Which board for a novice

[HeavyC77]

Sorry, if this isn't in the correct place. Please don't shoot me if I messed up, lol.

Ok, so I am going to be building my first computer within the next few months. I have been planning on building one for a while now, and have tried to keep up on technology. I plan on wanting to crossfire 2 5970's, and would like to get into a little bit of overclocking (I am a car guy, and as with cars that I have owned, I can never leave them stock).

My question is this: as a novice build/overclocker, would the ASUS Crosshair IV Formula be a good fit for me, or should I go with the GIGABYTE GA-890FXA-UD5. Both seem like great boards. The reason I am drawn to the UD5 is the lower price. Which would be easier to work with for someone just getting into high end computer hardware. I plan on using an AMD Phenom 2 955 with which ever board I get.

ASUS Crosshair: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131644

GIGABYTE GA-890FXA-UD5: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128441

Or, should I scrap the whole idea of getting an AMD based system, and go with Intel (which is more expensive, and cause me to not be able to get as top of the line components).

 

[soulwatch5]

Either board would be good. I went the the UD5 because of price. Performance they are pretty comparable. They both OC well. The only plus about the Crosshair is that it is rated for a higher HT Ref. Meaning you can possibly set up faster ram speed to run in your system (which does help but not by much for the speed increase). Performance for price I'd go with the UD5 but that is just my option.

 

[trents]

The thing about overclocking is you need a motherboard with a good amount of options in the bios. You will want to be able to manually adjust various speeds/frequencies and voltages of the CPU and the memory. I think either of those boards would do that much for you. The Asus board probably has more detail in the bios but maybe a lot more than you need. As far as the AMD vs. Intel question, not only are the Intel CPUs more expensive at the same performance level but the higher end, good for overclocking motherboards for Intel chips are also more expensive than their AMD counterparts. The fastest Intel CPUs are about 20% superior in performance to the fastest AMD CPU but cost 3x as much. You do the math and decide which is smarter for your wallet.

 

[k88]

I will for the Giga, what is the resolution of your monitor? if you´re planning to get 2 5970 would be a waste of mony if you´re plannin to use only one monitor 1080P....another thing, the most expensive is intel, amd y more cheaper

 

[soulwatch5]

O also if your planning on running 2 5970s i would upgrade the CPU to the 1090t instead of the 955BE. The 955BE would be bottlenecking the 2 5970s. Probably even the 1090t would bottleneck those beasts. If your going to be spending over a grand on the video cards alone it worth spending the extra $120 on the CPU.

And to be honest I wouldn't even get the 2 5970s. Its way overkill. If i were spending that kind of money I would probably just tri crossfire 5850. Much better bang for the buck.

 

[HeavyC77]

Whoops, lol, two 5970's would be crazy expensive for me. What I actually want to do is crossfire a could of 5870's.

I guess I should go ahead and lay out my budget. I will have about $1300 to spend. Like I said before I think I want to end up with a couple 5870's, but will start out with 1. I am in school right now, and am paying for this with some grant money (it's school related I promise, they don't say how powerful my pc needs to be). Next quarter I will have enough for my second 5870.

Basically this is the build I think I want:

Case - Antec 1200 or CM HAF 932 (I know it's shallow, but that choice depends on which mobo I go with, I want to keep everything color coordinated).
CPU - I am thinking a Phenom 945/955. I don't want to spend too much because I plan on upgrading to the Bulldozer when it's released.
PSU - Corsair 950TX (I've read it's better to have too much power, and the TX seems like a good value)
RAM - I'm think some good 2x2GB 1600 DDR3 (Like G.SKILL)
HDD - I read about running 2 HDD's, on for the OS and programs, and one for DATA

Aside from that the only thing I am undecided on is the mobo. If I go with a lower priced mobo (like the gigbyte UD5, or even the GIGABYTE GA-790XTA-UD4) I will easily have enough to get one 5870. What I really want in a mobo is AM3 (for bulldozer of course), USB 3.0, SATA 6GB, and can allow me to do some overclocking.

If anyone knows of a good board that fits those criteria, by all means recommend it. Like I am completely new to OC'ing. And if those criteria are pointless, let me know of that as well.

I am a dry sponge, in need of the liquid that is knowledge, lol.

 

[trents]

I plan on wanting to crossfire 2 5970's, and would like to get into a little bit of overclocking (I am a car guy, and as with cars that I have owned, I can never leave them stock).

You'll do fine then. The world is divided into two types of people: Do-it-yourselfers and those who are helpless and pay others to do what they are too chicken or too lazy to do themselves.

 

[coonmanx]

Get the Gigabyte board and pair it with the 945. Newegg has a good C3 version. No reason to go overkill on the CPU right now if you plan to go Bulldozer in the future.

 

[HeavyC77]

Yeah, that UD5 has been catching my eye for a while. Seems like a good deal, and if I ever really want to go overboard, I think I can run a third 5870, lol.

 

[HeavyC77]

Get the Gigabyte board and pair it with the 945. Newegg has a good C3 version. No reason to go overkill on the CPU right now if you plan to go Bulldozer in the future.

Just double checking, are you suggesting the UD5 or the GIGABYTE GA-790XTA-UD4?

 

[ScottinIndy]

What monitor will you be using and at what resolution do you plan on gaming at? It helps in deciding the video horsepower needed.
As far as the motherboard, Bulldozer is still in question as far as I know in regard to whether or not it's going to be AM3 compatible, Assuming that it will be, You will want to go with latest and greatest chipset available since Bios upgrades tend to work backwards from the top down when they make updates for new processors.

 

[HeavyC77]

For now I am going to be running just a 19" CRT. But in a couple months I plan on getting a 25" LCD. So I guess I am going to end up at 1920x1080. So would I be better served by a couple of 5850's (which it looks like I might have to go with to fit my budget).

 

[rickoles]

I'm new to over clocking also and own a p55 ud4p. I'm assuming the bios features will be pretty much identical in which your board should be able to adjust the voltages automaticly to stabilise your over clock like mine.

Mind you I read up on what to do and what everything is ect and didn't realise my board did this until I had finished (lolz) but for a newbie I would highly recommend it for ease and overall settings. You'll love it (the giga blue is also p hawt)

 

[coonmanx]

UD5.

 

[ScottinIndy]

For now I am going to be running just a 19" CRT. But in a couple months I plan on getting a 25" LCD. So I guess I am going to end up at 1920x1080. So would I be better served by a couple of 5850's (which it looks like I might have to go with to fit my budget).

Really, Since you said the build is a couple of month's away I wouldn't make any firm video card decision at this point, A couple of month's put's you very close to AMD/ATI's release of the 6 series cards, At that point you can see what the new series has to offer or take advantage of any potential price drops on the 5 series that may occur as the 6 series releases.

 

[HeavyC77]

Ok gotcha. I am looking at getting everything probably at the end of next month (when ever I get my money from my school). I think it might be best to get a 5850 instead. That way I can spend extra on things like a case and psu. Now I am trying to decide between an Antec 1200 or 902. Does anyone have either? I am thinking the 1200 might be the better choice. More room for bigger cards that might come out in the future and better cooling. I'm also trying to figure out what would be a good aftermarket CPU cooler.

 

[HeavyC77]

Sorry for post after post, I have a truck full of questions. Seeing as how the new cards are coming out sooner rather than later do you think I'd benefit from going with a 5770. It really help me stay in budget but would it be good enough to run some more modern games?

 

[soulwatch5]

Depends if your planning on playing games at 1920x1080 and have to have highest video settings then the 5770 wont cut it. If you dont mind playing at lower settings, then the 5770 would be fine for now to save you until you can upgrade. 5770 is a good budget card. It will play all the modern games without too much problems but just wont be able to max everything out with high resolution.

And the 5850 is by far the best performance for the buck as of right now.(At least in my opinion.)

 

[HeavyC77]

Thanks for the info. Yeah, I am not too worried about gaming at max settings. The only thing I've had to play games on for the last 2 years is my laptop, which sits at 15 FPS on SC2 on the lowest possible settings. I don't think my 19" CRT will go very high in the resolution department. And if the 6 series cards are on their way, I'd definitely kick myself if I spent a bunch of money now.