Recommend a Motherboard?

[gazo7000]

Hi everyone,

I got given a AMD A8-6600K 3.90GHz (Socket FM2) APU Richland Quad Core Processor (AD660KWOHLBOX)

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-355-AM

and was going to buy a HD 7750 Graphics card to enable Hybrid Crossfire feature.

I have some spare RAM (GeIL 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz VALUE PLUS Dual Channel (GVP38GB1600C9DC) )

All this would be to create a HTPC build that would be powerful enough to run 3D Movies, acrade games on steam?, and of course XBMC.

Any recommendations on what Motherboard I should go for? If I could have a few options eg. ATX or Micro ATX boards. Reasoning is that I haven't 100% decided on a case.

Cheers in advance

 

[snips86x]

This would be my recommendation:

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD A8-6600K 3.90GHz (Socket FM2) APU Richland Quad Core Processor (AD660KWOHLBOX) £99.95
1 x MSI HD 7770 GHz Edition 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £89.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C10 2400MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (PV38G240C0K) £64
1 x Gigabyte F2A85XM-D3H AMD A85X Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 micro ATX Motherboard £61.99
Total : £327.32 (includes shipping : £9.50).



Yes, this will be find for what you are after. If you YouTube the Richland/Trinity APU, you can see some gamplay examples.

AMD APU's need really fast RAM for the graphics to produce good results and if your budget allows, I would recommend the A10 - 6800k, this however depends on the games you are playing and how demanding they are.

 

[gazo7000]

This would be my recommendation:

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD A8-6600K 3.90GHz (Socket FM2) APU Richland Quad Core Processor (AD660KWOHLBOX) £99.95
1 x MSI HD 7770 GHz Edition 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £89.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C10 2400MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (PV38G240C0K) £64
1 x Gigabyte F2A85XM-D3H AMD A85X Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 micro ATX Motherboard £61.99
Total : £327.32 (includes shipping : £9.50).



Yes, this will be find for what you are after. If you YouTube the Richland/Trinity APU, you can see some gamplay examples.

AMD APU's need really fast RAM for the graphics to produce good results and if your budget allows, I would recommend the A10 - 6800k, this however depends on the games you are playing and how demanding they are.

Cheers for the response. Why would you go for that motherboard instead of the more expensive ones? And why would you go for the 7770 graphics card? I read on the A-8 page that its the HD 6670 / HD 7750 to enable the crossfire?

The gaming part of the HTPC would only be for when I have friends round or when I'm bored and fancy some arcade games. I wouldn't be expecting to play Battlefield on it.

 

[snips86x]

Cheers for the response. Why would you go for that motherboard instead of the more expensive ones? And why would you go for the 7770 graphics card? I read on the A-8 page that its the HD 6670 / HD 7750 to enable the crossfire?

The gaming part of the HTPC would only be for when I have friends round or when I'm bored and fancy some arcade games. I wouldn't be expecting to play Battlefield on it.

If you have the budget, the more expensive board could be a benefit and would natively support the faster RAM.

The 7770 was a mistake, sorry about that, I meant this one - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-183-MS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1699

 

[gazo7000]

If you have the budget, the more expensive board could be a benefit and would natively support the faster RAM.

The 7770 was a mistake, sorry about that, I meant this one - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-183-MS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1699

I'm happy to spend around the £100 mark for a decent motherboard if its better than the Gigabyte one. I would rather pay more than £60 if it means the motherboard will last longer, more reliable etc.

 

[snips86x]

I'm happy to spend around the £100 mark for a decent motherboard if its better than the Gigabyte one. I would rather pay more than £60 if it means the motherboard will last longer, more reliable etc.

Here are 2 other suggestions:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus F2A85-V PRO AMD A85X Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £124.99
1 x Asus F2A85-M PRO AMD A85X Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £109.99
1 x MSI A85XA-G65 AMD A85X Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £85.99
Total : £332.38 (includes shipping : £9.50).



MSI & Asus make really good boards.

 

[Megahackerd]

I'm happy to spend around the £100 mark for a decent motherboard if its better than the Gigabyte one. I would rather pay more than £60 if it means the motherboard will last longer, more reliable etc.

i dont see so much difrence( for speaking the truth i dont see any) from the gigabyte one to these one

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire PURE Platinum A85XT AMD A85X Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £88.99
1 x MSI A85XA-G65 AMD A85X Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £85.99
Total : £186.38 (includes shipping : £9.50).

 

[cheesyboy]

You can't hybrid crossfire with the 7750 and Richland.

A non-crossfired 7750 will perform better than a 6670/A8 crossfire setup anyway, but don't limit yourself to 7750 on the basis of Xfire.

 

[gazo7000]

You can't hybrid crossfire with the 7750 and Richland.

A non-crossfired 7750 will perform better than a 6670/A8 crossfire setup anyway, but don't limit yourself to 7750 on the basis of Xfire.

Are you sure?

I know not to always trust what it says but it does state it on the Overclockers page;

"For those who require more graphics performance, adding a HD 6670 / HD 7750 to the mix will enable Hybrid Crossfire giving upto approx 80% additional performance in modern gaming titles, making this new platform viable for entry level gaming machines that can play the latest gaming titles."