Gaming / Performance / Overclocking Mobo

[cantbprince]

This will be mostly used for gaming but would like something with lots of options. I'm thinking intel (they seem to be ahead in the game) however i'd be open to AMD if the price/performance ratio is high.

Let me know what you guys suggest. It would also be nice if they board had a fairly big following (such as DFI has DIY-STREET community)


Thanks.

 

[zerocool84]

E8400 $164.99
or
E5200 $82.99
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3L $84.99 AR
G.SKILL 2x2GB $39.99

You didn't say what price limit you had so kind of hard to just pick anything. Also what rez you're going to be playing at and what games you play or are going to play. The E8400 is the best price/performance cpu for duals without overclocking. The E5200 is good cus it's cheap and you can overclock the hell out of it if you want to save some money. The GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3L is a great mobo that overclocks well and is inexpensive. You'll also need some new ram so I threw that in there for ya as well.

Since you said your comp is for gaming, if you have enough money, the least you could go is a 9800GT $94.99AR or maybe even better since your 7950 GX2 is pretty ancient now. There ya go....a whole new system lol.

 

[Billb2]

Originally posted by: cantbprince
This will be mostly used for gaming but would like something with lots of options.

Is that options like a lot of HDDs, 8 Gigs of memory, onboard sound, onboard video, built in lan, etc., or do you mean overclocking options in the BIOS?

If you mean overclocking options, get ready for a hard time. Lots of options means that a lot of things have to be set correctly to overclock successfully.

The interwebs are filled with nOObs posting "I started up my new build and all I see is a blank screen, what should I do?".

 

[cantbprince]

Originally posted by: zerocool84
E8400 $164.99
or
E5200 $82.99
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3L $84.99 AR
G.SKILL 2x2GB $39.99

You didn't say what price limit you had so kind of hard to just pick anything. Also what rez you're going to be playing at and what games you play or are going to play. The E8400 is the best price/performance cpu for duals without overclocking. The E5200 is good cus it's cheap and you can overclock the hell out of it if you want to save some money. The GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3L is a great mobo that overclocks well and is inexpensive. You'll also need some new ram so I threw that in there for ya as well.

Since you said your comp is for gaming, if you have enough money, the least you could go is a 9800GT $94.99AR or maybe even better since your 7950 GX2 is pretty ancient now. There ya go....a whole new system lol.

I don't want to skimp on the motherboard since it's the most important piece of the whole operation. It will determine all the components i can add on down the line.

I'd probably go for more ram...(or at least just 1 stick of 4gb if thats possible).
Quad core is a must!

Video card ....im leaning towards the 260 lower end one... depending on cost.

 

[cantbprince]

Originally posted by: Billb2

Originally posted by: cantbprince
This will be mostly used for gaming but would like something with lots of options.

Is that options like a lot of HDDs, 8 Gigs of memory, onboard sound, onboard video, built in lan, etc., or do you mean overclocking options in the BIOS?

If you mean overclocking options, get ready for a hard time. Lots of options means that a lot of things have to be set correctly to overclock successfully.

The interwebs are filled with nOObs posting "I started up my new build and all I see is a blank screen, what should I do?".

By lots of option i meant on board options (hardware configuration and bios). I dont need on board video since it's always crap.

I have a dfi board and there are tons of settings i had to research before i could get it in a stable mode. that's why i would like something fairly popular with a large community so there plenty of ppl to support me .

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: cantbprince

Originally posted by: zerocool84
E8400 $164.99
or
E5200 $82.99
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3L $84.99 AR
G.SKILL 2x2GB $39.99

You didn't say what price limit you had so kind of hard to just pick anything. Also what rez you're going to be playing at and what games you play or are going to play. The E8400 is the best price/performance cpu for duals without overclocking. The E5200 is good cus it's cheap and you can overclock the hell out of it if you want to save some money. The GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3L is a great mobo that overclocks well and is inexpensive. You'll also need some new ram so I threw that in there for ya as well.

Since you said your comp is for gaming, if you have enough money, the least you could go is a 9800GT $94.99AR or maybe even better since your 7950 GX2 is pretty ancient now. There ya go....a whole new system lol.

I don't want to skimp on the motherboard since it's the most important piece of the whole operation. It will determine all the components i can add on down the line.

I'd probably go for more ram...(or at least just 1 stick of 4gb if thats possible).
Quad core is a must!

Video card ....im leaning towards the 260 lower end one... depending on cost.

Do you ever plan on going SLI down the road? What's your price limit?

There's a MSI GTX260 for $199.99

If you want popular go something like Gigabyte or Asus as that is what many people have here. You can also go EVGA or DFI but it depends if you are going SLI and how much you want to spend cus no reason to buy one of those boards if you aren't ever going to take advantage of all it's features to warrant the higher cost.

 

[cantbprince]

I don't think SLI is worth it. Im not going to spend money on another card right now. And later on i will probably just want to upgrade as opposed to buying another card. Even know to 7950 gx2 wouldn't be as good as a single newer card.

I'm thinking EVGA for the video card because they have the lifetime warranty. I've had good experience with them. Originally started out with a 7800gt and had a replacement. thats how i got a 7950.

 

[MTDEW]

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128359
Or
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128358

I purchased the UD3P even though im running a Nvidia GTX 280.
Thats just in case Nvidia Physx takes off and i think its worth it to add an 8800GT for Nvidia PhysX.

Gigabyte EP45-UD3P Review
http://www.firingsquad.com/har...abye_ep45-ud3p_review/