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Motherboard recommendation for simple gaming system

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Caviman2201

Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2003
Location
MD
Hello all... I'm building a gaming system for my sister on a budget and I'm looking for recommendations on CPU/motherboard. I'm trying to keep this on a tight budget but get great gaming results. Here's what I've got so far:

Win7 HomePrem - $100
G.Skill 8GB (2x4GB) - $60
R9-270 - $180
500GB WD Black - $75
Corsair CX430 - $45
Antec 300 - $55
Total: $515

I'm trying to stay under $700 for her. I'd like to get the AMD 6300, but that leaves very little room for a quality mb. Any suggestions?
 
This is the newer FM2 motherboard in combination with an AMD APU that has an UNlocked mutliplier for cpu Mhz adjustment without so much hassle. We aer haviing users coming into the AMD Cpu forum section now with older FM1 boards that are not up to the task and they are hung with no easy upgrade path. This is at least a Trinity APU with the unlocked multiplier.

AMD A10-5800K Trinity 3.8GHz (4.2GHz Turbo) Socket FM2 100W Quad-Core Desktop APU (CPU + GPU) with DirectX 11 Graphic AMD Radeon HD 7660D AD580KWOHJBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1475291

I cannot tell if the case allows for a fan at the lower front blowing INTO the case but it might be well to see if such is doable and do it.
RGone...
 
So I should also have specified - there will be no overclocking going on here and it will be running on the stock CPU fan. Lots of suggestions for the APUs in here - why is that? An FX-6300 is only $110 while these APU chips are not all that much cheaper...
 
So I should also have specified - there will be no overclocking going on here and it will be running on the stock CPU fan. Lots of suggestions for the APUs in here - why is that? An FX-6300 is only $110 while these APU chips are not all that much cheaper...

There aren't good AND cheap AM3+ boards, while FM2 motherboards are much cheaper.
Also, I'm not recommending an APU, I'm recommending a CPU on the FM2 platform since you're running a dedicated GPU.
 
This is the newer FM2 motherboard in combination with an AMD APU that has an UNlocked mutliplier for cpu Mhz adjustment without so much hassle. We aer haviing users coming into the AMD Cpu forum section now with older FM1 boards that are not up to the task and they are hung with no easy upgrade path. This is at least a Trinity APU with the unlocked multiplier.

AMD A10-5800K Trinity 3.8GHz (4.2GHz Turbo) Socket FM2 100W Quad-Core Desktop APU (CPU + GPU) with DirectX 11 Graphic AMD Radeon HD 7660D AD580KWOHJBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1475291

I cannot tell if the case allows for a fan at the lower front blowing INTO the case but it might be well to see if such is doable and do it.
RGone...

In January, the FM2+ boards and APUs featuring PileDriver cores will be released. They will not be backwards compatible and therfore no upgrade path with current FM2 boards besides what you see currently for sale.

The A10-7850K has 4 "Steamroller" CPU cores, and it operates at 3.7 GHz. The APU comes with integrated graphics unit, clocked at 720 MHz. The GPU is based on GCN architecture, and has 8 compute units, or 512 Radeon cores.

Read from http://www.cpu-world.com/news_2013/2013111201_AMD_Kaveri_APUs_to_launch_on_January_14.html

May as well wait it out for a couple of short months. :popcorn:
 
In January, the FM2+ boards and APUs featuring PileDriver cores will be released. They will not be backwards compatible and therfore no upgrade path with current FM2 boards besides what you see currently for sale.



Read from http://www.cpu-world.com/news_2013/2013111201_AMD_Kaveri_APUs_to_launch_on_January_14.html

May as well wait it out for a couple of short months. :popcorn:

Problem is this is meant to be for Christmas, so I need to build in the next couple weeks. I'm surprised there are no decent inexpensive AM3+ boards out there. I don't need any advanced features - I just want an AM3+ that will last.

What about these boards? They seem to be pretty well-reviewed on newegg...

ASUS M5A78L-M LX PLUS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131795
MSI 970A-G46: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130637

Microcenter has a combo for an FX-6300 and the ASUS for $110 or an FX-6300 and the MSI for $140.
 
I would heed ATMINSIDE's advice. FM2+ platform, the 760K chip. That would allow you to put a Steamroller-based FM2+ chip in it as an upgrade later on.
 
I would heed ATMINSIDE's advice. FM2+ platform, the 760K chip. That would allow you to put a Steamroller-based FM2+ chip in it as an upgrade later on.

Hate to tell you, the 760k isn't FM2+, its FM2. And it will not be FM2+ compatible.
 
You will not be able to put an FM2+ CPU into the FM2 motherboard.
 
he FM2+ has a slightly different pin configuration with two additional pin sockets, however FM2+ motherboards will retain backwards compatibility with previous generation Socket FM2 APUs. Socket FM2+ APUs will not be compatible with Socket FM2 motherboards due to the aforementioned additional pins.

looked at that article correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't that right there say a fm2 cpu/apu will fit in a fm2+ board
 
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