UD5H vs P8Z77-V

[tom982]

Hi guys,

A mate of mine is looking at building a gaming PC and wanted me to help him plan it but I'm stuck for choice on the mobo. Would you recommend a Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H or a ASUS P8Z77-V PRO? I have the ASUS in my PC so I might be a little biased here so I wanted to hear a few other opinions

Asus P8Z77-V PRO Z77 Socket 1155 8 Channel HD Audio.. | Ebuyer.com

Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H Socket 1155 VGA DVI HDMI.. | Ebuyer.com

Thanks!

Tom

 

[kbrady1979]

Any other components that you can give us? Just out of the two, I'd go with the Asus -V Pro without knowing the other parts of the system.

 

[essenbe]

Disclaimer: I am partial to Asus over Gigabyte. That being said, I would go with the Asus board. The Asus is cheaper and appears to have more useful features than the Gigabyte. The one thing I like about the Asus, is the dual bios. While they are mot real dual bios, they are 2 bios chips. The have helped me and saved me a lot of times. Also, the Asus does not use the Marvell controller, but ASmedia instead. I have ASMedia and have no issues with it. I had several problems with Marvell. As best I can tell from the description, your Mate could run 3 way SLI on the Asus, but not on the Gigabyte. I don't know how it comes out, but the Asus mentions PCIe 3.0 16 slots, and there is no mention of PCIe 3.0 on the Gigabyte other than to say the 1 slot will run PCIe 2.0 with a Sandy Bridge CPU installed. It makes no mention of what it runs with Ivy Bridge installed.

I think with these things in mind, and a couple more, I would go with the Asus, for sure.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Any other components that you can give us? Just out of the two, I'd go with the Asus -V Pro without knowing the other parts of the system.

+1 I have the 'straight" -V and cannot speak highly enough of it.

To get a good look at both try YouTubes

 

[tom982]

Sure, here's the build so far.

Mobo ASUS P8Z77-V PRO
CPU Intel i5-3570k
RAM Ballistix Tactical LP 16GB
Graphics Gigabyte RadeonHD 7870
Storage Samsung 840 120GB
Case Coolermaster CM690 II Lite
PSU Coolermaster GX 650W PSU
Monitor LG IPS237L-BN
Keyboard
Cooler Enermax ETS-T40-TB

The case and PSU are part of a bundle and are only temporary for now because I'm not too keen on putting a CM PSU in it.

Thank you all so much for the recommendations. I love my P8Z77-V as well so it's nice to know I'm not alone I will go for the ASUS.

Tom

 

[fireberd]

I have the Gigabyte GAZ77 UD5H motherboard. Its been running flawlessly since August when it was built. I have an i7 3770 CPU and 16GB of RAM. I don't use mine for gaming, its used for my recording studio PC (with Sonar X2 software) and recording programs can be demanding.

I also have another system with an ASRock Z77 Professional Fatl1ty, but I've had nothing but problems with it (I'm on my second board and its failing) and wouldn't recommend this, even though its supposed to be a gaming board.

 

[kbrady1979]

That's why I always recommend either Asus, Gigabyte, or MSI.......I know several people have had success with the "high-end" boards from ASRock, but I don't think they are quite there yet. I think either board will be just fine, my preference would be the Asus though. As far as support goes though, I think Asus and Gigabyte are equally crappy in that area.

 

[essenbe]

Kelly, I have an Asrock Extreme 4 P67 board. I bought it as soon as the famous B3 debacle of Intel. It has been a fantastic board and is still running in my other rig. While they do still have some issues, I do think they pretty much have the 1155 chipset down pretty well. I had another Asrock board the worked very well, and would not be afraid to buy another. But, like you, I prefer Asus. I still think Asus makes the best boards, but they do seem to be slipping a little. I had to RMA my Maximus V Extreme, twice for them to get it right. But, so far it is running great. But, I would have to say, that should not be necessary for Asus top of the line board.

 

[fireberd]

My ASRock Z77 Professional Fatl1ty board has UEFI BIOS but I can't install Win 7 or Win 8 under UEFI (it fails at the first reboot during the Win 8 install and cannot be repaired). However, its working OK with Win 7 (initially) and now Win 8, with an MBR formatted hard drive.

 

[kbrady1979]

Kelly, I have an Asrock Extreme 4 P67 board. I bought it as soon as the famous B3 debacle of Intel. It has been a fantastic board and is still running in my other rig. While they do still have some issues, I do think they pretty much have the 1155 chipset down pretty well. I had another Asrock board the worked very well, and would not be afraid to buy another. But, like you, I prefer Asus. I still think Asus makes the best boards, but they do seem to be slipping a little. I had to RMA my Maximus V Extreme, twice for them to get it right. But, so far it is running great. But, I would have to say, that should not be necessary for Asus top of the line board.

Yes, to me it sounds like Asrock has a handful of boards that are solid, but I can't recommend them completely because of all of the problems they have with their mid-low end boards. If they continue to do as well as they have in the past, I expect some good things from them.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Sure, here's the build so far.

Mobo ASUS P8Z77-V PRO
CPU Intel i5-3570k
RAM Ballistix Tactical LP 16GB
Graphics Gigabyte RadeonHD 7870
Storage Samsung 840 120GB
Case Coolermaster CM690 II Lite
PSU Coolermaster GX 650W PSU
Monitor LG IPS237L-BN
Keyboard
Cooler Enermax ETS-T40-TB

The case and PSU are part of a bundle and are only temporary for now because I'm not too keen on putting a CM PSU in it.

Thank you all so much for the recommendations. I love my P8Z77-V as well so it's nice to know I'm not alone I will go for the ASUS.

Tom

Hum Tom mate I would stick with the HX 650 or go the 750 - I have the 650 in my Sandy Bridge (Coolermaster Centurion II) and it is a real nice PSU and if possible the case if you can go the HAF XM is going to knock spots off the 890 for space and the number of fans that that you can fit mine has 1 x200mm front 2x 200mm top and 2 x 140 mm - side and 1 x 140 mm back and just makes t so quiet to operate. But it is your budget mate but from past experience I always wished afterwards I had gone the extra mile with the gear (especially the case) when building the Sandy.

 

[kbrady1979]

Buy once, cry once.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Buy once, cry once.

He he and regret forever LOL!!

 

[kbrady1979]

Buy once, cry once.

He he and regret forever LOL!!

LOL! I tell you what I regret.......stupid mistakes that cause me headache, time, or money. I learned a long time ago that 99% of the time, cutting corners will end up catching back up with you. With the amount of parts these computer parts manufacturers put out, and all the bells and whistles they have on them, it's a wonder any of them work! That is why I would rather spend the money on a high-quality part.......it's always a gamble, at least then I gave myself the best odds.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Buy once, cry once.

He he and regret forever LOL!!

LOL! I tell you what I regret.......stupid mistakes that cause me headache, time, or money. I learned a long time ago that 99% of the time, cutting corners will end up catching back up with you. With the amount of parts these computer parts manufacturers put out, and all the bells and whistles they have on them, it's a wonder any of them work! That is why I would rather spend the money on a high-quality part.......it's always a gamble, at least then I gave myself the best odds.

LOL!! me too Kelly early on in my working life I got re pedantic about how I did things (plumbing at the time) it turned me into a real OCD fanatic.
At home I once installed an inbuilt wardrobe with double doors that I made to fit as the house is very old and out of square and plumb. After fixing it in I ruminated for a few days and then had to take it all back out and re install it using all screws instead of nails and some screws.
So making the mistake with the Sandy bridge build (my first build) I was not sure on sizes, dimensions and specs so went with what I thought was a reasonable sized case and CPU etc etc only to find I had short changed myself for just those few extra dollars

 

[essenbe]

Buy once, cry once.

He he and regret forever LOL!!

LOL! I tell you what I regret.......stupid mistakes that cause me headache, time, or money. I learned a long time ago that 99% of the time, cutting corners will end up catching back up with you. With the amount of parts these computer parts manufacturers put out, and all the bells and whistles they have on them, it's a wonder any of them work! That is why I would rather spend the money on a high-quality part.......it's always a gamble, at least then I gave myself the best odds.

Kelly, I'm much like you thinking that cutting corners ends up costing you in the end. I am much older than you, so I can assure you I have screwed up many more times to learn my lesson. But, something else I'm not quite sure of. I bought this expensive top of the line ROG board assuming that if you buy their top of the line, they would take more care to make sure everything is right. Well, after 2 RMA's and an advanced RMA, I'm not so sure. I'm at the point right now, that the more bells and whistles you get, the more things that can go wrong. What aggravates me most, is the first RMA, they took the board out of the box I sent it in, put it in another box and sent it back to me. Nothing more, and I can prove it. After calling them and telling them if that's the way they treat customers of their top rated product, Gigabyte would appreciate my money (yes, I know, but it sounded good at the time) Since then, I have received good service from them, but the trick is to call them on the phone. The email support is crap, if you ever get a response. So, now I have a board that someone else RMA'd, but, at the moment is running OK. It has it's quirks, but runs fairly well. Meanwhile, my $150 Asrock board is still going without a single problem. I've almost come to the conclusion that it does not matter. Just close your eyes and pick one. It's all a matter of luck whether you get one that works or not. I can't tell you how many times I've asked if these manufacturers ever use the products they sell us. In most industries, you could not stay in business doing business the way these guys do it. But, since they are all the same, it really almost does not matter. To end this much too long post, I really have no idea what type board to pick. Buy a high priced board with all the bells and whistles or the cheapest you can find, so you are not risking much money. And trust me, I read user ratings like a hawk.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

I read those rates but pay particular attention to the posters use of English spelling and overall knowledge. There are an awful lot of idiot loose cannons out there......IMHO ! People who post like it was a phone text message are immediately discounted.

 

[kbrady1979]

Any company who has made more than 1 of something, has made a bad one. You hope when you spend a chunk of money on a component that it was handcrafted by Swiss watchmakers......in reality, it is made in a factory with a man/machine hybrid component. Components are made on Mondays, Fridays, before lunch break, and after lunch break........when the worker is having a good day, and a bad day. Then is has to make it through the shipping process! Honestly, I'm amazed that any kind of computer hardware works at all!

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Any company who has made more than 1 of something, has made a bad one. You hope when you spend a chunk of money on a component that it was handcrafted by Swiss watchmakers......in reality, it is made in a factory with a man/machine hybrid component. Components are made on Mondays, Fridays, before lunch break, and after lunch break........when the worker is having a good day, and a bad day. Then is has to make it through the shipping process! Honestly, I'm amazed that any kind of computer hardware works at all!

I am with you KB especially re that recent member who took apart an i5 3570K that was probably a bad hair day or a Friday job

I am also with essenbe doing exactly the same by buying what I think is a good buy only to find it is a lemon and I mean years of cars, fridges, TV's, metal detectors - whatever it is really down to what you pay is what you get and in general the more you pay the more you get but nothing and no one is perfect and never will be. Just think of that when you roll up to my ER door and see me not looking very benevolent LOL!!

 

[tom982]

Thanks again for all of your input guys, what would I do without you!

Hum Tom mate I would stick with the HX 650 or go the 750 - I have the 650 in my Sandy Bridge (Coolermaster Centurion II) and it is a real nice PSU and if possible the case if you can go the HAF XM is going to knock spots off the 890 for space and the number of fans that that you can fit mine has 1 x200mm front 2x 200mm top and 2 x 140 mm - side and 1 x 140 mm back and just makes t so quiet to operate. But it is your budget mate but from past experience I always wished afterwards I had gone the extra mile with the gear (especially the case) when building the Sandy.

Thanks for the recommendations This build is for a mate so I'll have a few words and see what we can do about the budget. I know exactly what you mean about going the extra mile - I've been kicking myself for not getting a modular PSU in my Desktop here. Just to confirm, you did mean the HX650, as in the Corsair HX650? G is right next to H so I'd rather ask than be unsure.

Tom