Reeve of Shinra
Well-known member
My 1st custom build had an Asus, my current PC has an nvidia which came highly recommended. I will probably go back to Asus for my next build.
How longs do you anticipate running this machine before your next upgrade? Sounds like you ran the last one until the wheels came off. Ivy Bridge is 6 months out. Unless you're looking to upgrade your processor in half a year, forward compatibility doesn't matter much. Your next upgrade, if you run this one out to death, will be Skylake or beyond.
That looks like an attractive price for an i7. Is that the latest version of the iX line?I just got the i7-2600 for $279 free shipping. Unless you're going cheap like i3, I don't think it's worth it to get an i5 and then lose $100 or whatever it is on a resale if you want to trade up. Best of luck.
I really don't care. I want to go with a reputable company that looks promising, and won't go bankrupt in 5 years. I bought my motherboard somewhere in 2002. The manufacturer went bankrupt in 2009, so I could not reach any BIOS upgrades. Back in 2010, I was thinking about upgrading the BIOS until I saw the website go down. Diving deeper, I found out the company went bankrupt, this made me pretty un-easy.How much do want spend? Thats really the question for mb's.
You really should specify the price range you're looking for and any specific features unless you don't really use anything like SATA 3, onboard graphics, SLI/Crossfire, etc. and would just need a regular mobo.
$300 isn't an ideal price, but that's my budget. Anything over is pretty much overkill.Let us know how much you can or are willing to spend and we can help you from there.
Unless you have components that are reusable, you're not getting anything worthwhile for $300. You can barely squeeze in a decent upgrade with a $104 motherboardThe max I would go for would be somewhere around $300.
$300 isn't an ideal price, but that's my budget. Anything over is pretty much overkill.
- It would be nice to have some on-board graphics.
- SATA3 is a must, especially the next generation SSD's.
- SLI/Crossfire doesn't really interest me.
As per advice I gave in a similar thread to someone else, I'd get as cheap an i3 as you can go (it'll still no doubt be an improvement over your current cpu) and get the basics nailed.
SSD Boot / Apps drive (64gb is fine for this, you can always move your docs / music / pics off onto slower & bigger storage if you need to). Get a sold Mobo that you can upgrade to an i7 and get some decent ram.
Then save up over the next few months and upgrade the CPU later - its far easier to upgrade the CPU than replace the hard drive, which is why I'd prioritise an SSD over a faster CPU right now.
Having a super fast CPU now and having to cut the spec of the Ram or Hard drive is pointless, imo.
Wow. That sounds bad.Unless you have components that are reusable, you're not getting anything worthwhile for $300. You can barely squeeze in a decent upgrade with a $104 motherboard.
Wow. That sounds bad.
I'm more concerned about the motherboard at the moment. So, the $300 cap is for that. But if I have to go over that cap, just for a good motherboard for the next 5-10 years... I'll do it.
Agreed. If you want anything for the future, go with the z68. Even if you buy the cheapest processor, it will still be close enough to what you'd have with a quad core -- and I am moving from a Q9550. Benefits are:again, go for a z68 chipset intel board
Agree completely. Its basic queueing theory. Increasing memory and improving I/O response increases the efficiency of the CPU to service the operating system. For gaming systems, video response is best addressed by getting the best possible GPU, so for that, don't bother with onboard video. Get a good video card.As per advice I gave in a similar thread to someone else, I'd get as cheap an i3 as you can go (it'll still no doubt be an improvement over your current cpu) and get the basics nailed.
SSD Boot / Apps drive (64gb is fine for this, you can always move your docs / music / pics off onto slower & bigger storage if you need to). Get a sold Mobo that you can upgrade to an i7 and get some decent ram.
Then save up over the next few months and upgrade the CPU later - its far easier to upgrade the CPU than replace the hard drive, which is why I'd prioritise an SSD over a faster CPU right now.
Having a super fast CPU now and having to cut the spec of the Ram or Hard drive is pointless, imo.
I don't disagree but gaming PCs are luxuries. A $300 upgrade for all your components won't cut it. IMHO you might as well stick with your HD (as long as it is SATA) and just buy the items that provide noticeable performance boost until you can add on the extra components with no price/performance loss. It's why I think the budget calls for a flexible mobo, low cost i3 and RAM. Any other items your'e buying, e.g. video card, SSD will all be poor compromises that you'll have to replace if you want to see a true difference.Agree completely. Its basic queueing theory. Increasing memory and improving I/O response increases the efficiency of the CPU to service the operating system. For gaming systems, video response is best addressed by getting the best possible GPU, so for that, don't bother with onboard video. Get a good video card.
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