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Question

Please explain expensive motherboards to me.

Jan 30, 2015 11:33AM PST

I know about sockets and chipsets on motherboards, also about stuff like USB 3.0 and SATA 3 and maximum RAM speed supported.
However, as an amateur gamer, i am having a hard time understanding what exactly we get when we pay for an expensive motherboard.

I compare a motherboard of a 130 euros to a motherboard of a 250 euros, and to a motherboard of 400 euros (all are gigabyte/asus with intel z97 with 1150 socket) - and i can barely find noticeable difference in the technical spec comparison.

Yea the expensive motherboards look fancy, they have a better sound chip or network chip, and perhaps have more PCIe ports for multiple GPUs - but to me as an amateur gamer pretty much all of those features are borderline unnecessary.

Am i missing something else, some hidden features worth paying almost quadruple the cost?
What do we exactly get when we pick a 400+ euro motherboard instead of a 130 euro one (both from same company and chipset/socket)?
Thank you for helping me out Happy

Discussion is locked

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Answer
What was that about sound?
Jan 30, 2015 11:18PM PST
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Answer
The whole enchilada
Jan 31, 2015 1:42AM PST

Cheaper mtrbds. may not have all the h/w parts like cables for all the ports, only basic or none at all. That is to include the bulkhead plate/cover, s/w bundle or even the manual. as mtrbds. get expensive you'll find possibility that the printed manual is present and any s/w is more than basics to include anti-virus or trail ware demos, etc.. Also, any so-called better cooling may be part of the better mtrbd. which can be "tube-cooled" and/or from overall design is better tested or rather than 1-in-1000 tested, 1-10 is tested, part of the manufacturing process. The more handling by people or the involved process and also actual better quality components can increase costs. Components can be "military grade" or top 10% of tested devices and name brand, etc.. It all adds-up.

tada -----Willy Happy

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Answer
You should be able to figure it out...
Jan 31, 2015 10:14AM PST

start with of features....quality of components...better capacitors, more CPU sockets, more DIMM sockets, RAM capacity support, PCIe Slots at 16x, MB component cooling, better sound chip, more USB 3.0 ports, more SATA III and eSATA ports, pretested MBs, Thunderbolt ports, more than 1 gigabit ethernet port, RAID support, warranty, etc., etc., etc.,

All MBs generally perform the same function ....the question is which ones you want, how many of the features do you need, what can you afford, how long you plan to keep it and what are you willing to spend ?

I want the features I need and plan to use with quality, reliability and speed....and I've always done that under $200. Remember technology changes fairly quickly and most enthusiasts don't want to get too far behind.

VAPCMD