Help me decide!

[PicodeGallo]

I think the time is now to pick up a mobo. They have a good sale on at Newegg. Here's what I need:

Future proof (about 3-4 years)
Sata 3 & USB 3
OC ability, nothing extreme, but I'd like to get a 955 or 965 up to 4.0 GHz
Stable & adequate BIOS
Onboard video could be handy, but I dunno...

I think the FX boards are overkill for me, but I'd consider one. I doubt I'll ever CrossFire, but who knows. It won't happen anytime soon. This was my original choice (aside from the FX version):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...1910-Index-_-AMDMotherboards-_-13131631-L010D

Here's some for 10% off, I was looking at the GA UD3H at the bottom:
http://www.newegg.com/Store/Categor...EFL101910-_-EMC-101910-Index-_-MECH-_-MB-EB1A

The GA UD5 is also on sale for 169.99. Price is an object, so even this might be a little much, but if it's worth it, I'd consider it. I've got to buy pretty much everything--CPU, RAM, GPU, new HDD/SSD, DVD-ROM/Blu-Ray, etc, maybe a case, etc.

One last thing about onboard video: is the 4290 better or worse than a single 9800GT? Thanks!

 

[King107s]

You might want to describe a budget in mind because IMO onboard video and some other things you have described are by no means 'future-proof' for 4yrs. Heck, they are inadeqate for a lot of games right now. So, come up with a budget and list the hardware you are going to keep/continue to use and we can give you an idea of how to best spend it.

Typically future proof is overkill for now and sufficent in a few years... IMHO

 

[rickoles]

I'm going to recommend any gigabyte board. I've always had good experiences with them.

 

[TyrAntilles]

On the Intel side I made some research about Sata 3 & USB 3, motherboards. For socket 1156 there are not yet "native" SATA3 AND USB3 solutions. And to build a system on socket 1366 is much more expensive. If I were you I would wait for the upcoming SandyBridge CPU and the next gen of mobos.
If you want something a little less expensive you can look on AMD offers. They have nice performance/value stuff.

 

[QuietIce]

My vote is for your first link, the ASUS M4A89GTD. From what I've seen it seems to be a good, solid board ...

 

[PicodeGallo]

The problem is, I can't wait much longer. I need new gear now. And my budget? Let's put it this way: I'm a cheap bastige, but I don't buy crap and will pay for something worthwhile, but I don't like paying for something I don't need. I'm not buying this for bragging rights.

The $100 boards look great, but just from the pics I can tell they are priced that way for a reason (no mosfet heat sinks, etc.). But if they will get the job done, and done well for around 3 years or so, then why fork out $80 more? That's almost 4 gb's of ram. This is my question--you guys are more in the know than I am. I game, I run lots of programs at the same time, and I'll OC some, but liquid cooling will never be in my rig.

Let me revise my onboard video question: Is Hybrid Xfire and this sideport memory thing (I don't know what that is) worthwhile? If not, then I don't need it.

 

[QuietIce]

The ASUS M4A89GTD you linked is a very good board and should overclock well.

You don't need a water loop to OC to 3.9-4.0 GHz on an X6 - many of them can do that with good air cooling ($30) and often a little higher with excellent air cooling ($70-80). Most X4's can reach 3.8 GHz with good air, 3.9-4.0 with high-end air.


I'm not sure how to answer your on-board video question. For me and MY gaming needs it would be fine but I play strategy and on-line games, none of which really tax a modern GPU. A 3DMark score of the on-board graphics would probably run about 25% of the 9800GT - the question is, Do the games you run use 100% of a 9800GT?

BTW - Sideport memory is memory for the on-board video. Most on-board video takes memory from the system's RAM, those with Sideport memory don't have to use system RAM ...