Advice needed for new Mobo purchase

[Wowdude]

Hey peoples!

I have recently discovered that there might be a fault with my mobo and so will send it back to it's manufacturer. I was however considering buying a new mobo anyway as this does not meet all of my needs.

Specifications for my new mobo should include:
Able to handle my i5-2400 sandybridge CPU and be able to handle an upgrade up to an i5-3570k Ivybridge CPU.
4 RAM slots (DDR3)
2 GPU slots supporting 2-way SLI

I am on a budget so any good suggestions?

I also have 1 x (996768 - 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666 9-9-9-24 Silverline (Dual Kit)) and 2 x (XMS3). Would it be viable to use these with the mushkin in slots 1&3 and the corsair in slots 2&4 as they are the same voltage and timings?

Thanks

Wowdude

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Most likely you can mix the Mushkin and Corsair, but you'd have to actually try it to confirm.

Regarding the motherboard, I'd just go to major suppliers and look for a mid-range board socket 1155 board from Asus, Gigabyte, or Asrock. Add Intel to the list if you aren't likely to overclock. Look for the features you must have.

You need to just take a shot and have a bit of luck to avoid DOA and RMA. All of the brands have a certain failure rate and you can't do much about it. I'm using a Gigabyte on an i5-2500, but you can have good luck with the others.

In the USA, a mid-range board is in the $140 to $200 category. Don't know about the UK.

 

[Wowdude]

Thanks ignatzatsonic!

I'll try with the different RAM sticks, however they are (Corsair and Mushkin) at 2 different frequencies so there may be a bit of discrepancy. I'll also have to have a good mooch around to find the best mobo then.

Cheers for the reply =)

 

[bobkn]

I can't make any recommendations based on personal experience.

This company doesn't do business ouside the US and Canada, but it's a convenient place to check what may be available on the market. For example:

Newegg.com - Computer Hardware, Motherboards, Intel Motherboards, 4×240pin, 6×240pin, 8×240pin, 2, 3, 5, 4, 6, 7, Intel Z77

There are Z77 boards (with PCI-E X16 3.) for just over $100, including SLI support. (A bit more, if you can't live with microATX.)

You may be able to mix RAM, but it may help to set the voltage, timings, and frequency manually rather than relying on the DIMM's SPD settings.