New/used Motherboard

T

TeerraM

Geek Trainee
Well here's the story:
Ive been having some money lately so i decided to upgrade my motherboard in order to be able to upgrade my pc.
here's the specs:
Motherboard: asrock g31 m-s
RAM: 4gb kingston ddr2 (have spare ddr3)
GPU: raedon HD 5870 (with Arctic cooling 5870 VGA cooler) *some extra fans*
CPU: Intel core 2 quad 2.5Ghz
cpu cooler: Arctic cooling Freezer 13
psu: 650W corsair
i dont really know the case name but its nothing new.

Here are the motherboards I am generally interested in:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ASUS-P5Q3...aptopMotherboards_CPUs_CA&hash=item3a7c21552d

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Asus-P6T-...aptopMotherboards_CPUs_CA&hash=item43b4a19911

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Asus-P8Z7...aptopMotherboards_CPUs_CA&hash=item20cd62006b

I was wandering if these bits that stick out (near the processor) will work well with my cpu cooler since its quite a big one.


If anyone has any other/better motherboards than please say cause im always trying to grab a bargain :) , any opinions/suggestions in what i should buy appreciated.
also the price should be around £100, absolutely not bigger than 110.
 
I would look into a Gigabyte Motherboard, They are the best in my opinion.. So you just want to upgrade the Motherboard and thats it OR you want to upgrade Motherboard & CPU ? And do you want to stick with Intel ?
 
Well for Gigabyte i found these two:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gigabyte-...aptopMotherboards_CPUs_CA&hash=item416dfba95e
and
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GIGABYTE-...aptopMotherboards_CPUs_CA&hash=item2324d265ec

i can't really tell which one is better but they are both just under 110 limit.

I think I'd rather stick with Intel processors cause i dont really know much about AMD ones. Is there a big difference between them? (apart from the fact they are diferent in size).
And what's with the socket size? (whats a socket anyway?)
 
Ok, both of those Motherboards are a different socket... Can you tell me what you are trying to do ??? Your Motherboard you have now is a Asrock LGA 775 socket...
If you change to a different socket, then you also need a different CPU/processor.. They make other Motherboards that are good, Gigabyte, Asus, MSI...
stay away from Foxconn and Asrock... These will give you problems.. I think you better do some research first before you buy something that won't fit/work.
 
Well im looking to upgrade my motherboard. From what i read is that if i wanted to buy a better motherboard i would need to buy a new processor which is supported by that motherboard?
 
There is nothing wrong with your CPU/Processor... I would just upgrade the Motherboard to a Gigabyte and Up your ram to 8 gigs..you might be able to overclock that CPU close to 3 ghz...
 
For Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge Procies, read this difference between z68, h77, z77 boards
Like what ghostman said, you can buy a better LGA 775 motherboard and maybe overclock your old cpu to increase performance, but your cpu upgrade options will be stuck on Core 2 Duo/Core 2 Quad procies..
So if you're planning to buy socket 1155/1366 boards, you won't be able to use your old CPU: Intel core 2 quad 2.5Ghz so the board that you'll buy will be stuck at home not used unless you buy a new procie..

Cheers,
 
yeah, well i think i should change my cpu as well as getting a new motherboard, plus the 4gb ddr2 ram sticks cost a lot of money... i think over time it would be a better deal to upgrade my motherboard to a better socket...
Could i use some help in deciding what to buy? I can get a new CPU with a new motherboard, i saw that the AMD FX 6100 processor is cheap (first 6 core cpu i see)... is there anything wrong with it since the price is so low?
I think i could spare a bit more money on a new motherboard+cpu... I think the amd processors seem to be much cheaper than intel...
what could you say about this set?:
CPU: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AMD-Black...Computing_CPUs_Processors&hash=item484cac1a5d
Motherboard: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Asus-Cros...aptopMotherboards_CPUs_CA&hash=item416dc988f5

Im pretty sure they are compatible so they should work. Please give me some ideas on which i should/could buy... I thought getting a new motherboard would be easier :)
 
Wow, that's a VERY GOOD board. If you have the budget and will overclock or have plans to overclock your FX-6100, then that's a rational thing to do. Another good thing to that board is that it allows you to become a member of the ROG community, Republic of Gamers.

Have you considered AMD's new Vishera line of processors? They have a 10%-15% increase in performance in comparison to the Bulldozer chips. A lot of people were disappointed by the Bulldozer chips but, they do the job, there are a few programs that utilize 3+ cores, gaming usually uses 2 cores, but hey, I can run Photoshop and render while gaming with my FX-6100 at stock speed.

Bulldozer chips are: FX-4100, FX-6100,FX-8120, FX-8150 more of them here.
Pildriver/Vishera are also listed there.

Also another point for you to consider, the higher 8 core processors of AMD, they come with a water cooling cpu cooler, custom with an "AMD" mark on the cooler. two birds with one stone :D 4 core and 6 core processors only come with AMD's stock fan which is a bit noisy and you'll eventually want to replace it.

Thanks,
 
Well according to that the best deal (for me) would be the FX 6200 since i dont want a 8 core (cant afford water cooling for cpu, plus my cpu fan is compatible with AMD processors so it should be all good). the Vishera ones didn't give me much choice for the 6 core cpus... does this seem like a reasonable choice?
 
Yeah, pretty nice choice and combination with the ROG ASUS MOBO.. In comparison with clock speeds, the FX-6200 has a higher clock speed than the FX-8150, here's a review about the FX-6200. Plus, you'll have an option to upgrade to Piledriver (Vishera) and Steamroller line of processor in the future if you want.

You're pretty much all set.

*Sidenote, the water cooling for cpu is free with AMD's 8 core processors. They made a water cooling stock fan for the high-end 8 core processors. But seeing as you still have that cpu cooler of yours which is also a good one, going with FX-6200 is a rational choice.

Goodluck, :D
 
okay, thanks for the help... im still thinking about the fx 6200 or fx 8120 but should come to a conclusion pretty soon. :)
 
I don't really know how to do benchmarks but I should get everything bought within next 2 months. I would also need to buy some ddr3 ram. I know that Kingston is one of the better brands but is there any other ones I should consider? I'm thinking about some 1600/1333Mhz (2x4Gb)
 
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