Motherboard to match with 10600k

[Pappa_G_27]

Hey guys,

Upgrading my existing i5 7500 and H270 motherboard (matched with a gtx 1080). Getting CPU limited especially on games like ACC.

Going to go down the i5 10600k path, but wondering what motherboard to match it with. I don't plan to do any major overclocking, and i've mainly been an ASUS motherboard fan as they have never let me down in the past. Just wondering if it is worth going for something higher up in the range, like a ROG Strix, or just go for the base z490-p model. I'm also open to swtiching to something like MSI or Gigabyte, and have found a good deal on an MSI Tomahawk z490 which is tempting

So far my shortlist going from bottom to top in price is;
ASUS z490-p $255AUD
MSI Tomahwak z490 $340 AUD
ASUS Rog STRIX z490-h $369 AUD

Any advice on whether its worth spending the extra on the MOBO for that CPU, or the base ASUS will do me fine?

 

[Neilski]

I haven't yet checked out Z490 boards but might do so myself soon.
However, I'm down on Asus right now for two reasons:
Firstly, my Z170 board (Z170-A) didn't like running XMP mode with some 3200 DDR4 I dropped into it several months ago. Asus replied with "you should run RAM that's in the compatibility list" and I said "yeah but it's not for sale any more"; they weren't much more help after that but said they'd look into it. Basically, at least two voltages (SA and IO) were being set realllllly high for those DIMMs in XMP mode and I was getting serious issues with audio (crackling) and some USB niggles too. I tried to manually tweak the voltages while I awaited a BIOS update (that will never come) but the problems didn't go away so I'm currently running the damn things at 2133
More recently, my son's Asus laptop (probably just barely out of warranty) had two screws drop out of it. I told him "get the service manual, find the screw dimensions, and we'll order some". He failed to find a service manual. I discovered that Asus is one of a minority of hardware companies that refuse to supply service manuals for their kit. Not a happy bunny! Every laptop my family have ever owned has been stripped down at least once for some reason or other during its life (mainly spills! ). For Asus to make this harder than it needs to be - very naff!
So, gonna have a hard look at MSI, Gigabyte, etc...

 

[Jeremy Ford]

Generally, the reason you go for more expensive MB's is that it has additional features you need, which may include enhanced overclocking features. If overclocking isn't a priority then a cheaper MB is just fine if it ticks all the other boxes for you.

I never get the cheapest board or the most expensive one, I look for ones priced in the middle of the pack.

 

[Vintagedriver01]

I can only advice you what I did when buying my new system, go to youtube and check out the Z490 motherboard comparison by
GamerNexus https://m.youtube.com/user/GamersNexus/videos
Hardware Unboxed https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCI8iQa1hv7oV_Z8D35vVuSg

 

[RasmusP]

My 10600k is running at 4.9 ghz since June now on a gigabyte z490 gaming x.
My best mate has a z390 gaming x with a 9600k.

Gigabyte has probably the best vrm out there, nice passive cooling and what was important for me as a simracer:
2 usb 2.0 ports at the back and instead of the new fancy USB c front panel connector: another set of USB 2.0 for front panels.

Also: its cheap! I've paid 142€ for it.

Depending on your case and sim racing gear, you might like the idea of having USB 2.0. There are lots of stories about fanatec wheels doing weird stuff on usb 3.0 for example...

Also, the gigabyte gaming x has 8 USB slots in total, not just 6, which are all used when I plug in:
1. Mouse, 2. Keyboard, 3. Oculus headset, 4.+5. Oculus sensors, 6. Shifter, 7. Pedals, 8. Wheel.
Actually I have pedals in the wheel and the wheel into the USB 2.0 front panel.
At the rear I have a long extension to the living room for Xbox game pad and also a Bluetooth audio dongle plugged in.

I run 2x 8gb g.skill aegis 3200 cl16 via xmp profile at 3466 mhz on auto timings (gives about 2 fps in acc, which just keeps it above 90 fps vor vr).

No issues so far!

BIOS is a bit ugly but I don't really care. It's easy to navigate via keyboard, which I like.
You can also select favorite lines from the bios to show on the first page.
Like vcore, power limit, hyperthreading and overclock frequency.
Overclocking was easy and I didn't notice any high voltages when comparing to stock settings or to the definitely default voltages from oc guides.

What I like:
Adaptive vcore, which only lowers or raises the boost vcore, not the whole range.
So you get dynamic, yet kinda precisely tuned in vcore behavior without issues on idle clockspeeds.

At this vcore setting, the power limit setting works (it doesn't when using fixes vcore).
I don't have the best case for cooling but since acc only maxes out 1-2 cores at once (while needing 5 to run the best), gaming only draws about 60-80 watts.
I have my cpu limited to 100w. So when rendering a video, the cpu will clock down to 4.1-4.6 ghz and won't overheat.

I'm sure Asus has nice boards and I definitely like their bios's better!
But paying a lot more for no performance?...
With fewer usb slots or paying even more on top just for that?
No thanks this time!

A few things at the end:
- msi is considered to be good for memory Overclocking, which might give quite a nice boost for sim racing depending on the sim.
- the gigabyte gaming x has no USB C front panel connector
- Asus has the nicest bios

 

[Pappa_G_27]

Thanks for the assistance guys. I actually went with something that originally wasnt on my initial shortlist, the gigabyte z490 aorus elite. I found a good deal on it, cheaper than the msi and closer to the bottom end Asus board. Found a few decent reviews so should be good, and the extra USB slots sold me. Looking forward to putting the new build together

 

[RasmusP]

Thanks for the assistance guys. I actually went with something that originally wasnt on my initial shortlist, the gigabyte z490 aorus elite. I found a good deal on it, cheaper than the msi and closer to the bottom end Asus board. Found a few decent reviews so should be good, and the extra USB slots sold me. Looking forward to putting the new build together

Nice board! I was tempted to get it too but it was 198€ compared to the 142€ for the gaming x.

If you need any bios settings just tag me or pm me. Once dialed in the basics, finding the sweetspot is fairly simple vcore VS turbo clockspeed.
The gigabyte bios can be a bit confusing though...

Jfyi my 10600k runs 4.8 GHz at 1.24v, 4.9 GHz at 1.31v and 5.0 GHz only at 1.35v and that wasn't really stable... Didn't test any higher...

As you can see 4.8 is the sweetspot. Got a new case with better airflow now so I went for 4.9 GHz. Every little bit counts for simracing

Btw avx offset will somehow always trigger every few seconds although I'm only idling in windows.
I have it at 1 to not get any instabilities. Meaning the clocks are fluctuating between 4.8 and 4.9 GHz.
If you wonder why your cpu isn't steady at max boost: avx offset!