- Joined
- Mar 6, 2011
- Messages
- 171
- Motherboard
- Gigabyte Z170X-UD5 TH
- CPU
- Core i5 6600K @ stock
- Graphics
- Gigabyte GTX670 Windforce 3 OC
- Mobile Phone
Hi guys,
I'm not good at hacking and I don't want to pull the little hair I have left with troubleshooting for days or even weeks, so I'd like a trouble-free motherboard. I'll stick with Gigabyte Ultra Durable series, as I've had quite a few since 2008, without any of them breaking down. I only have one computer, so reliability's crucial.
So, I'm a music lover and I'd want a future-proof Skylake rig with fine audio features, such as:
• ALC1150
• SPDIF/out for my receiver (I only listen to ALAC files)
• "Amped-Up audio" for my headphone (an AKG K712Pro).
Note that all Z170X-UD sth are marketed as such, but the latter implementation differs. The Z170X-UD5 TH features a Muses op-amp, for instance, and that may be the reason why it stands out, according to Tweaktown's Rightmark review. Distortion and noise are much lower than the UD3 and well worth the price premium, IMO.
Sadly, I've read the 22-page thread (!) about the Z170X-UD5 TH, and though Tonymacx86 himself owns one, a lot of regular folks have troubles with it. Plus, the USB Type C ports are not only useless for now, but since they're Thunderbolt 3 ports they may never be supported by Apple. Always expecting to be disappointed with Apple's hardware is a good policy, in my experience, and the reason why I went into the hackintosh scene, in the first place.
Note that the Z170X-UD5 (non-TH model) isn't available in Europe—I'm French. It's whether UD3, whether UD5 Th.
As for the rest, my expectations are very ordinary : I just want it to sleep, wake up (with audio and display) and shutdown properly. And be able to use my current GTX670. I'm not using an NVMe SSD, just two standard SSDs, one for OSX, one for Windows 8.1.
PS : If you wonder why I'm not just buying a good USB sound card, well I considered an Audio-GD amp-DAC for a while, but it costs about 400€, and I can't afford that kind of money right now.
All inputs are welcome. Thanks for reading me.
I'm not good at hacking and I don't want to pull the little hair I have left with troubleshooting for days or even weeks, so I'd like a trouble-free motherboard. I'll stick with Gigabyte Ultra Durable series, as I've had quite a few since 2008, without any of them breaking down. I only have one computer, so reliability's crucial.
So, I'm a music lover and I'd want a future-proof Skylake rig with fine audio features, such as:
• ALC1150
• SPDIF/out for my receiver (I only listen to ALAC files)
• "Amped-Up audio" for my headphone (an AKG K712Pro).
Note that all Z170X-UD sth are marketed as such, but the latter implementation differs. The Z170X-UD5 TH features a Muses op-amp, for instance, and that may be the reason why it stands out, according to Tweaktown's Rightmark review. Distortion and noise are much lower than the UD3 and well worth the price premium, IMO.
Sadly, I've read the 22-page thread (!) about the Z170X-UD5 TH, and though Tonymacx86 himself owns one, a lot of regular folks have troubles with it. Plus, the USB Type C ports are not only useless for now, but since they're Thunderbolt 3 ports they may never be supported by Apple. Always expecting to be disappointed with Apple's hardware is a good policy, in my experience, and the reason why I went into the hackintosh scene, in the first place.
Note that the Z170X-UD5 (non-TH model) isn't available in Europe—I'm French. It's whether UD3, whether UD5 Th.
As for the rest, my expectations are very ordinary : I just want it to sleep, wake up (with audio and display) and shutdown properly. And be able to use my current GTX670. I'm not using an NVMe SSD, just two standard SSDs, one for OSX, one for Windows 8.1.
PS : If you wonder why I'm not just buying a good USB sound card, well I considered an Audio-GD amp-DAC for a while, but it costs about 400€, and I can't afford that kind of money right now.
All inputs are welcome. Thanks for reading me.