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Motherboard Suggestions Please...

I

Izzeren

Weaksauce
Joined
Dec 7, 2005
Messages
106
My son is wanting to upgrade his machine and came to me for advice on a decent mobo and chip combo. It has been awhile since I have researched anything since I really only do that when I am upgrading my machine.

What we are looking for is something of good quality that will last hime awhile. He will not be overclocking or running duel video cards so it can be a micro-atx board as well if need be. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
what does your son plan to use the system for? also is your son an adult or kid since it could make a difference on expectations of performance. also is there a budget/price limit for this combo he has?
 
Sorry I should have put that info in the post but forgot. He will be using the game primarly for gaming and possibly some programming since he starts college this fall for computer science. As for budget right now he would like to stay as cheap as he can, but get good performance so that it will run todays games such as Rift and upcoming Star Wars MMO along with whatever else he decides he wants to play.

This will be his first time purchasing parts himself with his own money. Normally he gets my computer when I decide to get a new one but he wants something that is more current right now.
 
Well at this point if you want it to last you might as well go with 990 chipset like this one from ASUS

But I would definately wait till the 16th to see what is in the cards for the new CPU (Bulldozer)
 
well since its his money and hes a student you'll probably want to go with something that has some upgradability over the long run..

this is the board i'd suggest ASUS 990FX sabertooth
its a bit pricey but with the price you get a damn good overclocking motherboard and one that is already designed for bulldozer which will be coming out in aug/september. heres a couple reviews of the board. [H] pureOC
if budget is important the board speedyVV suggested is also a good one as well.
but i would stick with am3+ motherboards, it's not worth looking at standard am3 or am2+ boards anymore since they are considered dead sockets. AM3+ will be the future socket for the next 2-3 years with bulldozer when it comes out. but am3+ is backwards compatible with AM3 processors as well.

processors you have a crap ton of options. you can go with something like the athlon II x4 630 and overclock it to 3.5-3.6Ghz, or the phenom II x4 955 and overclock it to 4Ghz, or he can go with the x6 1055T/1090T(1090T is easier to overclock) which both can do 4-4.2Ghz. then he can wait for bulldozer to drop into his price range near the end of the year or next year and upgrade to that if the performance is what AMD is claiming.

those are just some idea's to push him in the right direction but he'll definitely want to do the research on his own. he will learn a ton more that way and figure out exactly what features he needs and wants.
 
I just put 2 systems together on newegg. One with a AMD990 setup, the other with a intel P67 w/2500k. The rest was the same equipment 8GB/6950. Both with Asus Sabertooth boards.The intel setup was exactly $50.00 more. I dont have experience with the performance of either of these setups but I would have to believe the SB would outperform the AMD. I'm thinking of going with the SB setup now.
 
Biostar TZ68 A+ motherboard $100, or ASrock equivalent, I3 2100 CPU about $125, 2x2 gb 1330 value ram starts at about $35 for the 4 gb, I might go $10 more for 1600.. , Samsung F3 1 TB or F4 1.5 or 2TB, Corsair CX-430, Antec NeoECO 520, XFX 450 OR 550.
Cases are personal preferance, Cooler Master Storm Scout, or Lian Li case. Carry straps.
Upgrade would be I5 2400 CPU, 4 gb more memory.
Video card HD 6850 or 6870 or GTX 460 or 560
A board that allows Crossfire and/or SLI at 8x8 might be worth while.
Check if his college offers software discounts.
I like the Viewsonic monitors (I have the 2350 ) ymmv/
 
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I'm usually an AMD guy, but for $50 more the Intel route is the way to go. You may want to wait until the 16th though to see what AMD's new BD architecture is going to offer. I would wait since it's so close now.
 
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