How Should I Chose?

[Carl DaBeast]

I am planing on getting a gaming computer and I am stuck at finding a mother board and CPU. Should I first choose the motherboard that I want and find a fitting CPU or find a CPU I want and find a fitting motherboard? Is there anything I should look out for when choosing a motherboard (beside max RAM, number of RAM slots, and form factor)? What mother board would you guys recommend?

 

Sincerely,

Carl, DaBeast.

[Comessy]

What is your budget for the CPU and motherboard?

[DarkBlade2117]

What CPU do you want and what's the budget? Most people in the mid end level get a nice i5 usually the 4690k but more budget users get a 4460. One thing. If it's overclock able get a z97 if it's a locked cou get a h97

[OAcesync]

Budget and purpose

[Carl DaBeast]

So if I get a Intel core i5 4690k and I want a motherboard that will last a while then what should I get? Is there something specific that makes one better for gaming? (I am making a gaming computer) Also is it better to get a high end graphics card or two mid tier graphics cards?

[Guest]

So if I get a Intel core i5 4690k and I want a motherboard that will last a while then what should I get? Is there something specific that makes one better for gaming? (I am making a gaming computer) Also is it better to get a high end graphics card or two mid tier graphics cards?

Motherboards don't make a difference in gaming performance. Let me give you a rundown of how to identify a compatible motherboard:

 

1) The socket number e.g. 1150,1155 etc.:

This is the main deciding factor as to whether you CPU will physically fit and thus be compatible with your motherboard. For example, 4th gen Intel Core processors require 1150 sockets, so motherboards with 1150 sockets will be compatible with them.

 

2) The chipset number e.g. 77,87,97 etc:

These tell you which Intel chipset the motherboard is rocking. The chipset handles stuff like SATA, PCI lanes etc. Every year, Intel updates the chipset to support more features e.g SATA Express etc.

 

3) The letter e.g. Z, H etc:

The letter brings or deducts features. For example, on the H series motherboards, you cannot overclock, but on the Z series motherboard, you can.

 

Now first you should always pick your processor. Once you have done that, you should then pick your motherboard according to your processor. Since you picked a 4th gen processor, you should go with a motherboard with an 1150 socket. Then you should pick whether you want to go with a 87 series motherboard or 97 series motherboard since they both have the 1150 socket but different chipsets and thus different technologies (e.g. SATA Express is only available in 97 series motherboard). Then you decide the letter, and in your case you should go with a Z series motherboard so that you are able to overclock your CPU, else you won't be.

 

Now, as for your graphics card question: A single more powerful GPU is always better than two less powerful ones. This is because the combined power of two less powerful graphics card is solely dependent on whether there are proper SLI/Crossfire drivers, and more importantly, if your game even supports SLI. Many games do not support SLI/Crossfire, so you will only get the graphics horsepower of one single card (the other card will be sitting there doing nothing). And if your game even does, remember that dual GPU setups do not scale perfectly, so you won't be getting a 2x performance, but rather around  1.5x performance. Moreover, dual GPU setups can also introduce stuttering, cause more power draw than a single (and more efficient) card etc. So single more powerful GPU should be your way to go.

 

Hope this helps.

[SauronsV]

Motherboards don't make a difference in gaming performance. Let me give you a rundown of how to identify a compatible motherboard:

 

1) The socket number e.g. 1150,1155 etc.:

This is the main deciding factor as to whether you CPU will physically fit and thus be compatible with your motherboard. For example, 4th gen Intel Core processors require 1150 sockets, so motherboards with 1150 sockets will be compatible with them.

 

2) The chipset number e.g. 77,87,97 etc:

These tell you which Intel chipset the motherboard is rocking. The chipset handles stuff like SATA, PCI lanes etc. Every year, Intel updates the chipset to support more features e.g SATA Express etc.

 

3) The letter e.g. Z, H etc:

The letter brings or deducts features. For example, on the H series motherboards, you cannot overclock, but on the Z series motherboard, you can.

 

Now first you should always pick your processor. Once you have done that, you should then pick your motherboard according to your processor. Since you picked a 4th gen processor, you should go with a motherboard with an 1150 socket. Then you should pick whether you want to go with a 87 series motherboard or 97 series motherboard since they both have the 1150 socket but different chipsets and thus different technologies (e.g. SATA Express is only available in 97 series motherboard). Then you decide the letter, and in your case you should go with a Z series motherboard so that you are able to overclock your CPU, else you won't be.

 

Now, as for your graphics card question: A single more powerful GPU is always better than two less powerful ones. This is because the combined power of two less powerful graphics card is solely dependent on whether there are proper SLI/Crossfire drivers, and more importantly, if your game even supports SLI. Many games do not support SLI/Crossfire, so you will only get the graphics horsepower of one single card (the other card will be sitting there doing nothing). And if your game even does, remember that dual GPU setups do not scale perfectly, so you won't be getting a 2x performance, but rather around  1.5x performance. Moreover, dual GPU setups can also introduce stuttering, cause more power draw than a single (and more efficient) card etc. So single more powerful GPU should be your way to go.

 

Hope this helps.

This is sums is up very well