Motherboard for AMD with onboard graphics

[AMD286]

I would like to build a new computer and I am over my head with all of the different motherboards. I am thinking of using a AMD Athlon II X3 445 Rana 3.1GHz processor and using the onboard graphics as I am not really into first person shooters. Is the newer USB 3 standard worth trying to get?

I am interested in putting together a budget build. I do want a motherboard from a good manufacturer and HDMI would be a plus. Any suggestions of motherboards to look for at NewEgg?

Thanks

 

[hellwig]

When you say you don't play any FPS games, do you play any games at all? Games like Starfcraft II and Civilization V require some beefy GPUs, and these are just strategy games.

If you're not much of a gamer, then any of the AMD chipsets might work for you (780G, 785G, 790GX, 880G, 890GX). It really just depends on what other features you want.

USB 3.0 will not be widely adopted for months or years yet. The newer 880G and 890GX machines often have USB 3.0, but if you don't plan to use a discrete graphics card, any motherboard you buy will have an open PCIe x16 slot you could easily add a USB 3.0 card to in the future.

You could get a $150 motherboard with all kinds of features or a $70 motherboard with less features, its hard to tell what would be best for you without some additional information.

 

[AMD286]

When you say you don't play any FPS games, do you play any games at all? Games like Starfcraft II and Civilization V require some beefy GPUs, and these are just strategy games.

If you're not much of a gamer, then any of the AMD chipsets might work for you (780G, 785G, 790GX, 880G, 890GX). It really just depends on what other features you want.

USB 3.0 will not be widely adopted for months or years yet. The newer 880G and 890GX machines often have USB 3.0, but if you don't plan to use a discrete graphics card, any motherboard you buy will have an open PCIe x16 slot you could easily add a USB 3.0 card to in the future.

You could get a $150 motherboard with all kinds of features or a $70 motherboard with less features, its hard to tell what would be best for you without some additional information.

Thank you for the reply hellwig! At the present time I don't really play games much. The main thing that takes the most processing power is a RC flight sim that I play around with a little. It runs fine on my present computer (Pentium 4 2.6, GF 5900SE 128MB graphics card and only 500MB of ram). I also play a little cards with a very old version of Hoyle! I do have some old first person shooters...but they run fine on my present system, so they do not take up much processing power.

Thank you for pointing out I could add a USB 3.0 card....I had not thought of that. I do need to get a card for a parallel out so I can hook up my old HP laser printer. It works fine and probably will outlast the new ones.

Would you suggest a good brand or brands of cards. I don't want something sketchy just because it will save me $10!

Thanks again,
Ray

PS anyone else with some input would be appreciated.

 

[hellwig]

When you say brand of cards, do you mean USB 3.0 cards? If you just want to add USB 3.0 to your current system, its really hard to go wrong. Just look for good reviews and go with that. I've bought products from Rosewill, Syba, Startech (not USB 3.0, but things like Firewire/Ethernet/USB 2.0), and they seem to work fine.

If you meant parallel cards, they're probably made by the same companies: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...r=BESTMATCH&Description=parallel+port&x=0&y=0
So again, just find one with good reviews that fits the slot you have open (I'd recommend a regular PCI slot, save your PCIe for something better).

If you plan to get the new processor (and thus, need a new motherboard), I would go with an 880G or 890GX motherboard with USB 3.0 and SATA 6 included. Look at Asus, Gigabyte, Foxconn, or MSI, they are pretty reliable brands.

 

[AMD286]

hellwig

Sorry, I should have asked about brands of motherboards. Your answer did list your recommendations of motherboards....off to take a look.

Thanks again,
Ray

 

[alyoshka]

Well, I think here's the best choice for you....
http://www.dpbolvw.net/click-3463938-10521304?sid=&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newegg.com%2FProduct%2FProduct.aspx%3FItem%3DN82E16813131627
It's not expensive, has the best of all the features and is also a little peek into the future so you have it all in one.

 

[Ar-el-es]

I was just in a similar situation and after many days and hours of searching I came across this combo deal.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.472937

It was $398 a few days ago when I bought it but $411 isn't bad still. What I love about this deal is that I got a fast quad core, 4gb of DDR-3 RAM, and the motherboard is fiarly future proof and includes a rather beefy onboard video card. The Radeon 4290 is probably the best onboard video card out there but I haven't seen any benchmarks. What I really like about the motherboard is that it still had crossfire support but I'm planning on using the 2nd PCI-e slot for a physX card after I start with a good single video card. You may not need the case or power supply that comes with the combo but it's a rather solid case and you could always resell it.