How do you know if a motherboard will fit your case?

Twijn · Jul 13, 2015

I really need a new motherboard to fit my new AMD FX-9590, however, I'm not sure if any of the supported motherboards will fit my case. I unfortunately do not know what case I have (I bought it from best buy, but the link to the page is here: http://bit.ly/1Ddb9yN (bit.ly link because thanks bestbuy) ) And I was looking it up and this is a list of motherboards that will work with my cpu: http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/motherboard/#sort=a3

I would REALLY prefer to not be required to buy a new case.

ALSO: I'd prefer to pay the least amount of money but still get an okay performance. What would be the downsides of getting a cheap motherboard in that list such as the ASRock Fatal1ty 970 Performance?

I am EXTREMELY sorry that I cannot tell you the exact name of the case, but based on it's looks and the iBuyPower website, it appears to be this case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146075
Will the motherboards in the link before work in that case? This case definitely looks to be my current case.

Mankar Kameran · Jul 13, 2015

There's generally 3 sizes: mini, mid, and full. That case is a mid tower so anything on part picker that says ATX should fit.
Make sure it has the right socket for your cpu (AM3+)

geofelt · Jul 13, 2015

It looks like the case is ATX with 7 expansion slots. M-ATX would have 4.

Any motherboard will fit.

The FX-9590 is a very hot and power hungry CPU ,
You will need a top quality motherboard to run it at all.
Here is some info on possibilities:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2384008/motherboard-tier-list-990fx-chipset.html

DaronMal · Jul 13, 2015

As long as the socket on the board and the socket on the CPU are the same you'll be fine.

Twijn · Jul 13, 2015

Mankar Kameran :

Okay thank you very much. Also sorry that this was probably an extremely bad question that I probably should know. I've already screwed up by buying an AMD FX-9590 when my motherboard could clearly not support it but being my first time of buying a new CPU I was not aware that the motherboard could be an issue.

Mankar Kameran · Jul 13, 2015

Twijn :

That's okay! We're all here to learn. If it helps you can look through the options on partpicker and google something if you don't know it to get a better understanding. Hope that helps!

Twijn · Jul 13, 2015

geofelt :

Yeah. I probably should've not of made a dumb mistake and looked that up earlier. I'm sure everyone here is going to kill me for this but I put the AMD FX-9590 on my MSI 760GMA-P34(FX) motherboard. My motherboard has held up this far and is still pushing along, and the only thing I can notice is that it's pushing the frequency down to 4 GHz.

DaronMal · Jul 13, 2015

Twijn :

That's what this forum is for, ask us your question, and you'll most likely get an informed answer to guide you to a decision by other individuals who love PCs!

Twijn · Jul 13, 2015

DaronMal :

Oh... I love PCs... Just not PC hardware. So, would this motherboard work: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157576&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
That motherboard appears to support all of my parts, however I made the mistake with buying a processor that will clearly not go with the motherboard, so I think it's best to ask people that know what they're talking about...

Also, I was reading that if given the right things, the processor will automatically go to 5 Ghz. Would that motherboard allow that? I have a Thermaltake TR2 600W power supply as well as a Seidon 120V liquid cooler from coolermaster.

DaronMal · Jul 13, 2015

Twijn :

DaronMal :

Oh... I love PCs... Just not PC hardware. So, would this motherboard work: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157576&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
That motherboard appears to support all of my parts, however I made the mistake with buying a processor that will clearly not go with the motherboard, so I think it's best to ask people that know what they're talking about...

Also, I was reading that if given the right things, the processor will automatically go to 5 Ghz. Would that motherboard allow that? I have a Thermaltake TR2 600W power supply as well as a Seidon 120V liquid cooler from coolermaster.

The FX-9590 WILL work with that board.

Twijn · Jul 13, 2015

DaronMal :

Twijn :

DaronMal :

Oh... I love PCs... Just not PC hardware. So, would this motherboard work: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157576&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
That motherboard appears to support all of my parts, however I made the mistake with buying a processor that will clearly not go with the motherboard, so I think it's best to ask people that know what they're talking about...

Also, I was reading that if given the right things, the processor will automatically go to 5 Ghz. Would that motherboard allow that? I have a Thermaltake TR2 600W power supply as well as a Seidon 120V liquid cooler from coolermaster.

The FX-9590 WILL work with that board.

So, this is my whole build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gHg6bv Does everything seem compatible? It says that there are no incompatibilities. I just want to be sure that this is correct because I do not want to waste any more money.

DaronMal · Jul 13, 2015

Twijn :

DaronMal :

Twijn :

The FX-9590 WILL work with that board.

So, this is my whole build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gHg6bv Does everything seem compatible? It says that there are no incompatibilities. I just want to be sure that this is correct because I do not want to waste any more money.

What about RAM? I'd also suggest getting an 80+ Bronze PSU or better.

Twijn · Jul 13, 2015

DaronMal :

Twijn :

DaronMal :

So, this is my whole build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gHg6bv Does everything seem compatible? It says that there are no incompatibilities. I just want to be sure that this is correct because I do not want to waste any more money.

What about RAM? I'd also suggest getting an 80+ Bronze PSU or better.

I'm unsure what kind of ram it is but it is 16 GB.

DaronMal · Jul 13, 2015

Twijn :

DaronMal :

Twijn :

DaronMal :

So, this is my whole build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gHg6bv Does everything seem compatible? It says that there are no incompatibilities. I just want to be sure that this is correct because I do not want to waste any more money.

What about RAM? I'd also suggest getting an 80+ Bronze PSU or better.

I'm unsure what kind of ram it is but it is 16 GB.

Already purchased? Either give us a picture of it, or type out any numbers on any stickers you find on it.

Twijn · Jul 13, 2015

DaronMal :

Twijn :

DaronMal :

Twijn :

What about RAM? I'd also suggest getting an 80+ Bronze PSU or better.

I'm unsure what kind of ram it is but it is 16 GB.

Already purchased? Either give us a picture of it, or type out any numbers on any stickers you find on it.

It appears to have PNY on the side. It is 2 sticks of ram, each 8GB. I do not see any other visible sticker on it, however it may be covered up by the CPU cooler.

DaronMal · Jul 13, 2015

Twijn :

DaronMal :

Twijn :

DaronMal :

I'm unsure what kind of ram it is but it is 16 GB.

Already purchased? Either give us a picture of it, or type out any numbers on any stickers you find on it.

It appears to have PNY on the side. It is 2 sticks of ram, each 8GB. I do not see any other visible sticker on it, however it may be covered up by the CPU cooler.

What color heat spreader on it? Does the heat spreader say anything?

Twijn · Jul 13, 2015

That was from the heat spreader, and it is black.

DaronMal · Jul 14, 2015

Well I'll assume it's not an XLR8 since it doesn't say anything on teh spreader, it's just a PNY 16GB 2x8, which might be a bit much, most people are good with just 8GB

Twijn · Jul 14, 2015

DaronMal :

It may actually be XLR8, sorry. It appears to have something written on the opposite side of the spreader which I could not read because it's written weirdly, but it does appear to say XLR8.

DaronMal · Jul 14, 2015

Twijn :

Yes, it's the PNY XLR8 line.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-9590 4.7GHz 8-Core OEM/Tray Processor ($217.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 120V 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock 990FX Extreme6 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($91.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: PNY XLR8 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($117.38 @ Mwave)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked ACX Video Card ($149.99 @ Best Buy)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($35.99 @ Directron)
Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2 600W ATX Power Supply ($46.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($89.95 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: AOC i2367Fh 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($156.80 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2014 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Razer Razer Naga 2014 Wired Laser Mouse ($61.95 @ Newegg)
Headphones: PDP AFTERGLOW PRISMATIC Headset ($79.98 @ Amazon)
Total: $1193.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-14 14:37 EDT-0400

How do you know if a motherboard will fit your case?

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