with a Deepcool Captain 120EX liquid cooler and the temps dropped to around 31/32C and it was as quiet as the Noctua.  I'm using a "BeQuiet" case that has room for two CD/DVD drives and it too is quiet. 


The Noctura is HUGE.  We did not use the second fan.  It was hovering in at <40C when I left it.  Sufficient, but definitely not as good as water cooled.  My old water cooler (Corsair) was actually louder than the Noctura fan!
 
Not familiar with BeQuiet Cases, I have been using Antec Sonatas.  Very well built, but today I like trhe Fractal Design better because of the cable routing.
 
 

SPLAT on a Home built i3 16 GB RAM 64-bit Windows 10 Home Premium 120GB SSD (OS) 2TB Data Drive.  Behringer XR-18 USB 2.0 Interface. FaderPort control.
#21
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