Which company makes the best motherboards and what is the best motherboard for use with an AMD A10 7850K APU?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
C

Coltonp15

Reputable
Dec 14, 2014
6
0
4,510
Out of the motherboards listed, which one would be the best in conjunction with and AMD A10 7850K APU? And out of these three companies, which one makes, the most quality motherboards.

GIGABYTE

GA-F2A88XN-WIFI
G1.Sniper A88X

ASRock

FM2A88X Extreme6+
FM2A88X Extreme4+
FM2A88X-ITX+

MSI

A88X-G45-GAMING
A88XM GAMING
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
C

Coltonp15

Reputable
Dec 14, 2014
6
0
4,510


would you be able to rank the motherboard companies in order from best to worse for me.
the only reaon im asking is because this will be my first build and i want to get a motherboard that is reliable and will last me a long time as well as performing very well.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
clutchc

clutchc

Titan
Ambassador
Apr 22, 2009
43,150
411
131,790


Except for putting Asus at the top, I'd be hesitant. There are too many variables and too many models to make a blanket statement like that. Asrock used to be the OEM board maker for Asus, now they are on their own and make pretty good boards. A bit thin sometimes, but otherwise pretty good. Best features for the price.
Gigabyte has always been one of the best. MSI has had some problems, but lately has been producing some good MBs. But any board can arrive DOA. I've had my share.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
photonboy

photonboy

Titan
Jun 20, 2006
21,567
13
85,015
Here's my recommendations sorted by PRICE:

My top choice is the first one. Here's the Asus link:
http://www.asus.com/ca-en/Motherboards/A88XPRO/

$92 (after rebate): Asus A88X-PRO
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-a88xpro

$85 (no rebate): Asus A88XM-PLUS/CSM
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-a88xmpluscsm

$77 (after rebate): Gigabyte GA-G1.Sniper A88X
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gag1snipera88x

$73 (no rebate): Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gaf2a88xmd3h

$60 (no rebate): Asus
A55BM-K
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-a55bmk

Other
Make sure to get fast DDR3 memory or you'll be bottlenecked. I generally don't recommend APU except for budget non-gaming but if you get one I recommend an 8GB (2x4GB) kit with 2133MHz CAS9 memory.
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f317000cl9d8gbsr

There are three other kits listed here from G. Skill that are 2133/C9 but they are red and blue so you may not like the color.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
C

Coltonp15

Reputable
Dec 14, 2014
6
0
4,510






my build (as of now) w/o motherboard
Processor: AMD A10 7850K APU
Ram: AMD Radeon Memory R9 Gamer Series Memory 8GB (2x4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 2400 (PC3 19200) R938G2401U2K
Stoarge: Samsung 850 EVO 250GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-75E250B/AM)
A couple of HDDs for media storage
Case: either the NZXT H440 Black/Red Edition or the NZXT H440 Razer Edition
PSU: Undecided
Motherboard: Undecided\

I will mostly be using this setup for everyday browsing (Email, School work, YouTube, etc.), as a HTPC to stream all of my media content, and for ocassional gaming but not to much as i primarily game on console.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
C

Coltonp15

Reputable
Dec 14, 2014
6
0
4,510
one more thing

i was watching a video on YouTube from LinusTechTips where he did a build using the AMD A10 7850K APU and he mentioned that all motherboards on the same chip set are all about the same and buying one is just based on the features you want and the repetition of the brand. is this entirely true?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
C

Coltonp15

Reputable
Dec 14, 2014
6
0
4,510


i honestly don't know how i haven't decided yet on which board to use. Ihave been researching this build since around April. My first choice was the asus a88x PRO and then i looked at the crossblade ranger because of the color scheme that matched the NZXT H440 case that i want to use.

But after taking a look at this i decided to start looking at the boards listed to use in my build.
http://www.radeonmemory.com/gamer_series.php

could you please also list pros and cons for ATX, MATX, & MITX form factors.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
photonboy

photonboy

Titan
Jun 20, 2006
21,567
13
85,015


The two most important things are:
1) Quality (read customer feedback), and
2) Overclocking potential (if an issue)

For the average person the most basic features are fine. The reliability of the motherboard is the #1 concern as it's a really huge hassle to exchange as you're left without a computer for weeks.

Based on my research most of the boards I linked should be fine.

NEWEGG seems to be a pretty good source to read customer feedback. You can click the "stars" at the top then see how many 1/2 and 2/2 scores there are by percentage. I use that as a guide. For example of both of those together come to 10% the board is probably more reliable than one that has 25%.

Anyway, as I said above I'd go with the ASUS that I linked which got the "Best Buy" award. If you get it update the BIOS. You'll see a lot of BIOS updates for that board over the last year which indicates Asus has been very pro-active in addressing any stability or compatibility issues.

Other:
The Asus A88X-PRO has a feature called "DirectKey" which allows you to boot into the BIOS by pressing it. You can also do that from within Windows (reboots into BIOS). Not a huge deal, but I used it while setting up my PC.

You can even flash the BIOS by using USB BIOS Flashback before installing Windows. Probably not needed unless addressing a DDR3 memory issue, but I strongly suggest you run MEMTEST prior to installing Windows.

*Again, run MEMTEST before installing Windows because any problems can end up corrupting your Windows installation. www.memtest.org
 
Upvote 1 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom