Help with choosing of a Motherboard & CPU for GTX 970

SputnikTheMagnificent · Aug 25, 2016

Hey Tomshardware,

I'm currently upgrading my gaming rig, from a gtx 560 to a 970. Currently I'm having trouble trying to find the perfect Motherboard & CPU that won't bottleneck my 970 whilst being cheap & quality. I don't have a problem with AMD or Intel.

My current budget for the CPU&MB is $210-240, very low I know. I'm all set on a very low budget so I'm able to keep some money for a Powersupply & Case which makes things very difficult for me, I don't have a problem in buying used Mb or cpu.

Sputnik,

Ecky · Aug 25, 2016

You can almost get an i5 6500 and H110 board for that price. The next best thing is an i3 6100 paired with a nice board, something with a B150 or H170 chipset to give you more RAM slots and connectivity.

SputnikTheMagnificent · Aug 25, 2016

Ecky :

Processor seems well within the budget and powerful! But as for the motherboard I'm willing to pay extra for the ASUS M5A99X, what's your opinion on it?

Ecky · Aug 25, 2016

My opinion of it is that it takes neither i3 6100 or i5 6500. It's an old AM3+ motherboard that supports the 4 year old AMD FX CPUs.

SputnikTheMagnificent · Aug 25, 2016

Ecky :

Alright, I might go with the i5 and board you provided, but is there anything specific about them I should know? Also if possible could you link me to some good H110 boards from Ebay?

Ecky · Aug 25, 2016

I would not get one from eBay, unless you have no other choice. Amazon and Newegg both sell them new.

I'll pick out a few in a bit.

SputnikTheMagnificent · Aug 25, 2016

Ecky :

Not a problem, I don't mind Newegg or Amazon. Also thank you alot for helping me out!

Ecky · Aug 25, 2016

Here is a list of boards that support those two CPUs:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007627%20600567584&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=36

Socket 1151 is the socket used by Intel's 6xxx CPUs. I avoid brands like ECS and Biostar. ASRock, Asus, Gigabyte and MSI are what I consider to be good brands. The H110 chipset is limited to 2 RAM slots and one PCIe 16x slot, but is otherwise just as good as more expensive chipsets. B150 and H170 can have 4 RAM slots, and often have some extras, such as dual onboard LAN, more USB ports, that sort of thing. Z170 is like H170, except that it can overclock the i5 6600K and i7 6700K.

On a budget, this is the least expensive board I'd consider:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128873

For something with more RAM slots, this is a fine board:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128881

This one has a second PCIe slot, if that's of any use to you:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157706

SputnikTheMagnificent · Aug 25, 2016

Forgot to mention, I need it to be DDR3 due to my rams being DDR3. Found this from your links, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132696 .
Do you think this is good?

Ecky · Aug 25, 2016

You cannot use 1.5v DDR3 with Skylake CPUs. Only 1.35v or lower DDR3 is supported. Since I doubt you have low voltage DDR3, if you want to reuse your RAM, you'll need to buy an older CPU.

My recommendation would be to instead get an i5 4xxx and compatible motherboard - something with an H81, B85, H87, H97, Z87 or Z97 chipset. These support DDR3, and are still much faster than any existing AMD CPU. However, Intel's 4xxx CPUs came out in 2013 and have been replaced by 2 more generations of CPUs since then. They're not much slower, but DDR3 production is dropping, meaning future RAM upgrades will be more expensive, and supply motherboards that fit these CPUs is starting to dry up. If you went with an 1151 board and 6xxx CPU instead (which require DDR4) you'll have 2 more generations of CPUs, and close to 3 years more of motherboards in case you need a replacement. Boards also have new features such as USB 3.1 and M.2.

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Help with choosing of a Motherboard & CPU for GTX 970

SputnikTheMagnificent

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Ecky

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SputnikTheMagnificent

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Ecky

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SputnikTheMagnificent

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Ecky

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SputnikTheMagnificent

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SputnikTheMagnificent

Commendable

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