Z87 vs Z97

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JohnnyNr5
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Oct 27, 2014 11:27 am

Z87 vs Z97

Post by JohnnyNr5 » Mon Oct 27, 2014 11:52 am

I'm on the lookout for a new 1150 board. I need a mini-itx, and would like some of the more expensive features like wifi aso. For that reason i'm looking at Z87 and Z97 boards. At the same time i want the machine to be as efficient as possible. Lowest possible idle and overall consumption. I have a hard time finding enough reviews focusing on power draw/efficiency, but came across these two tests:

http://uk.hardware.info/reviews/4587/52 ... ch-115-max

http://uk.hardware.info/reviews/5385/49 ... ch-115-max

The tests are made on the same basic test platform, and should be comparable. I'm really surprised by how much more power the Z97 boards seem to draw.

Do you guys experience the same major increase in consumption?

Do any of you know of a good and well equipped board, that's efficient as well?

If not: Any super efficient 1150 mini-itx board, that would work well with my i5.4690T and a gfx? (must have pcie)

Abula
Posts: 3662
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:22 pm
Location: Guatemala

Re: Z87 vs Z97

Post by Abula » Wed Oct 29, 2014 5:42 pm

Welcome to SPCR.

On the Z87 vs Z97, i would go with Z97 mostly becuase there were some issues with Z87, more in line with USB3 that were later resolved with a new version, but also some Z87 boards have high latency, while seems the Z97 has been tweaked better and has lower overall latency.

For the most efficient.... hard to say, i personally have had very good results with Intel, but out of getting out of the motherboard buisness, i would recommend to go with AsRock. Why are you looking into Z97 with 4960T? look into H97 board, maybe something like ASRock H97M-ITX/ac LGA 1150 Intel H97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard, it should be the same for your use, also go with the standard 4690 none T, unless you do need the low profile cooler.

As a last recommendation, check Vicotnik HDPLEX H1-S and ASRock mini-ITX, he uses mainly mini itx asrock motherboards and has some very nice low power setups.

JohnnyNr5
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Oct 27, 2014 11:27 am

Re: Z87 vs Z97

Post by JohnnyNr5 » Fri Oct 31, 2014 5:25 am

Thanks for the welcome, and the comment Abula, Much appreciated:)

Why 4690T, eventhough most seem to recommend the regular versions: i wanted to see how close i could get to fanless operation, with a discrete gfx in a Cooler Master Elite 110. Felt i had to be sure the cpu wouldn't be to power hungry. Seems like no issue keeping it on a fanless cooler though. I bought the Zalman FX-70, and it keeps it at around 60-65 degrees celsius at max usage in the toughest games. usually it doesn't go above 55, and idles in the high 30's. Without the gfx i bet the temps would be really great.

Why Z-boards: I'm new to Intel, this is my first build. Guess i'm afraid of missing out. The major difference between H and Z-boards to me, is the option to oc memory. While i'm about to throw a set of Kingston LoVo (1.35V, 1600MHz) ram in the machine, i like to keep my options open. Most benchmarks don't tell the full story about ram speeds, and i can imagine wanting to experiment with it on a later date (when/if i get slightly bored with the stock setup;)

Asrock: I'm thinking along those lines as well. Atm i have a Asrock B85M-ITX running, but it's going back due to driver issues. It seems they didn't make sure Qualcomm would deliver drivers for the onboard lan. While it's supposed to be Windows 8 ready, it certainly isn't Windows 8.1 ready. I'm stuck at 100mbps, not 1giga. Furthermore i need to unplug and replug the ethernet cable, if the pc has been sleeping. Pathetic.

Data so far:

Intel i5 4690T
Asrock B85M-ITX
Geil Evo Corsa 2133MHZ, 2 x 4gb (running at 1600 cl8, 1,5V)
Sapphire R7 250 Ultimate (HD7750 with R7 250 branding)
Seasonic X-750

Idles around 30-32watts.
Max ingame i've seen, 96watts.

Plans:

Will replace the Seasonic with a Streacom NanoPSu, i take out of my HTPC when i replace the old FM1 board in there with a AM1 (asrock with 19V DC in)
Have ordered a Asrock Z97E-ITX/ac, will give it a try. I skipped the H97 you suggest, because the boards power supplu has a low number of phases.
Kingston LoVo from HTPC goes in this pc as well

It's gonna be interesting to see how low i can get the power consumption.

Now all i need is to figure how to get the gfx to run cooler than 80-84 degress celsius it's currently at, running heavy games. If i succeed with that, i'll have a fanless ok-gamer. Doubt it will happen though.

Thank you for the link. Love reading about builds. Super interesting.

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