Urgently need help choosing mobo/video card

[Arcanegrinarc]

I Found An Awesome Motherboard in my budget its Called ASUS M5a97 Evo R2.0 or Normal Evo Either Im going to buy one of those for me

so was wondering if i could insert a MSi/HIs/or other 7870 Radeon or 660ti [any one] to the motherboard??

just be staright and let me know please

link to M5a97 Evo
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM3Plus/M5A97_EVO/

link to M%a97 Evo R2.0
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM3Plus/M5A97_EVO_R20/

 

[TiZakit]

yes. Nothing is brand locked.

 

[Janus67]

Yes.

Easy way to tell: does it have pci express x16 slots?

If yes, then yes.

It does so yes.

 

[Arcanegrinarc]

yes. Nothing is brand locked.

ok thnx

 

[Arcanegrinarc]

Yes.

Easy way to tell: does it have pci express x16 slots?

If yes, then yes.

It does so yes.

it has 2x x16 slot

 

[Arcanegrinarc]

guys quick which do you like much Evo or Evo R2.0???

 

[bulldog1963]

There are just a few differences between the 2. the 2.0 has an updated BIOS and a large chip, a few more features for the audio (onboard), LAN controller chip looks updated to more recent version, the 2 internal eSATA connectors in the 2.0 are 6Gb vs 3 Gb. There are a few more bells and whistles on the board Like an update of the ASUS dual int. procs. has been upgraded to version 3 from 2. Other than that, not much difference. I would hazard a guess the 2.0 has a more up-to-date BIOS version installed, but most likely you may have to update it anyway.

As far as the cards, both work fine. I have been an Nvdia guy forever. It it really is a matter of preference and whatever the cost/benefit ratio is TO YOU (not to what others tell you it should be). Since it is an AMD board, you will get the pleasure of CCC and Catalystinstall programs and all the myriad support drivers that come with an AMD processor board. I have to go back and remove all the junk, but if I used Radeon, all the goodies are there for you for the card. When it comes to price and performance, out of the box, They are pretty much identical. So for the card: You pick, go with the one that runs cooler and uses less power (I would bet Radeon, but I didn't look at that stuff, just price and performance).

 

[bulldog1963]

have to realize, one is x16 the other is x4, so if you crossfirex it, you will run at x4 speed.

 

[ivanlabrie]

If you're gaming at 1080p, 660ti if it's cheaper.
Simple as that.

 

[Arcanegrinarc]

have to realize, one is x16 the other is x4, so if you crossfirex it, you will run at x4 speed.

sorry dont know much but what do you mean by crossfire?

 

[Knufire]

Crossfire/SLI is using multiple GPUs at the same time and linking them together for better performance.

 

[bulldog1963]

Ivan, I need to see where you actually get your data from. can't seem to find side-by-side benchmarks using same systems. All I can find are the ones on Tom's (showing that the 7850 is a hair better) and Passmark, which uses a compilation of multiple users vs. their own data.

I've read for OC, the radeon is better. For me, it is the 66ti because I am brand-loyal, in the case of video cards.

 

[ivanlabrie]

Ivan, I need to see where you actually get your data from. can't seem to find side-by-side benchmarks using same systems. All I can find are the ones on Tom's (showing that the 7850 is a hair better) and Passmark, which uses a compilation of multiple users vs. their own data.

I've read for OC, the radeon is better. For me, it is the 66ti because I am brand-loyal, in the case of video cards.

I've read countless reviews...forum threads with benchmark results.
660ti's suffer from the 192-bit memory bus if you use high resolutions or multi screen setups. But other than that they smoke 7850's at 1080p.
7870 is a stronger card, and can be had for little money nowadays.
There's a huge price drop incoming for the 7850/70 and 7950 cards now, I'd look into a 7950 if it's in your budget, if not the 660ti is all around a good option.

 

[bulldog1963]

Never used the hdmi out on my card. DVI works great and I have a discreet audio system. I guess if I had no speakers I would use the ones in my monitors (I use 2 at hi-res with my 480) and HDMI.

As far as replacing, unless they came up with something that smoked my 480 at the price OF my 480, I would go with that. The 480 is STILL one of the best cards out there especially for the price. So? Who cares if you can boil water on it and you can power a small village with the juice it uses? LOL.

 

[ivanlabrie]

Never used the hdmi out on my card. DVI works great and I have a discreet audio system. I guess if I had no speakers I would use the ones in my monitors (I use 2 at hi-res with my 480) and HDMI.

As far as replacing, unless they came up with something that smoked my 480 at the price OF my 480, I would go with that. The 480 is STILL one of the best cards out there especially for the price. So? Who cares if you can boil water on it and you can power a small village with the juice it uses? LOL.

lol

You can heat a pond and have some fish live there...

 

[Arcanegrinarc]

LOL Guy's Im here asking about the motherboards not GPU

 

[Janus67]

What questions are left to be answered?

 

[Arcanegrinarc]

What questions are left to be answered?

which motherboard evo or evo r2.0