Z170 Asus Maximus Hero Alpha vs Gigabyte Gaming GT: USB 3.1/Sata Express throughput

Forums › Desktop computing › Z170 Asus Maximus Hero Alpha vs Gigabyte Gaming GT: USB 3.1/Sata Express throughput

Batman

Mad Scientist
20907 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

# 204758 16-Oct-2016 09:37

Hi I am stuck between the Asus and the GIgabyte - could anyone offer any help to separate them ...

1. The Asus has a single USB C/A/3.1 vs GT has 2 - one for A one for C. Does that matter much?
2. The Asus apparently has a single Sata Express vs the GT has 3. Does that matter much to you?
3. Apparently the Asus is more reliable at OC-ing after searching all the comparisons (between the older Hero no alpha, and the Gaming 7 both are very similar) ... could that be possible?

Thanks for any help.

Involuntary autocorrect in operation on mobile device. Apologies in advance.

Jase2985

8873 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

# 1651856 16-Oct-2016 11:02

1. the question is what devices do you have that would plug into them?

2. the question is does it matter much to you? how many sata express devices do you have?

3. will you actually be overclocking it? and if you are will you be pushing the limits of it? if not it doesnt matter that much.

PANiCnz

676 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 1651861 16-Oct-2016 11:25

2 people support this post

SATA Express is a dead/dying standard. The world has moved on. I wouldn't based any buying decisions on how many SATA express ports a motherboard has.

If you have a need for high speed storage then PCIe/NVMe is the way of the future. I'd be more concern as to how many M2 slots a board has rather than SATA express.

Batman

Mad Scientist
20907 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

# 1651864 16-Oct-2016 12:01

Ok thanks.

Involuntary autocorrect in operation on mobile device. Apologies in advance.

Batman

Mad Scientist
20907 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

# 1651865 16-Oct-2016 12:02

Not sure how many usb As and Cs will appear in the next 3 years. Maybe not so important then i guess

Involuntary autocorrect in operation on mobile device. Apologies in advance.

Lias

3872 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

# 1651873 16-Oct-2016 12:22

I'd also consider Asus to be better brand than Gigabyte, although others may disagree.

Information wants to be free. The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it.

JaseNZ

1468 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

# 1651884 16-Oct-2016 12:30

I would go for the Gigabyte , 3 x M2 slots are handy and as mentioned the way of the future.

Edit : Sorry misread the specs , regardless PCIe NVMe M2 is still the way to go though.

Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding : Ice cream man , Ice cream man

Batman

Mad Scientist
20907 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

# 1651895 16-Oct-2016 12:51

Ok I'll compare m2 slots when i get back

Involuntary autocorrect in operation on mobile device. Apologies in advance.

Batman

Mad Scientist
20907 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

# 1652001 16-Oct-2016 18:17

Thanks looks like they both have the same 1x USB C 3.1 1x USB A 3.1 across the board. SO that's a dead heat.

Asus has 1x M.2/2xU.2, Gigabyte has 2x M.2 no U.2 but has Thunderbolt.

What gives?

Involuntary autocorrect in operation on mobile device. Apologies in advance.

Jase2985

8873 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

# 1652018 16-Oct-2016 19:03

the manufacture makes a decision on how they want to allocate the PCI lanes and thats the way they wanted to go.

darylblake

976 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

# 1652056 16-Oct-2016 20:55

If your concerned about SATA speed, just get M.2 Drives. You really are comparing two very similar products there is not much difference at all.... TBH.

Yeh I guess if you like the USB port configuration of one over the other then yeh go for whatever.

TBH I have had ASUS board and Gigabyte boards in the past... no problems with either of them.. I currently got a gigabyte board and I am quite happy with it.