Choosing motherboard for my build

Johnny992

Honorable
Jan 22, 2014
2
0
10,510
Hello,

So, I'm trying to find the right mobo for my build. I'll first go over what I will be using it for and then I will list the parts I already have and explanations for those parts (let me know if you have any problems with any of the parts - I can still return them). After that, a few questions.

I generally have 50 Chrome tabs open, a bunch of virtual machines sometimes, several cryptocurrency wallets, and maybe a program or two. I will be running four monitors for multitasking and trading.

The current parts I have are:

CPU: FX-8320 - Bought at a pretty decent price, I think the 8 cores should come in handy for VMs and crypto wallets. Was considering getting an Intel, but Microcenter was completely out of stock of i5's so I snagged this instead.

RAM: Haven't bought RAM yet but will be picking up 16 GB soon.

Storage: 256 GB Samsung 840 Evo - 256 GB will be all I need for storage for awhile, so I decided to just pass on an HDD and just get a nice-sized SSD.

GPU: MDT GeFORCE GT 520 GALAXY 1GB DDR3 4 DISPLAY PCI EXPRESS 2.0 - This GPU will support 4 monitors and I got it for a good price. Not doing anything which demands an expensive GPU, so I think this should be fine.

Case: Plan on buying http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146078 - Plain and professional.

Monitors: One 27" 1080p monitor as the main and three 24" 1080p monitors (one above the 27" and the two other to the sides).

Question time:

I've been considering this mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157323
Real cheap and I think it has everything I require. Should I go with this motherboard? Would choosing a higher end motherboard make any difference? Assuming I hadn't mentioned this motherboard, which motherboard would you have recommended?

Edit: how about this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128627&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL012114&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL012114-_-EMC-012114-Latest-_-AMDMotherboards-_-13128627-L08D

Also, would anything I do benefit from overclocking? If so, I guess that would mean a higher end mobo.

Thanks and I appreciate and am open to all suggestions.
 
My thoughts:

1. If you have cpu intensive tasks, Intel will be much stronger. Only if you have multithreaded apps might the 8 cores of the FX be better. Consider a i7-4770K. A Z87 based motherboard will support 3 monitors.

2. With lots of windows open, buy as much ram as you can. a 16gb kit of 2 x 8gb would be good.
Better yet might be 32gb.

3. You can attach a 4k monitor to the integrated graphics of a Z87 motherboard. Have you considered a 4k monitor?
Seiki makes a 50" unit for about $1000 that would let you put out the equivalent of 4 1080P displays. With a single 50" space you could resize each of your windows to suit.
There is also a 39" 4k unit for about $500.
Go to compusa and see one for yourself. I was impressed.

5. To my knowledge, a GT520 can use only 2 concurrent attachments of monitors, regardless of the number of attachment ports.

6. With cpu intensive work, overclocking is good. It is not so much a motherboard requirement as it is a cpu cooling requirement. On a 4770K a $30-$70 cooler can give you 20% more cpu capacity with a conservative overclock.

7. If you are using this for earnings related purposes, it will pay you to buy the best up front.

 

Johnny992

Honorable
Jan 22, 2014
2
0
10,510


1. I don't have any speed-oriented CPU intensive tasks, as far as I know. I was under the assumption that an i7-4770K would be crazy overkill for my uses and was more suited to gaming, video/photo editing, and certain tasks that take a whole lot of CPU power.

2. Based on the current amount of RAM that I'm currently using, I think 16 GB should be enough. I'm temporarily using an underpowered laptop with 4 GB of RAM and I can get by reasonably okay, so I'm pretty sure 4x that amount of RAM will be plenty.

3. No, I really have no interest in a huge 4k monitor. I prefer the compartmentalized nature of multiple monitors and I doubt a higher resolution would improve my experience to a significant degree.

5. I think this one is specifically suited for running four monitors: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162100 Got one new off of eBay for $25 + shipping.

6. I see, makes sense. I'm not sure if anything I do is very CPU-intensive, though. I mentioned the cryptowallets because they hog CPU space, but that's pretty much it - a stronger CPU isn't going to improve anything there.

7. Sure.