Upgrade CPU/Mobo, looking for advice

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zeppman

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Apr 13, 2010
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Hey everyone,

Just looking for some guidance. I had recently purchased an AMD mobo because it was posted here on Tom's as a top pick mobo, but after recent research and help from another member here, I realized maybe I should be going Intel..

Please let me know your thoughts. The machine is primarily for gaming. I would like to keep my two 5850 cards in crossfire for graphics until I can afford a new gpu.

Current build (from April 2010):
CASE CM|RC-690-KKN1-GP BK RT
MB GIGABYTE GA-790XTA-UD4 R
VGA SAPPHIRE | 100282-3SR HD5850 RT
PSU ANTEC|EA750 750W RT
CPU AMD|ATH II X3 425 AM3 R
MEM 2Gx2|GSKILL F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM (upgraded to 8Gb total)
HD 500G|SAMSUNG HD502HJ (Now have 250gb SSD and 1TB hhd)

I'd like to keep the case, power supply and gpu. I was given an additional 5850 gpu so I can crossfire.

I'm looking at the i5-4960, (unless there is a good reason to go with the 6500?) and would be moderately OCing (no water cooling). Haven't decided on a mobo yet, that's where I'd like some advice. I was looking at the MSI Gaming Z97 GAMING 5, and Asus Z97-A... I just want to be sure this will give me flexibility in my GPU situation.

Budget: Well I know the cpu is going to be $200-250ish. I'd like to keep the mobo below $150 (cheaper is better of course!) I also have G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 on order (from when I thought I was doing my AMD build) but that can also be returned if I don't use it.

Thanks in advance.
 
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Its definitely a solid board, you can't really go wrong with it :)
Generally speaking for OC'ing all decent ATX boards will fulfill basic and medium overclocking needs, the extreme OC'ing is something you shouldn't really be doing anyway since its just not necessary with the processor.

So to summarize, yes that board is fine :)
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Conor17777

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Aug 23, 2014
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Hey there!

In terms of CPU/MOBO the best price performance option you could go for right now that nicely fits your budget is a 1150 motherboard and CPU.
In that respect here is the CPU I'd advise (Personally from experience, I have one running in a secondary gaming PC atm and its fantastic)

CPU : i5 4690k
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Core-i5-4690K-Processor-BX80646I54690K/dp/B00KPRWB9G/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1449012022&sr=1-1&keywords=i5

As for the motherboard there are a few options below $150 that I can personally vouch for.

If you want the cheapest motherboard available and DON'T want to use Crossfire
http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Computer-MicroATX-Motherboard-H81M-E33/dp/B00F42W70A/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1449012060&sr=1-1&keywords=1150+motherboard

If you want crossfire and the best price/performance/feature board available :
http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Motherboards-Z97S-SLI-KRAIT/dp/B00OJZTSR8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1449012211&sr=8-4&keywords=1150+motherboard+crossfire
Whilst this MSI board isn't perhaps the most feature loaded it definitely gets the job done and saves a decent bit of money too.

If you want the best motherboard for crossfire and $150 or less :
http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Motherboard-Z97-E-USB-3-1/dp/B00VBKLX9A/ref=sr_1_12?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1449012060&sr=1-12&keywords=1150+motherboard


So there are some options I can personally vouch for! ;)
On a side note I also have used crossfire 5850's on multiple occasions, I STRONGLY advise that if possible you sell the 5850's and use money saved on the motherboard / CPU budget to buy your way towards a newer GPU.

The 5850's are fantastic cards, but they are seriously starting to age now and on top of that the performance of them even in crossfire isn't the best.
Just a tip from one AMD user to another ;)

Anyway hope I've helped!

 
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zeppman

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Oops... meant I5 4690 not 4960... but thanks!

Interesting on the mobos.. thanks for your input. I like the looks of the KRAIT (and the price). Besides being a 1150 Socket... will this board limit me in anyway over the next 5 years? I know there is a new generation of Intel chips coming about... but I just don't see the performance/cost advantage at this point.

Totally understand about the GPUs... one thing at a time here. :) Thanks!
 
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Conor17777

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Aug 23, 2014
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Whilst the next generation of Intel boards and CPU's are great they are on the pricey side in terms of the performance you get.
Ontop of this the performance you get is pointless at the moment because the CPU i5 and upwards generally is not the bottleneck, meaning any extra performance is a bonus but definitely not necessary.

Overall I'd advise a 1150 board and CPU, the features are near identical bar DDR4 support (which doesn't improve performance anyway) ontop of this 1150 is much cheaper.

Hope I've helped :)
 
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zeppman

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How does this compare?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130770&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

I just like the looks/specs of it...
 
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Conor17777

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Aug 23, 2014
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Its definitely a solid board, you can't really go wrong with it :)
Generally speaking for OC'ing all decent ATX boards will fulfill basic and medium overclocking needs, the extreme OC'ing is something you shouldn't really be doing anyway since its just not necessary with the processor.

So to summarize, yes that board is fine :)
 
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