What Do You Look For When Buying A New PC Motherboard?
As a creative modder and upgrader of motherboards, I wanted to share with you a few of my own tips when selecting a new motherboard.
1. OVERCLOCKING:
Next to price, this is my #1 consideration. At the top end of gaming are the motherboards like the Asus Rampage V Edition 10 - at the top end I find there is little difference between the boards. At the lower end there are bargains to be had, but these are a rarity. Hence I tend to stick with high end boards to avoid any kind of heartache. Spend as much money as you possibly can on any board you buy.
2. SOFTWARE:
This can make a big difference between boards. Asus has an amazing BIOS suite of software to making everyday life easier, but in some areas I feel they've gone too far. I'm going to use the 80/20 rule here, so I reckon only 20% of the features are used by 80% of the people.
3. AESTHETICS:
Beauty truely in the eyes of the beholder. Some of these boards are monstrously beautiful - crazy wording I know!
Most brands are instantly recognisable to most enthusiasts. Lavish colors and RGB lights help us to identify one brand from another. Personally my favorite brand is Asus ROG. The downside is that these beautiful features come at a cost!
4. WATER COOLING:
With the decreasing chip sizes a water cooled system is a must for overclocking nowadays. You need to be sure that your water cooled CPU cooler will fit your new motherboard. Always check this out - or pay the cost later!
In conclusion, price appears to be the motivating factor for most people. I’d be interested to hear your comments below whatever your budget.
Happy overclocking!
The new Intel chips just overheat too much, they are just too small. Hence the water-coolers are required.
Yes, my experience too; I have my i7 equipped with a water cooler and it needs it definitely.
The i7-6700K definitely needs it - that will be my next purchase!
Wow, this one is expensive ($330) - but I think it's a good choice ;-)
It's overall the BEST-VALUE i7 - there are faster, but those chips cost WAAAAAAY more than $330!
Ok, I see and know - but for me this is too much just for an cpu - maybe wait for some months...
I will do exactly that. The next gen of chips will come soon and reduce the i7-6700K price too :)
I'm a big fan of the Pentium G3258 and not much else to be honest! See one of my older posts on that one.
@pfunk The 5820K doesn't look too bad actually, especially considering the price tag of it.
The only thing that makes a 4790K a more reasonable choice is the price tag of the motherboards and the RAM that go along with the system and ofc the 60W difference in TDP.
P.S. #5. USABLE FAN CONTROL: Have a good BIOS fan control, or if not, then at least have an usable interface for Speedfan or similar tools.
Manual fan control is a real pain in the ass!
What sorts of speeds do you get to with these water coolers?
I remember overclocking a Celeron 300A according to these exact instructions:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/174
Oh, those were the days....
G3258: Air cooled: 4.1Ghz / Water cooled: 4.8Ghz https://steemit.com/life/@mindhunter/is-the-pentium-g3258-the-best-overclocking-intel-single-core-processor-chip-you-can-get
P.S. Loved the Celeron 300A link. Thanks.
This is super helpful and the comments as well. I need a new computer asap. I have thought about just upgrading my cpu but it seems like my motherboard asus P8P67-M doesn't give me many options. I have already swapped out my video card and replaced the power source and a few fans. I just seems ready to die. Maybe I should just move on. Cheers.
Sometimes moving on is best. It sounds like the best idea for you - many new BIOS treats await you in a new motherboard! Happy modding @runrudy
I agreed with your idea. Maybe I will find one under the Christmas tree this year. Thanks @mindhunter.
Ubuntu 16.10 is released this week. That's my free early Xmas present ;) My only advice to you is to spend AS MUCH as you possibly can on the motherboard, as it dictates so much of a system. Best of luck with Santa. @mindhunter
Ha. Thanks @mindhunter.
Always a pleasure.
My last motherboard purchase was the ITX Z97I-PLUS. There were loads of others with similar features at the same price, so in the end it came down to which had a sensible layout and looked alright.
I don't like the connectors in the middle of the board on that one - v.weird!
I love boards like this one, however if you are considering it, I want to give you my 2-year review:
In conclusion, Microatx strikes a great balance.
AGREED!
I would also like to see all of the SATA, ATX 24 pin, USB 3.0, etc pointed along the motherboard and not at 90 degrees (straight up!!!)
Agreed, this makes the cable management neater and tidier and reduces bends on cables etc..
One of the big ones for me is gigabit ethernet. Preferably two of them please.
My hope is eventually to help my sons build an awesome gaming system. Money is absolutely a factor so anything like that is on hold, however, we're starting to do our research. I have plenty of towers from old dead computers so the plan is to gut them and start from scratch. Of course, there are so many possibly combinations between cooling systems, how much memory, which processor, etc...and most importantly are they compatible with each other? I do appreciate a pretty motherboard though. sigh
Good luck gutting out those old dusty beasts! Yeah price and compatibility are evergreen issues when it comes to motherboards - especially with the CPU coolers these days! It can be a nightmare at times!...but fun too...but that is why we mod :)
The fun part for me is the fact that it's a puzzle...and I love puzzles! I don't know which I want to accomplish first a computer build or to rebuild an engine - for me it's the same joy...just using different parts. :)
It is a puzzle - but it can be a frustrating one at times with components doing things they should or should not do! HAPPY MODDING @merej99
@mindhunter=Asus ROG Jedi!