$100 mobo

[Mishkin]

Hi all, first post here, although I've read quite a bit of stuff on the site over the last several years.

I'm building a new system, which is replacing my first build, a skt 939 Athlon 64 system I built 4-5 years ago.

I will be using this system for decent non-hardcore gaming, internet, and lots of media use. This is a budget build, and I have everything picked out, but I just can't decide on a mobo. At least for now, I'll be going with the Athlon 2 640, but I plan on dropping a 6-core in later on down the road. I don't ever plan to Crossfire. (lol especially since I'm a Nvidia fan) I also am not an overclocker, and don't plan on ever overclocking, even a tiny bit.

I'm in search of a $100 or less (MIRs don't count) AM3 motherboard that has to have these things:

* 880G chipset
* At least 5 usable Sata ports that won't be blocked by a GTX 460 1GB card. Using right-angle sata cables would be fine if I had to. Sata 2 is good enough, Sata 3 is merely an unneeded luxury.
* Onboard graphics, so the Radeon HD 4250. Built in sideport memory would be a nice bonus, but is not a must.
* At least 1 USB 3.0 port.
* At least 1 usable PCIE x 1 port.
* HDMI, DVI, D-sub
* Since I plan in replacing the Athlon 2 640 with a 125w 6-core, I would like to have the mobo support up to 140w, rather than 125w.
* Asus or Gigabyte only. Biostar seems to have a hatred of PCIE x 1 ports, Asrock is a little wishy-washy for me, and I wouldn't give an MSI mobo to my dog.
* Quality construction. A phase design better than 4+1 would be great.
* I would prefer an ATX board, but a nice mATX would be fine too.
* 8-pin power, rather than 4-pin.

I apologize for the long list of demands, but I've been going in circles researching a bunch of potential motherboard suitors for the last week or two, and I'd like some of your expert opinions. While I consider any of my other system components irrelevant to this post, if you would like me to post them, I will. The memory I choose could be highly dependant on my mobo selection, so that's not quite set in stone yet either. Thanks.

 

[stevech]

Onboard graphics + 6 core CPU seems like an odd mix.

 

[Mishkin]

I want onboard graphics for two reasons. The first is because I'll need it for a few weeks, until I buy my video card. The second is that I want it as a backup, just in case.

Regarding a 6-core cpu and onboard graphics being an odd mix, I don't think so at all. When I think gaming, I think of high clock-speed/overclocked quadcores. While 6-core processors certainly do fine gaming, I would think a lot of people that DON'T game would like to target them, for other uses, for things that can take advantage of all 6 cores even now. And for the vast majority of those other things, onboard graphics are easily sufficient. If anything, I would say those that opt for a 6-core cpu have a higher ratio of onboard graphics users compared to those that opt for a quad currently. Just because the hexacore is "better tech," doesn't automatically mean its weird to have onboard graphics. You have to take into consideration the uses of a processor/system and the potential target demographics as well.

 

[pitz]

Personally I'd tell you to go with the Asus P8H67-M (Evo if you want displayport) + a low-end Sandy Bridge CPU at this point. A few years of use at the reduced energy consumption will pay back the difference, and you have somewhat of a greater upgrade path.

I know it doesn't meet your AM3 spec, but, quite frankly, its quite questionable whether or not 2 years from now any of the current AM3 boards will be viable with the Bulldozers, and buying a board on the theory that it is upgradeable is rather foolish.

 

[Mishkin]

Personally I'd tell you to go with the Asus P8H67-M (Evo if you want displayport) + a low-end Sandy Bridge CPU at this point. A few years of use at the reduced energy consumption will pay back the difference, and you have somewhat of a greater upgrade path.

I know it doesn't meet your AM3 spec, but, quite frankly, its quite questionable whether or not 2 years from now any of the current AM3 boards will be viable with the Bulldozers, and buying a board on the theory that it is upgradeable is rather foolish.

Is anyone going to reply with anything even close to what I actually posted for? Your recommendations don't even have to be successful (in that I'm sold on them), I would simply be happy if the next poster actually stays in the ballpark of what my original post was about.

I'm going AMD AM3, that's not going to change. One reason for this (among quite a few reasons) is due to my budget. Your advice is to go Sandy Bridge because "a few years of use at the reduced energy consumption will pay back the difference?" I could care less. Do you know what the definition of a budget is? And I'm getting this system now, not in 5 weeks or in 6 months. Next you say it will be quite questionable whether or not 2 yrs from now any of the current AM3 boards will be viable with Bulldozer. I certainly hope not. If that is the case, I can get new components then and rock out on Bulldozer. If Bulldozer DOESN'T change the face of the world and make the heavens tremble, I can upgrade to a considerably better processor than the Athlon 2 640 at a very good price, while staying within AM3. Buying a board on the theory that it is upgradable is foolish? I know for a fact that the board I'm getting will be upgradable, and there will be fairly decent room to grow within AM3 if no new processors come out. Now if you mean I'm hoping the mobo I get will be compatible with Bulldozer (AM3+), YOU'RE the fool. I figure there's no chance in hell of THAT happening. If there are a select few AM3 boards that happen to be upwards-compatible, I'm sure mine won't be. Use your brain dude.

I'm starting to wonder if I picked the wrong forum to post in.

 

[pitz]

Okay, well, fair enough.... The Asus M4A88T-M (or its variants) will suit you just fine. A quick search shows most models under $100. The full 890GX boards are typically over $100, so they won't meet your spec.

Its all stable hardware. Runs great under Windows or Linux. And you can put your existing CPU on it.

 

[dawp]

If you have a microcenter near you, you could get get a bundle with a 1090t and an ASUS m4a89gtd pro/usb3 for $299 plus tax out the door. slightly better than what you're asking.

http://www.microcenter.com/specials/...ource=ACT_BYO&

I pick up 2 of these a couple of months ago.

there are other selections if $299 is too much

 

[Vette73]

Best I could find is this gigabyte for $109

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128444

 

[georgi984]

if you'r on budget, look at this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186168
but it's AMD 790GX not 880