DPete27 wrote:A Z-series board is required to operate RAM at higher speeds than the Intel posted limit. You don't need to have a "high end" Z-series board to do this, even the lowest end models can run >DDR4-3200.
I've no need for any great performance. While I wouldn't be a hardware enthusiast if I didn't have something faster than the average persons computer, desktop parts are so fast I don't have any reason to go for the more expensive stuff.
I haven't picked out the components list, but chances are it'll be a G4560, RX 460 and 8GB or 16GB of memory.
I was looking at DDR4-2666 or DDR4-3000 because it was a cheap upgrade that I could feel smug about in a few years time when everyone was demanding fast memory. If it's the only reason I'm buying a motherboard more expensive than anything else in the system then it becomes something I've just thrown money at and no fun at all.
I guess I'm trying to build the best possible 'good enough' system. A money no object budget build.
Vhalidictes wrote:4) Measurements! Being off a few cm won't ruin a MicroATX build, it will halt a Mini-ITX one.
I'd be buying the smallest possible MicroATX case if I went that route so I'll be in for those issues whatever I choose. Ideally I'm after a shrunken version of the SG10 layout with the big fans reduced in size a little to slim the width down to ~15cm (as the GD04 manages) but I haven't found it yet. The paucity of decent small MicroATX cases is one of the reasons I'm giving Mini-ITX a look.
I'm not interested in external boxes like DACs and USB sound cards, to me they defeat the point of a small form factor system. It's PCI-E or onboard. The conclusion for #1 seem to be to look for isolation.
For #2 the antenna connections seem to be built into the motherboard back-plate so I presume they're fixed for life. I wondered what impact they'd have if I wanted to switched out a AC1200 card for an AC1750 card, or buy a card that supported 60Hz 802.11ad.
I seem to be getting mixed answers to the #3 question of whether B150/B250/H170/H270 support running DDR4-2666 or DDR4-3000 at it's full speed.