Time for a motherboard upgrade?

[AirbusGuy1207 1]

I currently have the following specs on my PC:

 

Motherboard: AsRock H97M Pro4

CPU: Intel i5-4690K overclocked to 4.4 GHz

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master 120V Seidon

GPU: Gigabyte GTX960 Windforce 2X 2GB

RAM: PNY DDR3 16GB (4 x 4GB) @ 1333 MHz

PSU: Corsair TX750

 

I recently purchased two sets of G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 RAM @ 2133 MHz. But I found out that my current motherboard only supports RAM clock speeds up to 1600 MHz. So I did some research and found a decently priced motherboard, which is the MSI Z97 PC Mate for $79.99 on Newegg.

 

The question now is that should I keep the AsRock H97M Pro4 and try to overclock the RAM through the BIOS, or should I buy the MSI Z97 PC Mate and have the additional benefits?

 

Thanks in advance.

[PWJT8D 446]

My opinion would be to stick with the motherboard you have. Have you tried using the new ram in your existing motherboard? If it still boots, the motherboard will just down clock the ram to 1600 and then from there you can try an overclock. I don't think the MSI motherboard is much of an upgrade over your current ASRock. You'll lose two USB 3.0 slots. Personally I've never had to install a different motherboard into an already functioning computer, but I have read that if you do so, you will have to do a clean install of your OS. So keep that in mind.

[stans 703]

I agree, try the new RAM on your current motherboard, see if it works.

[scottb613 1,188]

Hi Folks,

 

Yeah - do mobos really make a significant difference in performance - as long as thy have all the required interfaces - sockets ???

 

Regards,

Scott

[AirbusGuy1207 1]

My opinion would be to stick with the motherboard you have. Have you tried using the new ram in your existing motherboard? If it still boots, the motherboard will just down clock the ram to 1600 and then from there you can try an overclock. I don't think the MSI motherboard is much of an upgrade over your current ASRock. You'll lose two USB 3.0 slots. Personally I've never had to install a different motherboard into an already functioning computer, but I have read that if you do so, you will have to do a clean install of your OS. So keep that in mind.

 

 

I agree, try the new RAM on your current motherboard, see if it works.

 

The RAM came in earlier this week and it works perfectly with the H97M Pro4. However, the BIOS had no settings for changing the RAM clock speeds, and I have heard that a Z97 chipset is better for overclocking in general? Plus, I changed motherboards when I switched from an AMD CPU to the i5-4690K, and I only had to do a reinstall of my OS, not a full clean installation.

[PWJT8D 446]

The RAM came in earlier this week and it works perfectly with the H97M Pro4. However, the BIOS had no settings for changing the RAM clock speeds, and I have heard that a Z97 chipset is better for overclocking in general? Plus, I changed motherboards when I switched from an AMD CPU to the i5-4690K, and I only had to do a reinstall of my OS, not a full clean installation.

If you go look at your current motherboard at newegg and look under the settings at Memory Standard, it just lists 1600/1333/1066 as available RAM clock speeds. But if you go look at the MSI Z97 PC Mate and look under that same setting, it lists a whole bunch of other clock speeds with an (*OC). So any clock speed that has a * next to it is an overclockable speed that the motherboard supports. Your current motherboard does not support overclocking of memory however that MSI does. You can also see without overclocking memory, it supports the same base clock settings of 1600/1333/1066 as your Rock.