Need advice about computer upgrades.

[Carlos]

Okay, so my computer's motherboard has reached the limit of use. I have gotten 2 BIOS crashes, and the manufacturer for the motherboard went bankrupt. So, now I am looking to upgrade now more than ever.

And then, another circumstance has occurred that I need to upgrade my router. I need to secure my network more than ever. My neighborhood has been very nosy lately, so I am making a concious decision to go get a new router, because where I sit. I am in more trouble and at more risk than anything that's bothering me.

So, I ask, what is the top of the line Motherboard, and top of the line router? I am a gamer, so keep that in mind when suggesting it. I am currently using the oldest version of Dlink's GameFuel router which has served me well in delivering PS3 experiences. I am still surprised at my motherboard's ability to outstay it's welcome for more than 5 years. I built my first computer from the confines of my pocket!

If possible, when making the suggestion, think about upgrading for the upcoming Diablo 3.

 

[ChemicalKicks]

Was your motherboard Abit by any chance?

Asus/MSI for the board if you're wanting bang for the buck go AMD if youre a purest get an I5/7.

 

[turtile]

Did you have an Abit board?

Are you looking to upgrade the processor as well? Intel (which socket) or AMD?

I'd assume the new DLink is good. I had the original and it never had a problem.

 

[Carlos]

My motherboard was a Soyo Dragon Motherboard [Model: SY-P4X400 DRAGON Ultra Platinum Edition]

The processor was [I think] a Pentium.

 

[Fred Sherman]

Limp along for another couple of months and save some money. Let intel introduce the Sandy Bridge-E processor and drive down processor prices. That said, you're better off with an i3 and all the memory you can afford vs. an i5 with less memory. an additional 8GB of RAM will make more of an impact in system performance than the difference between i3 and i5 with the same amount of memory.

 

[-GR-]

Fred is right, you would be better off going with the i3 and more memory and a faster hard drive. Unless you have specific tasks that have the processor loaded all the time like video encoding or distributed computing projects. For what you would save by going with the i3 you can get twice as much ram and possibly put some towards an SSD for the OS drive.

The server I just built was a Xeon E3 chip with an Asus server/workstation motherboard combo for $399.

 

[Lucas]

Limp along for another couple of months and save some money. Let intel introduce the Sandy Bridge-E processor and drive down processor prices. That said, you're better off with an i3 and all the memory you can afford vs. an i5 with less memory. an additional 8GB of RAM will make more of an impact in system performance than the difference between i3 and i5 with the same amount of memory.

For today's games you want to go for an i5. No reason to go for an i3 dual-core when most new games like BF3, Diablo III, etc. are all using the 4 processor cores.

 

[ChemicalKicks]

For today's games you want to go for an i5. No reason to go for an i3 dual-core when most new games like BF3, Diablo III, etc. are all using the 4 processor cores.

Minimum I'd go for most things would be i5 tbh too, i3 is for the realms of HTPC's and vanilla desktops IMHO.

 

[Carlos]

Okay, so which i5 motherboard is the best? I'm going to try and limp along for a bit to see what Intel does. All that's left is knowing which motherboard I should buy.

 

[Luke F]

Okay, so which i5 motherboard is the best?

Get anything that isn't too good to be true and that meets your price and feature requirements.

Previously I would have said get a Gigabyte board, but these days the other manufacturers are up to pretty much the same level - all Sandy Bridge boards are generally a high standard compared to boards of 3 or so years ago.

 

[Forsaken]

Get anything that isn't too good to be true and that meets your price and feature requirements.

Previously I would have said get a Gigabyte board, but these days the other manufacturers are up to pretty much the same level - all Sandy Bridge boards are generally a high standard compared to boards of 3 or so years ago.

A lot of people I know have had issues with MSI RMA policy recently (The last year or so), so I actually suggest not dealing with them.

I usually go with Gigabyte or Asus and haven't had issues with any of their products, nor with their support when I've needed it.

 

[Mark3121]

How much do want spend? Thats really the question for mb's, for my gaming pc which is i5 2500k@4.5ghz I bought a MSI P67A-GD65 Intel P67, good reviews, performance and good value.

Asus, Gigabyte and Msi all have good boards, you also have to decide between a p67 or z68, have a read of the difference and see if you would benefit.

There are also new boards like the MSI Z68A-GD65-G3 that will take the current i5/7 and the new intel ivy bridge processor when its released.

Bit of a minefield eh.

 

[ChemicalKicks]

Okay, so which i5 motherboard is the best? I'm going to try and limp along for a bit to see what Intel does. All that's left is knowing which motherboard I should buy.

I don't know where you're based and I do realise I'm pointing you to a site in the UK but the shop and attached support forums are well worth a good read. Go on those forums, see what they have in their store, read the reviews then buy from somewhere else you trust

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/

 

[Fred Sherman]

There are also new boards like the MSI Z68A-GD65-G3 that will take the current i5/7 and the new intel ivy bridge processor when its released.

Bit of a minefield eh.

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.

 

[robdog]

Invest in a SSD Sata3 drive. You will not regret it.

 

[TheLaw]

I looked at all the boards. I was an Asus/Abit man (Abit IP35 Pro - best I've ever owned.) Asus is overpriced these days and, additionally, every mobo I've seen $200 and under come with built in video - HDMI, DVI and VGA (looks like it) - what a waste. I went Gigabyte because (a) better value (b) better variation as to what you want. MSI boards never impressed me as to quality, military grade rating - whatever. Biostar is one step lower. Some people swear by ASRock, which seems to have a good reputation.

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.

 

[Lucas]

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.

Let us know how much you can or are willing to spend and we can help you from there.

 

[ChemicalKicks]

I looked at all the boards. I was an Asus/Abit man (Abit IP35 Pro - best I've ever owned.) Asus is overpriced these days and, additionally, every mobo I've seen $200 and under come with built in video - HDMI, DVI and VGA (looks like it) - what a waste. I went Gigabyte because (a) better value (b) better variation as to what you want. MSI boards never impressed me as to quality, military grade rating - whatever. Biostar is one step lower. Some people swear by ASRock, which seems to have a good reputation.

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.

My last true favourite build involved an Abit IP35 Pro, the CMOS clear switch was like a wet dream. Clocked a dream.

*swooons*

 

[Fred Sherman]

My favorite is my 27" iMac because its the first computer I didn't build. With a 3-year maintenance contract, someone else can fix it when it breaks. I take care of other's peoples' servers and operating systems all day. I don't want to do it anymore when I come home.

 

[Slavik]

I looked at all the boards. I was an Asus/Abit man (Abit IP35 Pro - best I've ever owned.) Asus is overpriced these days and, additionally, every mobo I've seen $200 and under come with built in video - HDMI, DVI and VGA (looks like it) - what a waste. I went Gigabyte because (a) better value (b) better variation as to what you want. MSI boards never impressed me as to quality, military grade rating - whatever. Biostar is one step lower. Some people swear by ASRock, which seems to have a good reputation.

I used to be a gigabyte man, when they had a reputation of live fast die hard. I went through maybe 4 motherboards from gigabyte in the days of socket A and early amd 64's,

Since then I have been an asus supporter all the way, their RMA service is second to none in my experience and will even arange advance RMA's if you know who to speak to. The build quality and reliability has also impressed me across the board, not just on motherboards.

[nostalga]I miss my hercules 9800 xt, remember the day I got it, envy of all the gamers in school, now that was a company who always turned my head as great[/nostalga]