Which motherboard would you recommend for a Skylake build and why

[thenelleh]

Hello everyone,

So, i am currently in the process of purchasing parts for my upcoming Late December (2016) build. Listed down below are the motherboards that I have been struggling to choose from. I would like a motherboard that has the best support for Mac OS and that is also highly recommended by the community, that way I won't have to struggle as much searching for solutions for my motherboard. If you know of any other motherboards that have great support, please feel free to share. Thanks
PS: I have chosen motherboards based on Gigabyte and USB 3 header support, currently I have chosen Gigabyte's UD3

Gigabyte GA-Z170X-UD3
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 5
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 3
Gigabyte GA-Z170XP-SLI
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-GAMING 6

 

[kiiroaka]

Which of those mobos have Intel NICs? Which of those mobos have 4 RAM slots? Which of those mobos do NOT have PCI slots? Those, to start.

Upon that basis I would choose the Gigabyte GA-Z170X-UD3.

Then I compare the memory qualification lists to see what memory sizes and speeds each mobo can take and compare prices of the RAM. Lastly I would read all the reviews for each mobo, starting with the negative reviews, to see what type of problems I am likely to encounter, discounting the obvious (?) operator induced errors. [For example, the RAM slots are labeled 1-3-2-4 instead of 1-2-3-4, so chances are you will not install the RAM sticks correctly for dual channel. See http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128840 Then there's the problem with the mounting holes not matching up.... ]

Others look for the audio codec and if they support m.2 SATA and NVME, for example.

 

[DrBEN]

Go to the following site: http://www.gigabyte.us/products/comparison/main.aspx?ck=2
Then click on "intel Z170" in the lefthand column.
Out of the 30 motherboards show, select the ones in your list and click "Compare now".

You can then see all the specs for each board. Most of the specs will be identical for all the boards. I printed out a similar list and then highlighted the differences. Based on what you want or need, choose a board. All the boards in your short list are also listed in the Tonymacx86 Buyer's Guide for August 2016.

Since you have already chosen a very good GPU, the onboard graphics for each board can be ignored.

Unless you have unusual needs, for example, extreme gaming on a dual-boot with Windows or want to use a window case with lots of flashing LEDs inside, you probably don't need a gaming motherboard.

For my build, mostly desktop publishing and photo editing, no overclocking, no dual-boot (I'm using Windows virtualization on MacOS) and no gaming but running X-Plane flight simulation on the Mac, I chose GA-Z170X-UD3.

There is a very useful installation guide on tonymacx86 for that board running El Capitan 10.11.6:
http://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/guide-el-capitan-on-the-ga-z170x-ud3.180618/