Mobo advice: ga-h170n-wifi or ga-z170n-gaming5

[zhigarev]

Hi! I am going to build mini-itx hackintosh and stuck with two options:
1. Consumer setup with ga-h170n-wifi with i7 6700 - obviously no overclocking features.
2. Entusiast setup with ga-z170n-gaming5 with i7 6700k - higher processor speed from the box and OC capabilities.

For me the only difference is overclocking options. Or am I missing something? In overall cost it is huge difference for the budget considering future changes.

I already have gtx1060 6gb graphics - impulse purchased, so now I wait for drivers, but at first I am going to use gtx750ti

So my questions is:
1. Is it worth to buy OC-capable mobo and cpu? Or is it waist of money as soon as hackintosh will be unstable when overclocked?
2. I am going to change mb when thunderbolt-enabled one will be available in mini-itx format. So price-wise will z170 cost something more than h170 on aftermarket?

What do you think?

 

[nobodynose]

Hi! I am going to build mini-itx hackintosh and stuck with two options:
1. Consumer setup with ga-h170n-wifi with i7 6700 - obviously no overclocking features.
2. Entusiast setup with ga-z170n-gaming5 with i7 6700k - higher processor speed from the box and OC capabilities.

For me the only difference is overclocking options. Or am I missing something? In overall cost it is huge difference for the budget considering future changes.

I already have gtx1060 6gb graphics - impulse purchased, so now I wait for drivers, but at first I am going to use gtx750ti

So my questions is:
1. Is it worth to buy OC-capable mobo and cpu? Or is it waist of money as soon as hackintosh will be unstable when overclocked?
2. I am going to change mb when thunderbolt-enabled one will be available in mini-itx format. So price-wise will z170 cost something more than h170 on aftermarket?

What do you think?

If it helps, here's a side-by-side comparison: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/comparison/list.aspx?ck=2&pids=5552,5529.

Besides the difference in overclocking features, the GA-H170N-Wifi has arguably better ethernet (2x Intel vs. 1x Atheros Killer) and 2x HDMI ports (vs. 1), while the GA-Z170N-Gaming 5 has USB 3.1 (vs. USB 3.0). Given that you're planning to sell it on as soon as you can get a Thunderbolt board to replace it I think the H170N-Wifi is the better option.

 

[zhigarev]

If it helps, here's a side-by-side comparison: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/comparison/list.aspx?ck=2&pids=5552,5529.

Besides the difference in overclocking features, the GA-H170N-Wifi has arguably better ethernet (2x Intel vs. 1x Atheros Killer) and 2x HDMI ports (vs. 1), while the GA-Z170N-Gaming 5 has USB 3.1 (vs. USB 3.0). Given that you're planning to sell it on as soon as you can get a Thunderbolt board to replace it I think the H170N-Wifi is the better option.

Thanx for reply! Now I am a bit more confused after I looked throgh the compare... Z170 supports faster memory modules. Dual hdmi and ethernet is not a point for me personally, but I see the reason with intel lan chip. And yet I still believe gigabyte will activate thunderbolt.

What is your opinion on ga-z170n-wifi? Seems it has all the features of z-chipset with dual lan and hdmi

 

[aztlan78]

Hello zhigarev, the only significant difference that I see on both boards is the Gaming 5 has a USB 3.1 Type A Gen 2 on it. I've built on both boards. I don't know if Gigabyte will activate Thunderbolt on any Mini-ITX board. I also was looking for a Mini-ITX board with Thunderbolt and read somewhere that the motherboard companies may wait until the 7th Generation Kaby Lake CPUs because it will have native support built in to the chip. This way MB companies do not have to spend extra for firmware and apply the TB Header on their MB and keep costs down. I wish I could find the article.

 

[zhigarev]

Hello zhigarev, the only significant difference that I see on both boards is the Gaming 5 has a USB 3.1 Type A Gen 2 on it. I've built on both boards. I don't know if Gigabyte will activate Thunderbolt on any Mini-ITX board. I also was looking for a Mini-ITX board with Thunderbolt and read somewhere that the motherboard companies may wait until the 7th Generation Kaby Lake CPUs because it will have native support built in to the chip. This way MB companies do not have to spend extra for firmware and apply the TB Header on their MB and keep costs down. I wish I could find the article.

So maybe I will need to change motherboard AND cpu? Wow, thats leading to not invest in i7 right now.