Making custom built pc but which motherboard to choose?

[paulpp]

Hello I am making a custom built pc but I am unsure which motherboard to choose

What are the differences / advantages / disadvantages

I'm looking to get a i7 3.4ghz quad

8 or 16gb of ram and again unsure what sound card and graphics card but at the main time I'm mainly looking for people's advice on the motherboard so I would be grateful to hear back from you experts

Regards Paul

 

[Dsprague]

ASUS Maximus V Formula/Assassins C3 Extended ATX Intel Motherboard with Gaming Bundle - Newegg.com

This would be my personal pick excluding the non-custom built systems I have run I have always had an asus mother board, the price is a little bit high on this particular model but now here's what makes it worth it for me It has the brand new Z77 chip set, supports on board graphics if you should find yourself with a failed video card. 3 PCIe slots so plent of room for more video cards or NIC cards or what ever expansions you might want, the board supports up to 32gb of ram so there isn't much worry about your ram situation with it. It also comes with built in wireless, which I find a nice feature especially when moving the computer if you don't have a long enough lan cable but you have a wireless router you need not worry about it.

 

[Layback Bear]

paulpp that is a very good question. This is where the fun of research comes in. You have obviously been looking and that is good. What kind of money range are we looking at? I chose Asus when I built my system but their have been many changes sense then. Maybe this will help you; my methods.

After choosing my CPU and printed out all the specs I looked through many brands of mother board read many reviews to shorten the list. Then I once again printed out specs of the motherboards still on the list. Using the printed out lists of specs and prices I started compared the features of each and decided the features I wanted and was willing to pay for. You will get it down to 3 or 4 on the list. Now with that list you worked so hard to create post it and we surly will be able to better help you.
Happy hunting.

 

[Erick Aguilar]

First you should pick the Socket, then what ''features'' you want in your motherboard, XFIRE/SLI/both, how many sata ports you will need, how much ram, how many CPU fans you might need, check if you will perform overclocking, etc..etc...

Picking the motherboard is probably the hardest decision. One wrong decision can make your whole upgrade path a destruction. So basically whatever you choose, do NOT cheap out on the motherboard.

 

[bobkn]

Hello I am making a custom built pc but I am unsure which motherboard to choose

What are the differences / advantages / disadvantages

I'm looking to get a i7 3.4ghz quad

8 or 16gb of ram and again unsure what sound card and graphics card but at the main time I'm mainly looking for people's advice on the motherboard so I would be grateful to hear back from you experts

Regards Paul

Are you still setting an £600 budget?

I'm not sure that I'd recommend an I7 for that. An I5-3570k (quad core, but without hyperthreading) is significantly less expensive, but it's considered a very high-end CPU for most purposes.

At www.amazon,co.uk, £165.

One possible motherboard:

AsRock Z77 Extreme4 Motherboard (Socket 1155, Intel Z77, Up to 32GB DDR3, ATX, 2 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s, Supports NVIDIA SLI and AMD CrossFireX, Premium Gold Caps): Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

(£102)

Graphics card:

Sapphire 11200-16-20G HD7850 GDDR5 Graphics Card (1GB): Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

(£137)

RAM, there are dozens of choices, but here's one:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/G-Skill-Rip...1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1360985778&sr=1-1

(8GB kit. More than adequate for most users.) £44.5

CPU heatsink/fan:

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO (120mm): Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

(£25).

For the PSU, I'd suggest as a minimum:

Corsair Builder Series CX 600 Watt ATX/EPS 80 PLUS Bronze Power Supply Unit: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

(£55)

Without a case, we're at about £530. You still need a hard drive, an optical drive (DVD burner), and an SSD for the OS and applications if you want to get a significant boost in common operations. I wouldn't bother with a soundcard, unless you have some special requirements; onboard is good enough these days.

This isn't a budget build, although it's not a cost-no-object one either.

Don't treat it as an ideal, but I hope that it's a reasonable starting point.

 

[Layback Bear]

paulpp I have been looking at your other threads.
1. Are you buying ram?
2. Are buying another computer?
3. Are you building a new computer?
Can you tell us which one of those three threads has priority. What have you decided to do?

 

[paulpp]

Hello I have decided to go With getting a custom build pc

Please allow me to show you so far what I have chosen


In Stock Computer Case X-Blade Black
In Stock CPU Intel i7 3770 - (4 x 3.4 GHZ) - Ivy Bridge - (Free Majesty 2 Game)
In Stock CPU Heatsink Intel Heatsink & Fan - Low Noise
In Stock Memory 16 GB 1333 MHZ (4x4GB) - (DDR3)
In Stock Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 - 1 GB - (GAINWARD) - (PCI-E) (FREE ASSASSINS CREED III & £50 Game Credit)
In Stock Motherboard Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H (Intel B75) - VGA/DVI/HDMI
In Stock Sound Card Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 5.1 (PCI)
In Stock Networking Wireless LAN 150Mbps (USB)
In Stock Power Supply 700W PSU
In Stock Hard Drive #1 1 TB (1000 GB) SATA-II HDD 7200 RPM 32MB
In Stock Optical Drive #1 Samsung 24x DVD/CD Re-Writer/Reader - Black - (SATA)
In Stock Security Software FREE - Webroot AntiVirus 2013 (1 Year - 1 PC License) - FREE FOR ORDERS PLACED BEFORE 17/2/13
In Stock Free Gift FREE - 16 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive
In Stock Monitor Cables & Adapters FREE - DVI Port to VGA Monitor Port Adapter
In Stock DVD Playback Software FREE - CyberLink PowerDVD 10
In Stock DVD/CD Burning Software FREE - Nero V10 Essentials Suite 2
In Stock CPU Compound Standard CPU Compound Supplied With Heatsink
In Stock Case Fans Fans Included With Case

I would be grateful for any feedback

Regards Paul

 

[Layback Bear]

If you could post the websites of your chosen parts would help.
Just a look what you put in your post. Example: It saves a lot of time on my end.

Professional Series

Your case is to small and with 80mm fans will be very poor in the cooling department. You would be hard pressed to get all that hardware in the case.

Your power supply of 750W is okay if it is a quality brand like Seasonic or Corsair. We need to know the brand.

You can leave out all the free stuff it just clutters up the post.


***Once again we need to know how much money you are willing to spend in U.S. dollars.

***Lets work on the case and power supply before we go any farther.

 

[paulpp]

Okay my apologies for that

In US dollars I'm looking to spend $1000 which is roughly £650

The power supply which I have listed is not a well known brand such as the one which you have listed

Is there any special tools which I will need in order to construct the pc myself rather than having someone else do it for me ?

 

[whs]

Just a normal toolkit is needed. I chose this mobo for my rebuild of an older Dell: ASRock Z77 Extreme6 ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com

 

[paulpp]

I'm looking at cases now

What's more suitable atx or m-atx?

 

[bobkn]

Okay my apologies for that

In US dollars I'm looking to spend $1000 which is roughly £650

The power supply which I have listed is not a well known brand such as the one which you have listed

Is there any special tools which I will need in order to construct the pc myself rather than having someone else do it for me ?

Tools?

One medium Philips screwdriver.

If I'm using heat sink compound (for the CPU) from a syringe, I like to spread it with the edge of what is basically a blank credit card. (That's generally not the approved technique these days.) I use a little mineral spirits to clean up. Plus a roll of paper towels.

 

[bobkn]

I'm looking at cases now

What's more suitable atx or m-atx?

ATX (305 X 244 mm) and micro-ATX (244 X 244 mm square and smaller) boards will fit in an ATX case. If the case is sized for ATX boards, it won't take full sized ATX boards.

Make sure that whatever you get can use a standard ATX power supply. You'll have more choices, higher power limits, and (maybe) lower prices with regular ATX power supplies.

 

[bobkn]

One word of warning for a new PC builder:

Most of the stuff isn't fragile. Assembling a PC doesn't take a delicate touch.

The exception is the CPU socket. An Intel LGA (land grid array) interface has pad contacts on the CPU chip. There are 1155 pins in the socket that contact those pads. The motherboard will come with a shield for those pins. You'll have to remove that shield when you install the CPU. Those pins are very fragile; bend a few, and even a skilled repairman may not be able to bend them back. Don't remove the shield until you're ready to install the CPU. Then, orient the CPU correctly (see your motherboard instructions, and instructions that came with the CPU. It's easy.) Gently drop the CPU into the socket. Close the chip retention mechanism. After that, nothing fragile is exposed.

 

[paulpp]

Right okay this is the processor which I'm going for

Intel Core i7 2700K 3.50GHz Socket 1155 8MB L3 Cache.. | Ebuyer.com

 

[Layback Bear]

Trying to keep within the proper price range take a look at this case.

COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Newegg.com

This power supply will do the job and help with the budget and is Gold Plus.

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Enthu...ref=sr_1_6?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1361062112&sr=1-6

A quality power supply and proper case are the roots of the computer tree.

 

[paulstung]

One of the best boards around at the moment is the MSI MPower z77 socket 1155.For the price it is great £142 over hear . I did notice though that you have gone for an Ivy bridge i7 ,but your motherboard is In Stock Motherboard Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H (Intel B75) - VGA/DVI/HDMI your much better going with a Z77 . And please go for a well known power supply like corsair , silverstone or enermax it's not worth a skimping on one of the most important parts of the whole rig , in my opinion .I've just had a look at your case choice too , I think in a few weeks of having it you would be thinking I want a new one ,here is a great little case for the money £30 BitFenix Merc Alpha Gaming Case - Black , or the NZXT Source 210 Elite Midi Tower Case - Black £40 , Cubitek M4 Midi-Tower Case - Black for £32 if you prefer a more gaming looking .
Can I ask why you have chosen one of the top i7 ivybridge when the rest of your choices are older models ? It seems a bit OTT if money is tight why not save a few dollars and go sandy bridge i5 or one of the best choices for gamers is the ivy bridge i5 3570k. The i7 is more aimed towards the video editing side of things for the hyper threading this might help mate he seams to have a similar budget to you . He even uses one of the cases I have sugested .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6FD1b-tYkk

 

[kbrady1979]

I would like to bring up something....if the OP isn't up to the task of building his first PC, maybe we should consider steering him towards a place that can do it for him. I am all for doing it yourself, but the last thing anyone wants is to spend a bunch of money on parts, only to brick them during the install. As previously mentioned, the CPU is not the only fragile component in a system. The motherboard needs to be handled properly, the RAM definitely needs some special attention, and any add-on cards should be handled and installed properly as well.

To the OP: Do you feel confident in your skills that you could put fragile components together, potentially installing them, and uninstalling them, and do you have the patience to do this? I'm not implying you don't, it is an important question and needs to be answered truthfully. There are many videos on youtube that show you how to build a PC, but they leave out all the little issues that many of us run into during a custom build.

 

[Layback Bear]

Well said kbrady1979. My first pc build was scary ever after watching videos and reading lots of books. How soon we forget our first build. I did ask in post #6 exactly what was his decision, and it was to build.

 

[paulpp]

Thanks for replying

I do feel confident about custom building my own pc but at the same don't just incase anything went wrong I would be unsure what to do

Tbh I'm not to sure why I'm looking for either when it comes to processors motherboards and graphics card

My overall plan is to have a pc which is able to handle games without any issues
Without lagging and is compatible with every game such as gta battlefield etc

Are i5 powerful enough to run these type of games without hassle?

Regards Paul