computer noob need motherboard advice

Reaper 392 · 16 Feb 2011 at 12:50

Main questions:

- why the big price difference between these two boards?
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-405-AS&tool=5
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-278-GI&tool=3

- is it easy to make a motherboard that only goes up to 1333Mhz ram support 1600Mhz RAM?

info:

im looking to build a PC for the first time, but i really need help with choosing a motherboard.

my budget for the entire PC is around £400. it will be used mainly for gaming and some light video editing. i almost certainly wont be overclocking the thing to start with, but its something i might consider a couple of years down the line when it starts to show its age

this is what i have so far:

- AMD phenom II 965 (3.4Ghz)
- OCZ special ops 4GB 1600Mhz RAM (which seems to be rapidly increasing in price for some reason)
- HIS ATI Radeon 1GB HD5770 (or similar)

im looking for a motherboard around the £80 mark (but cheaper would be better) that will definitly:
- support the stuff ive got above
- will support this capture card, or something similar

and, it would be nice if it could:
- support a second graphics card if i want to upgrade the thing later
- support 1600Mhz RAM (nearly everything ive seen only goes up to 1333Mhz)

these are the two board ive found:
- does everything
- much cheaper, does the basics

*edit*
already answered:
- how easy are motherboards to replace?
(i know it will mean taking apart, then rebuilding the PC, but is there anything else that could be a problem)

- how much of a difference will adding a second graphics card on a crossfire board actually give me?
ive been thinking that, in a few years time, when the PC is starting to show its age, a second graphics card might be the answer, but i've just realised that i have no idea how much of an impact it will make. can anyone enlighten me please

- what would a second graphics card do in a motherboard that did not support Crossfire X? (like the one that does everything that i linked below)

Troezar · 16 Feb 2011 at 14:08

Take a look at this one:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-280-GI&tool=5

Should support everything you need, check Gigabytes website though as I've done this quickly at lunch!

Motherboards are easy enough to change, be aware it may affect your Windows licence if it is OEM.

Reaper 392 · 16 Feb 2011 at 17:21

thanks for the info.

ive added the couple of motherboards ive found, because im starting to realise what everything does (except the chipsets, im clueless about them)

Troezar · 16 Feb 2011 at 18:40

The Asus board is micro ATX in case you hadn't seen that? For the money I'd go with the Gigabyte, a few extra quid but will save some later if you don't have to use add-in cards etc. Plus the Gigabyte supports Crossfire which if your board doesn't support you can't add later. As far as the x16 x4 business you'd be better going for a x8 x8 board if serious about crossfire.

Personally I think motherboards and PSU's are always worth sinking a few extra quid into to get something that will do the job now now and the future. Maybe this one would be worth it and can be had for just under £100

Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H AMD 890GX

Reaper 392 · 16 Feb 2011 at 20:52

ive found this mobo which seems to do everything im gonna need, but its the 700 series.

anyone know how that would affect me?
(oh, and ive updated the OP about ten thousand times with extra stuff)

Reaper 392 · 17 Feb 2011 at 18:22

well, after a huge amount of searching, ive found a lot of my answers.

however, if someone could tell me what difference a second graphics card would make in several years time that would be great, because i really have no idea.

(and its looking like full crossfire support (both cards running at x16) is gonna cost me £120, which is too much)

Luke_Bowman · 17 Feb 2011 at 18:31

A second graphics card is like a second anything. You wont see a major boost but it will be noticable. Your better off buying a much better graphics card for the price of the two lower-end ones

Troezar · 17 Feb 2011 at 18:35

Don't worry about both at x16 the second at x8 is enough.

Krislord · 17 Feb 2011 at 18:39

Luke_Bowman said:
A second graphics card is like a second anything. You wont see a major boost but it will be noticable. Your better off buying a much better graphics card for the price of the two lower-end ones

I'd agree with the above comment

dual graphics cards is good if buying 2 cards together when you need the extra performance.

However the pace of change within graphics cards means that buying a 2nd card a couple of years after the first would add less than simply replacing the original card with something much more modern.

Also adding a 2nd card without crossfire or SLI support from the motherboard simply means you can run more monitors - Any game would only use one card.

Reaper 392 · 17 Feb 2011 at 18:50

thanks for the quick responses.

by the sound of things it would be best for me to go for a cheaper mobo that doesnt do crossfire (or does x16, x8) and spend the money elsewhere

Krislord · 17 Feb 2011 at 19:01

Reaper 392 said:
thanks for the quick responses.

by the sound of things it would be best for me to go for a cheaper mobo that doesnt do crossfire (or does x16, x8) and spend the money elsewhere

Yes - motherboard based on current needs and spend the extra cash on something like a better graphics card.

Also don't forget that an extra £20 or so can make a big difference to some of the cheaper components we don't think too much about. There's no point having a great base unit if the keyboard and mouse are terrible.

Reaper 392 · 17 Feb 2011 at 20:22

this (hopefully) will be my last motherboard question:

how come there is such a big price difference between these 2 boards (almost 20%):

asus: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-405-AS&tool=5
gigabyte: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-278-GI&tool=3

the differences i can find are:
Asus has 1 extra PCIe slot, but one less PCI slot
asus has better on board graphics (4250, not 4200)

gigabyte has traded a SATA slot for an eSATA slot

they also have different audio, and LAN, but i have no idea whats bet there

if someone could elaborate on those things that would be great

Krislord · 17 Feb 2011 at 20:36

Reaper 392 said:
this (hopefully) will be my last motherboard question:

how come there is such a big price difference between these 2 boards (almost 20%):

asus: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-405-AS&tool=5
gigabyte: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-278-GI&tool=3

the differences i can find are:
Asus has 1 extra PCIe slot, but one less PCI slot
asus has better on board graphics (4250, not 4200)

gigabyte has traded a SATA slot for an eSATA slot

they also have different audio, and LAN, but i have no idea whats bet there

if someone could elaborate on those things that would be great

You've picked out what is different between them.

One of them is on offer and one isn't. This could be because OCUK got a good deal on them, or because they have excess stock, no one really knows.

Looking on google not everyone prices them this far apart - therefore this is probably as simple as it being a good price for the Asus and a not so good price for the gigabyte.

One store will never have the best price for every component