Motherboard Upgrade, Advice Needed Please

[ant247]

Hi folks, I built my rig just over a year ago but I have never been totally happy with it.
The rig I am using is exactly as in my sig.

When I built it, I started with the mobo, cpu & stock cooler, 1 graphics card, 8gb ram, seagate hdd, liteon drives, psu and case.
I didn't think that it played games really that good so I added the liquid cooler so I could overclock.

Then, not satisfied, I added another graphics card.
A bit of an improvement, but not much. So I added the ssd and another 8gb ram.

Now,and still unhappy with it, I am currently running at 4.4ghz on the full rig in my sig and It doesn't seem responsive or fast enough for the kind of hardware inside.

The mobo I have now is the bottom of the range of the Asus P8Z68 series, It was all I could afford at the time.

Now , I am wanting to upgrade it for something with a few more features.
I am in the UK and looking to spend around £200, but other upgrades are possible later (graphics cards, ssd).
I have only used asus boards before but wouldn't mind trying something else.

Can I get a few suggestions to which mobo would go best with my setup, and is there any other part(s) that anybody would change ?
This is the first pc I have built and I don't think I did a bad job, it just should be a bit faster for my liking.

Any and all suggestions will be taken seriously, I really need a different mobo.

Thanks guys.

 

[Knufire]

A new motherboard isn't going to change anything with how responsive the computer is. I think your mistake was going with a 2nd low end GPU, you should have gotten rid of it and gotten something higher end. Low end GPUs don't scale as well in CFX.

 

[EarthDog]

The mobo has nothing to do with what you are describing really... And the build looks good to me. A motherboard isnt really going to help with anything.

Have you tried a fresh install of windows?

Otherwise, my suggestion is Asrock Z77 Extreme 6. Best bang for your buck board out that is more robust than its little brother (Ex4).

As far as parts I would change, I would ditch the CrossfireX and get a single card... 7950 or 7970.

 

[rogbur22]

The mobo has nothing to do with what you are describing really... And the build looks good to me. A motherboard isnt really going to help with anything.

Have you tried a fresh install of windows?

Otherwise, my suggestion is Asrock Z77 Extreme 6. Best bang for your buck board out that is more robust than its little brother (Ex4).

As far as parts I would change, I would ditch the CrossfireX and get a single card... 7950 or 7970.

+1 I completely agree get a good high end single GPU setup. Although I think your computer looks good but I understand how you feel also

 

[ant247]

Only way I can afford to get a card like an hd7970 is to sell my 2 sapphire's first, or part-ex them. I could get a 7950 now but I know, in a couple of weeks, I would regret not gettiing a 7970.
Do you guys think my mobo is good enough to run a 7970 without it using too much power?

 

[wingman99]

A HD 7970 will work fine with your motherboard and PSU.

 

[GamerDude]

You need not worry about power usage as your PSU is more than capable, a HD7950 when OC'ed can more or less match its beefier sibling, but yes, a HD7970 would be able to handle just about every game in sight at High to max setting @1080P. It should be more powerful than the two HD6850 in CF mode, with none of the issues associated with CF (though I've had no issue with CF). Just parroting others when I say there's nothing with your system now, other than the two relatively weak cards in CF....upgrade the GPU to a HD7950/7970/GTX670 and I think you'd be happier with the overall improvement in performance....especially gaming performance. BTW, I have a high end mobo and CPU, yet there are times when I feel it is not as responsive as it should be, but all doubts vanished when I play games because it simply destroy every and any game I've thrown at it.

 

[ant247]

So in theory, it would be cheaper for me to get an HD7950 and overclock it, if it can just about match an HD7970 @ stock. But what could I achieve with an overclocked HD7970.
There are so many different makes of the same card available, which brand of card would best suit my needs if I am to overclock it ?
The max number of monitors I will eventually have is 3, and they will all be full HD-1080p tv's.

 

[GamerDude]

For EyeFinity gaming, that is 5760x1080, you're going to need at least 2x HD79xx class cards.....and in this case, I'd suggest 2x HD7970. Having tried 2x HD7970 for EF gaming, they handle most games at EF mode pretty well, but would struggle somewhat with graphically intensive games like BF3 and MOH Warfighter, you'd prolly see 40/50ish fps and higher, which is acceptable. With 3x HD7970, I can max out BF3 @5760x1200 (4xMSAA + Ultra preset) and get ~70fps and higher......in SP campaigns. There are times when it'd dip to 40ish fps, but it's not often and gameplay is smooth. Sell one of your HD6850 first, or both simultaneously, and grab a HD7970.....I've heard Sapphire VaporX and Gigabyte WindForce 3 models run cool and OC like mad muthas. Of course, when it comes to max OC stably, it's down to luck of the draw.

 

[ant247]

My 2 sapphire's have so far run every game I have tried, and played all of them on the highest settings,although I have no idea what the frame rate is for any of them.
That's why my initial thought was to change the mobo.

There's no way I can put 2 HD7970's in, I can't afford to put that much money into my pc.
Besides, I don't do that much with it to warrent that kind of spending on it.

The 7970's are around the £350 - £400 mark (give or take £20 - £30) compared to the £220 - £280 price tag of the 7950's.
Even 2x7950's is a bit pricey for me to put in this pc. It has already cost a lot more than I wanted to spend on a completely finished system

I've seen spec on some 7970 cards that say they can run up to 6x3D monitors on a single card, so surely 1 card will run 3 HD monitors.
Would it work of I made the 2 side monitors non-full HD (HD-ready 720p) or would it work with a smaller screen size ?

 

[Knufire]

Supports and able to play games on is a completely different story. If you're gaming across three screens, that's almost 3x the video power of playing a game on a single screen.

 

[GamerDude]

Well, if you lower res to 720P across three monitors, it would most definitely help as the GPU has much less work to do. (1280x720) x 3 = 921,600 x 3 = 2,764,800 (~2.8mp), that's even less than a 2560x1440 monitor which is about 3.7mp. So, I believe a single HD7970 would be able to handle most games maxed out, and the more graphically intensive games at resonable good setting. Only issue with gaming @720P is the jaggies, but if framerate is sufficiently good, you can always enable AA.

 

[ant247]

Well, it looks like I will be getting a 7970 in a couple more weeks.

Not too sure if I will ever get 3 monitor's, but it's nice to know it will run them if I get them.

Thanks for all your help guys and I know we will meet again soon.

 

[Mandrake4565]

Nice to see someone new come in and put a signature up as fast as you did. Welcome Ant247

 

[ant247]

Thanks Mandrake, I thought it better if people know what components you have from the start, that way they can better tailor advice to your specific needs.

Besides, I like the look of the list myself. It makes me feel like I have done a good job for a first time builder, even more so now that others have said it looks like a good build.

I will be getting a 7970 but I need a couple more weeks overtime at work first,

I would still like another mobo (and now a cpu as well) so I can then build another system around the mobo/cpu I have now, and some other spare parts I have. Then I can sell it and recover some cash.

And improve my pc at the same time.
So, as the thread is titled Motherboard Upgrade, could I get some suggestions on mobo/Intel cpu combo's that would be good for gaming, but nothing too extreme. I don't have unlimited funds, although I will pay for the right board and cpu.

Thanks again for all your help and advice so far.
I found this site by accident, I'm so glad I did.

 

[EarthDog]

3570K and Asrock Z77 Extreme 4.

 

[Mandrake4565]

Ant it is nice to have toys and I understand where you are coming from, wanting to upgrade your CPU/Mobo combo. Considering I have 6 pc's 3 of which basically sit around for me to just tweak and overclock, I get the, I want more toys concept. With that said, it seems as if financially the amount of time you need to spend working to afford getting new toys for yourself isn't the wisest decision. The combo you have is a good one for gaming, adding a 7970 will make it a really good gamer. The amount of performance increase you will see from a "Better" Motherboard and say a I5-3750k for gaming is minimal, compared to how hard you will have to work to afford them. In my eyes if you don't have disposable income to spend, it isn't really worth the upgrade. Obviously the choice is yours, what EarthDog suggested is a good combo for the money. I have the ASRock EXtreme 4 with a 2500k on it and it overclocks well. Can you tell I'm a dad?

 

[ant247]

I don't think I will be getting a 7970, but I will get a 7950.

The work I do isn't hard by any means, 2 weeks overtime (2 hours a day) will just about get me the full price of a 7950.

I will probably try a 7950 first and if I like the result I might leave it at that (but I doubt it), would there be any benefit in getting 2x7970's for my current mobo/cpu combo ?

I am also planning to switch to Windows 8 in 75 days when my current security runs out (KIS 2012 isn't compatible with win8 but 2013 is)

So now i'm looking into getting a win8 tablet (or laptop with detatchable screen) to -remotely- control my pc if it's possible.
I have seen a basic sketchy version on a vid on youtube a while ago, there should have been improvements made by now.
Touch screen monitors are way too expensive for what they are and I don't much like the idea of sitting within touching distance of a 26" screen, not with my eyes. I do like the idea of haveing a small portable touch screen that can control my pc from any room in my home through wifi or on a network.

But i've got a couple of months for that, the gfx card comes first.
I can't decide which make of 7950 to go for, but this is the 1 that is sticking out above all others- http://www.dabs.com/products/sapphi...0-hdmi-vapox-x-8DBZ.html?refs=486430000&src=3

It comes oc'd out of the box, and I do like spphire cards.

Anyone got any better suggestions i'm all ears, but for now, that is the card I will go for.

 

[EarthDog]

I will probably try a 7950 first and if I like the result I might leave it at that (but I doubt it), would there be any benefit in getting 2x7970's for my current mobo/cpu combo ?

As written, zero benefits as GPUs do not 'benefit your mobo/cpu combo'. What I think you meant though, still little benefits. As I think was mentioned earlier, you are on a 1080p TV. One 7950 will EASILY power through games at that resolution. Two is overkill by a mile at that resolution. But since you are getting more monitors, adding another 7950 down the road is a good fit IMO.