Choosing a motherboard

[Matimo]

I am planning on building a new computer and I have selected all of my parts besides the motherboard, which I am not sure on what to get. Being somewhat novice in the computer building department, I am unsure about what features I need and what some of them even are. Planning to use an AMD FX 8350, I understand that I need a motherboard with an AM3+ socket. All of my parts are yet to be purchased.

 

Unsure on what socket I need, I looked at motherboards which had a 990FX chipset as I heard that this is better for over clocking..? (Please excuse my naïvety) My budget is unfortunately small, at the lover end of £50-£100. There are a few specifications I require:

 

4 front panel USB headers as my case (Phanteks Ethnoo Pro) has 4 USB ports on the front. Ideally I would like 2 USB3.0 and 2 USB2.0 as that's what my case has although more than 1 front panel USB3.0 header is seemingly exclusive to higher end boards. I am happy to sacrifice 1 USB3.0 port by connecting it to a USB2.0 header with an adapter but at least 1 USB3.0 would be nice.

 

≥8 USB ports on the back panel. I would like at least 2 USB3.0 here although the rest can be 2.0 for mouse, keyboard, microphone, etc.

 

SATA 6.0

 

These things would be nice:

 

A SATA connection on the back panel

 

Mostly darker colours (this doesn't matter that much although having a windowed case it would be nice.)

 

Easy to use BIOS

 

Doing a bit of research myself I found 3 motherboards which I think would be appropriate, and I was wondering if you know a thing or two about motherboards, if you could tell me which of these is the best option, if there are any other options better than these, and what are chipsets?

 

• M5A97 R2.0 from ASUS
• GA-990FXA-UD3 (rev. 4.0) from Gigabyte
• 990FX Extreme4 from ASRock

 

Here is a parts list for my computer:

 

Motherboard: As yet undecided

 

CPU: AMD FX 8350

 

CPU Cooler: Enermax ETS-T40-TB 86.7 CFM

 

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB

 

GPU: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 4GB WINDFORCE

 

SSD: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 60GB

 

HD: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM

 

Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower

 

PSU: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply

 

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer

 

Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN881ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter

 

If you have any recommendations for other parts I am happy for feedback. Thanks for reading! 

 

EDIT: From reading other comments, it seems intel is still viable for a budget build. If so, would the gigabyte motherboard recommended by the poll still be the best option?

Edited August 21, 2014 by Matimo

[Askew]

I'd take the Gigabyte board, it looks the best, reputable OEM and has the full fat 990FX chipset.

[i_build_nanosuits]

Pick an intel CPU! AMD architecture is old and inneficient and won't perform nowhere near any intel i5 especialy for gaming.

For your GPU you should look at a radeon R9 290 4GB graphics card as it should cost about the same or less than the 770 4GB and will completely outperform it..

 

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1068?vs=1037

[Totally-A-Hero]

Pick an intel CPU! AMD architecture is old and inneficient and won't perform nowhere near any intel i5 especialy for gaming.

your bullshiting right? We all know that the 8350, while not as good as a i5, is still a great budget chip and suffecient for gaming.

[Totally-A-Hero]

Also instead of a 770 4gb, check out the R9 290's, most of them are around the same price and perform 15% better than the 770 4gb

[i_build_nanosuits]

your bullshiting right? We all know that the 8350, while not as good as a i5, is still a great budget chip and suffecient for gaming.

Problem is that with the pricing online ATM it's not worth it to go with the FX once you consider a motherboard capable of overclocking AND a CPU cooler...you'd better be going with a cheap i5 and H81 or B85 motherboard and call it a day...it performs better for gaming and even on budget the cost is virtualy the same, here an example...even a 4690K with a Z97 cost about the same:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor  ($174.29 @ Amazon)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($29.98 @ OutletPC)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($109.99 @ NCIX US)

Total: $314.26

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-21 16:08 EDT-0400

 

VERSUS:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($209.99 @ Amazon)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($29.98 @ OutletPC)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($86.87 @ Amazon)

Total: $326.84

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-21 16:13 EDT-0400

 

So what is best for budget system? knowing one massively outperform the other? ...AND the hyper 212 is good to cool the 4690K but not so much with the FX.

HERE, this is how dirt cheap a core i5 kit can be, keep in mind that this CPU even on stock still outperform the FX highly overclocked at pretty much anything BUT video rendering while consuming much less energy:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($174.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($44.38 @ Newegg)

Total: $219.37

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-21 16:16 EDT-0400

 

Also instead of a 770 4gb, check out the R9 290's, most of them are around the same price and perform 15% better than the 770 4gb

mentionned this already bro but you quoted too fast

[Matimo]

Also instead of a 770 4gb, check out the R9 290's, most of them are around the same price and perform 15% better than the 770 4gb

I am not confident about using the R9 290, I have researched this and I am worried about AMD claiming that it is safe for it to run at 95c. I may reconsider, do you know how often it would reach dangerous temps? Though the card can run at that high temperature maybe my motherboard could not. I would like a rig relevantly quiet also.

[Totally-A-Hero]

 

My bad, didnt know pricing had changed that drastically, been a while since ive been in the CPU game. These z97 boards have changed every thing

[i_build_nanosuits]

My bad, didnt know pricing had changed that drastically, been a while since ive been in the CPU game. These z97 boards have changed every thing

yes and the prices on intel chips are good ATM and AMD are about to slash prices but until then they are no longer worth it...

[Matimo]

Problem is that with the pricing online ATM it's not worth it to go with the FX once you consider a motherboard capable of overclocking AND a CPU cooler...you'd better be going with a cheap i5 and H81 or B85 motherboard and call it a day...it performs better for gaming and even on budget the cost is virtualy the same, here an example...even a 4690K with a Z97 cost about the same:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor  ($174.29 @ Amazon)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($29.98 @ OutletPC)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($109.99 @ NCIX US)

Total: $314.26

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-21 16:08 EDT-0400

 

VERSUS:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($209.99 @ Amazon)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($29.98 @ OutletPC)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($86.87 @ Amazon)

Total: $326.84

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-21 16:13 EDT-0400

 

So what is best for budget system? knowing one massively outperform the other? ...AND the hyper 212 is good to cool the 4690K but not so much with the FX.

HERE, this is how dirt cheap a core i5 kit can be, keep in mind that this CPU even on stock still outperform the FX highly overclocked at pretty much anything BUT video rendering while consuming much less energy:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($174.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($44.38 @ Newegg)

Total: $219.37

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-21 16:16 EDT-0400

 

mentionned this already bro but you quoted too fast

I never realised how similar it was in pricing! Hopefully ratios are similar enough for it to work like this in the UK but having an intel CPU would make me much more confident in over clocking, and even though it's half the cores and a lower stock clock speed doesn't matter that much any more, right?

[i_build_nanosuits]

I am not confident about using the R9 290, I have researched this and I am worried about AMD claiming that it is safe for it to run at 95c. I may reconsider, do you know how often it would reach dangerous temps? Though the card can run at that high temperature maybe my motherboard could not. I would like a rig relevantly quiet also.

the REFERENCE design cooler cards are running that hot, yes....but since most reviews of the 290 came out there as been many versions of the cards all with better coolers on it, such as the MSI twinfrozr or Sapphire Tri-X or even the gigabyte windforce or ASUS DirectCUII and what not...all those run's the card at very acceptable temps and noise levels now...it's a non issue don't worry!

[Totally-A-Hero]

I am not confident about using the R9 290, I have researched this and I am worried about AMD claiming that it is safe for it to run at 95c. I may reconsider, do you know how often it would reach dangerous temps? Though the card can run at that high temperature maybe my motherboard could not. I would like a rig relevantly quiet also.

Getting a reference R9 290 is a bad idea, it will run hot and be loud. The fact that they can withstand a higher heat is good, not gonna ghange much. Getting a non-reference design will keep temps low and noise down. Some good ones are any of sapphire, PCS+ (acctually the 2nd coolest to the Vapor-X from sapphire that is 60 USD more) and gygagbyte. Im looking at picking one of these up soon.

 

I currently have a AMD card (7870ghz) and have only one complaint. I had a software issue but it was resolved quickly with a clean wipe and reinstall.

 

There worth the price nad you wont regret grabbing one.

 

EDIT: HOW DID I FORGET MSI???? Msi cards are good to, probably the best of all of these (opinion)

[i_build_nanosuits]

I never realised how similar it was in pricing! Hopefully ratios are similar enough for it to work like this in the UK but having an intel CPU would make me much more confident in over clocking, and even though it's half the cores and a lower stock clock speed doesn't matter that much any more, right?

the ''cores'' on AMD are in fact ''half-cores'' they are 4 modules with only a floating point unit each...so they are not true ''8 cores'' chip...AND also (and mostly) the cores on AMD CPU are 50% slower than the intel ones at same clock speed...and this is what's important over all the other stats is the IPC (instructions per clock) or ''core efficiency'' and in that regards intel is years ahead nowadays.

[Matimo]

the ''cores'' on AMD are in fact ''half-cores'' they are 4 modules with only a floating point unit each...so they are not true ''8 cores'' chip...AND also (and mostly) the cores on AMD CPU are 50% slower than the intel ones at same clock speed...and this is what's important over all the other stats is the IPC (instructions per clock) or ''core efficiency'' and in that regards intel is years ahead nowadays.

 

 

Getting a reference R9 290 is a bad idea, it will run hot and be loud. The fact that they can withstand a higher heat is good, not gonna ghange much. Getting a non-reference design will keep temps low and noise down. Some good ones are any of sapphire, PCS+ (acctually the 2nd coolest to the Vapor-X from sapphire that is 60 USD more) and gygagbyte. Im looking at picking one of these up soon.

 

I currently have a AMD card (7870ghz) and have only one complaint. I had a software issue but it was resolved quickly with a clean wipe and reinstall.

 

There worth the price nad you wont regret grabbing one.

 

EDIT: HOW DID I FORGET MSI???? Msi cards are good to, probably the best of all of these (opinion)

 

 

the REFERENCE design cooler cards are running that hot, yes....but since most reviews of the 290 came out there as been many versions of the cards all with better coolers on it, such as the MSI twinfrozr or Sapphire Tri-X or even the gigabyte windforce or ASUS DirectCUII and what not...all those run's the card at very acceptable temps and noise levels now...it's a non issue don't worry!

Wow. Okay, this is quickly changing my mind. From what it seems, AMD had been lying to me about their processor and I have been missing out big time on intel processors, not realising that a lot of the extra cost is subsidised by the cost of the mother board. Now I understand why people aren't scarred to consider a 290 and I am considering one right now. Like I am going to use a GPU with a base clock speed more than the reference card, it now appears to me the same applied to AMD's. *DERP*

[i_build_nanosuits]

Wow. Okay, this is quickly changing my mind. From what it seems, AMD had been lying to me about their processor and I have been missing out big time on intel processors, not realising that a lot of the extra cost is subsidised by the cost of the mother board. Now I understand why people aren't scarred to consider a 290 and I am considering one right now. Like I am going to use a GPU with a base clock speed more than the reference card, it now appears to me the same applied to AMD's. *DERP*

indeed intel i5 CPU is faster out of the box so you don't have to overclock it AND it run's much cooler and uses less energy...it's all around more efficient.

And for GPU, nvidia is the more efficient there but the competitive models are priced much higher than the AMD counterparts making the later the obvious choice in most cases...so if you don't have a shield tablet or any particular reason to get an nvidia card ATM then you are much better with AMD for the GPU...the power consumption difference is somewhat negligeable when you consider the money you save that allow you to get a card that compete with the GTX 780 for much less $$ (R9 290)

 

Overall this is what i would recommend as the key parts for your system, this CPU won't overclock but you don't have to it performs flawlessy out of the box and this kit play all games maxed out at 1080P (i picked UK partpicker)

You can use intel stock CPU cooler with this CPU to help lower the cost of the system as well.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£142.98 @ Scan.co.uk)

Motherboard: MSI H97M-E35 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£55.13 @ CCL Computers)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  (£33.84 @ Amazon UK)

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 290 4GB TWIN FROZR Video Card  (£295.68 @ More Computers)

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  (£60.90 @ Scan.co.uk)

Total: £588.53

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-21 21:47 BST+0100

 

Add to that storage you need ( a 120GB or 240GB SSD would be nice along with a 1TB 7200RPM HDD) and a case you like and you've got yourself a killer gaming PC!

[Matimo]

Can the i5 4670k be over clocked? It has a base clock of 3.5GHz

 

I have £750 to burn so the gigabyte motherboard everyone was saying is probably a better option for me and I would like an i5 which could over clock.

[i_build_nanosuits]

Can the i5 4670k be over clocked? It has a base clock of 3.5GHz

yes it can, you'd need a Z87 or Z97 chipset motherboard to overclock it, if you could afford that along with a R9 290 it would be great, if not look at my previous post for a low cost high performance system.

The core i5-4590 that i've used boost itself up to 3.7GHZ and is plenty for any demanding games...really.

http://ark.intel.com/products/80815/Intel-Core-i5-4590-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_70-GHz

[Matimo]

yes it can, you'd need a Z87 or Z97 chipset motherboard to overclock it, if you could afford that along with a R9 290 it would be great, if not look at my previous post for a low cost high performance system.

The core i5-4590 that i've used boost itself up to 3.7GHZ and is plenty for any demanding games...really.

http://ark.intel.com/products/80815/Intel-Core-i5-4590-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_70-GHz

 

Honestly I have very little idea about how much power is needed for what but if I can safely over clock I see not why not. But then if I can save £50 then I would go for a non-overclockable chip anyway.

[i_build_nanosuits]

Honestly I have very little idea about how much power is needed for what but if I can safely over clock I see not why not. But then if I can save £50 then I would go for a non-overclockable chip anyway.

the choice is yours, i can only assure you that a CPU like the i5-4590 at stock clock speed will run any games you'd throw at it on maximum settings, it's mostly about the GPU and if you pick an R9 290 you are in for a hell of a ride!

[Matimo]

the choice is yours, i can only assure you that a CPU like the i5-4590 at stock clock speed will run any games you'd throw at it on maximum settings, it's mostly about the GPU and if you pick an R9 290 you are in for a hell of a ride!

 

Cool. Looks like I looked for a mother board to complete a build and walked away with a completely different rig! Let's not forget this one seems so much better, thanks people