Asus B85 Pro Gamer mobo

[fraz]

Hi,

Lots of likes on here for Z97 - Asus have a B85 chipset which is socket 1150 the same as Z97 but a little cut down compared to Z97 for example there will be a slower RAM speed that is supported and overclocking is dropped. Would this work as well as Z97? - I've not tried this yet but msybe someone will just happen to know this? -Hopefully!

[jksuperstar]

I think for these processors, the RAM is connected to the CPU, not the chipset. There are also several PCIe lanes/slots available from the CPU, intended for graphics, but I use a z97 board with xite on those lanes. The chipset handles SATA, most PCIe and PCI, plus USB and all the other hardware controls. But check the real B85 specs. I'd think z97 boards would be pretty cheap these days, unless you already own something. I say that, since B95 is intended for super.low coast boards, meaning the rest of the components would not be decent quality, and suspect for lifespan.

[fraz]

https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/B85PRO_GAMER/

Yes there is something I already own.

The B85 PRO GAMER Asus - It was a popular board with a very good rating and is closely related to the Z97 Pro Gamer or H97 Pro Gamer and most certainly socket 1150 the same as Z97. B85 Pro Gamer has 3 PCI slots and it takes a little to see the differences between B85 and Z97.

Intended use for this board is PCI Creamware / Sonic Core but at a push it could work on Xite-1 [if it would work] - It's intended as a backup computer if the Asus P5Q stops working!!!

With all the talk of what will and what won't work Z97 1150 comes out as a favourite here. Another regular here mentioned chipsets as being problematic but the B85 Pro Gamer is a little older [not old old].

It's integrated graphics being HD xxxx supports 20 PCI-e lanes for PCI-e 2 - Not that I'm an expert on that.

Due to PCI being phazed out and is now obselete it's still available so it's deceptive because people can still shop for Z97 or similar motherboards but this won't last much longer.

As I've got PCI cards over 2 systems that have been kept [diligently] and collected i need to be sure I've got PCI slots available for the older PCI cards - I reckon B85 would work on Xite-1 but it's meant for PCI cards due to PCI slots. It looks like the B85 Pro Gamer is a very good budget board that isn't that cheap as it was around £100 which some may think is budget but not me - Budget is around £30-£40!!!