Mid-Range Mobo recommendation request (I have some ideas..)

[Kylezo]

Hey all, long time no lurk. I'm building my first system from the ground up, and I am trying to semi-future-proof (which shouldn't be too hard since I'm only a semi-enthusiast [how about these hyphen-laden phrases?]). My budged is $600-$800, which leaves i5/i7 out, so I'm looking at AMD chipsets. Here are the boards I'm very carefully considering:

ASUS M5A97 Evo $120

GIGABYTE 970 UD3 $115 (my $20 rebate is gone overnight D=)

ASRock 970 Extreme4 $110 Which, as you may or may not know, is actually a 990 board in disguise I think, right? Since it can SLI...the only "970" that can.

So I'm looking at upgradability mostly, and since I'm getting a Phenom II x4 960T maybe I'll be able to unlock some cores and MAYBE some mild OC'ing. Which is where the phases come into play...because I was really smitten with that ASRock board till I noticed it's 4+1....but I have been reading it's made with really good components, so maybe that wont be an issue. But down the road, with a Bulldozer chip in 2 years or so, maybe it will become one? I also really appreciate the onboard diagnostic LED display on the ASRock, could come in very useful for a nub like me troubleshooting over the years...

I'm going to be running an HD 6870 solo, so the SLI isn't a factor NOW, but it may be eventually. Either that or a GTX 560 Ti, I haven't decided...I really like the specs and features of that ASRock, but all 3 are solid choices. So, can anyone offer me any insight or opinions? Not looking for fanboyism or anti fanboyism or anything like that, all these boards and companies are great, everyone gets a DOA at some point, blah blah blah...all other things equal, what do you think will have the longest life span for a casual user like myself? Any other info you need to make a recommendation?

K /wall of text sorry bout that. hahaha. Thanks in advance for your input

 

[GoD_tattoo]

I don't know why you would consider leaving out i5 or i7? If you have a microcenter nearby, you can get an i5 2500k for $179, a good Z68 for $150 ish and the rest costs the same as you would get for AMD. It is without a doubt in the ballpark. Look into it. You might be surprised.

 

[Kylezo]

Well, I did look at intel systems, z68 boards. I couldn't put one together for less than 900 dollars. I checked all the microcenter deals too (that's a 2 hour drive for me though). So, it's just way too much. The x4 960T is 110 bucks...thats hard to beat with potential for unlocking 6 cores. But I'm willing to skimp on the CPU for now and maybe just upgrade down the road, too. I'll give i3/i5/i7 another look...thanks!

 

[Knufire]

+1, you could even do it on Newegg:

 

[GoD_tattoo]

Or this one, slightly different with a 560ti as well....

 

[Kylezo]

Oooh, thank you for the configs (I actually had that same 2nd combo in my shopping cart yesterday). I was just about to get on and start looking. But, Win 7 (+$100) tax (+$50) and now I'm looking at ~$935, just like I was saying before. I'll keep trying to swing something, but honestly I can't spend that much. I was hoping to get out at the ~$600 area of my budget, not go $150 over the $800 end of it. hahaha, c'est la vie of technology, lol. Thanks for the ideas, guys! I'll see if I can make a z68 rig work.

 

[Kylezo]

Ugh...my Zosma 960T went up $15 since last night.

Here's what I've been looking at (generally speaking) as far as AMD systems, since we're posting cart screenies, lol.

after the $60 in rebates here I'm looking at about $750 shipped. I'll go about plugging in z68 setups in here now...



edit: clearly I need to embed images instead of attaching them...hahah. ugh...begin upload process laced with ads.

 

[Knufire]

Don't bother with the Z68, not gonna fit it in if you need to buy Windows too.
This is what I would go with. Really similar to what you posted, just comes with an aftermarket heatsink so you can overclock.

 

[theflyingrat]

Might not work so well without the CPU...

 

[Knufire]

Whoops, wrong screenshot, that one was for another thread. The right one is there now.

 

[Kylezo]

Hahaha, I see it now...uuuugghhh price keeps going up...lol. The ASRock board is $10 off atm at least...can anyone comment on the viability of the 4+1 power phase of it?? I think that's my main question in picking between those 3 AMD boards..besides the big question of AMD vs Intel, which is another question I'd like to get some input on...

Since my main focus here isn't really out-of-the-box performance, but more - and I hate to hesitantly use the phrase - future proofing potential, I know these chipsets are Bulldozer-ready, but I remember hearing a lot of hoo-hah about AMD shifting their main focus onto a mobile platform...is investing in a desktop AMD based system just a bad idea from the get-go? (btw I derived a lot of enjoyment from using the phrase hoo-hah and get-go in the same sentence)

Anyways, tl;dr here: does the 4+1 phase of the ASRock mobo preclude it's being Bulldozer-ready? Is AMD even a good idea anymore? Is there a cost-effective Ivy Bridge ready solution?

 

[Knufire]

If you want more VRMs, you gotta go with a more expensive motherboard.

You could go Intel, but you'd have to get a lower end Sandy Bridge, no OCing and probably a dual core with HT. But it'd be Ivy Bridge ready.

 

[Kylezo]

Hmmm...do you think that's a better idea? or should I go with one of the 3 AMD boards? I can get more VRM's on 2/3 of those at least..

 

[RGone]

The first system is always a compromise and when you set a low budget (we have to sometimes) then there will be that compromise for price considerations.

Many of us are into the overclocking thing. At the drop of a hat we are off to the races. That is not yourself. And future-proof. That is almost always a joke. Who knows if the next iteration of BullDozer will truly fit the current 990 boards? Noone knows for real, although I expect it will.

Get yourself the Asrock you like and the 960T and let er' rip. You will notice little difference in day to day use for sure. Then you have what you wanted in your hands. Only person to be unhappy with is one's ownself instead of saying I wish I had gotten what I wanted. I been there and done that and have the T-shirts for being there.

Oh and by all means get at least the 212+ cpu cooler and a case with some depth to it for use of taller coolers. You will thank yourself.

Luck man.

 

[Kylezo]

Rgone, thanks for you input, sage words...always wise to stick to what you feel drawn to, and stave off buyers remorse. Yes, future proofing is a joke, but I use the term very loosely of course...headroom is probably a better word for me. Hell, I'm an overclocker too, been lurking for years, and I'll admit i've tried to unlock pll's on oem laptop mobos more than a few times...just can't help myself, we all know the feeling > But having said that, it's true that I'm not looking to build anything ridiculous, bleeding edge, etc. just something that will accept decent hardware and has room for upgrades in the future. If I can push it a bit in the meantime with OC's, you bet your a-hole-a I'll be going at it, but it's not my primary focus. So, thanks again for the perspective, I think I'll absolutely stick with an AMD chipset because the price point is so much easier for me to fit into and I think I can trust we'll be seeing uses for the AM3+ for quite a while yet. To be perfectly honest, I use a laptop primarily but my desktop is a Dell Dimension 400 or something, it's at least 10 years old and it does it's job quite well...good ol' bessie...and if my new rig is alive in that long I'll be perfectly happy with whatever I got, AMD, intel, whatever.

Now time to take a last look at those mobos and make a decision

Thanks!

 

[Kylezo]

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R1

What the hell is the difference? lol

 

[Kylezo]

BTW....the x3 720 BE is up for $50 after instant savings (no fan)....now I'll never make a decision. lol. I think they are both pretty close, heka vs zosma... the x3 is 4 cores max and the x4 is 6 cores max, higher clock, etc etc...I'm probably gonna go with the Gigabyte board because I think it will last longer/more headroom with an 8+2 vrm. thoughts?

 

[RGone]

In general the only differences that you can actually see are as below.
The description of the pictures is ABOVE the picture. So not a whole lot of difference even in performance most likely. If I was ordering new...well I likely would go with the later EVO. IF I had the Plus in hand...well it stay with me and my money in my hand as well.

Base of Hyper 12 original.

Base of Hyper 12 Plus.

Base of Hyper EVO.

 

[Kylezo]

Holy hell you are thorough ^_^ thanks for the explanation! my entire build is now at $699.63 so the EVO would put me right over the 700 mark...damn...hahaha.

 

[Kylezo]

Just an update here in case anyone is curious...I found my way to the NewEgg Business discount code world and found a $100 discount code on orders over $500. After sorting through all the options of a z68/2500k, 900fx/960t, and various video card configurations I ended up with this...for a grand total of $699.63...the exact same amount as before! Don't ask me how I did it...cuz it took forever working the components out. hahaha



I ended up sticking with AMD and bumping up the cpu (x4 960T BE) and the mobo (ASRock 990FX Extreme4) with the extra 100 (almost went for a fatal1ty, but it was just over the top of my budget - I think I found a decent compromise). I very seriously considered what was suggested to me earlier on - investing all the newfound cash in a REAL hot GPU...but I think the 6870 is exactly as much as I need for what I plan to do with it, and now I have an SLI/XFire board if I wish to invest more in the future.

People can hate on me for not going with sandy/ivy all you want...I looked at TONS of z68 options with 2500k, but the bottom line ended up being that with a $219 cpu, I could only afford a mediocre mobo, and in the end I decided I'd rather have a high quality mobo, even if the system is less powerful overall.

So, was this a good deal? Well, I can at least say I'm happy with it...I love the components I ended up with and I had a great time finding the cheapest way to configure it. Thanks ya'll!

edit: Ooh, oooh and before you flame me about spending 42 bucks on 8gigs of ram...its a 15 dollar rebate...so it comes out to about 28 bucks ^_^ it's $55 in total rebates, which is where my final figure of 699 comes from =]