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Need help choosing right CPU and Motherboard - Medium Budget (£200-300)

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  • Intel i7
  • MSI
  • Intel i5
  • Components
  • CPUs
  • Gigabyte
  • Motherboards
  • Asus
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Which Motherboard Chipset is best for gaming?

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June 15, 2014 7:38:55 AM

Hi,

I need help choosing the right CPU and motherboard that will deliver high performance, whilst not completely breaking my bank. I am looking for an Intel CPU, and a high performance ATX motherboard (Not bothered by brand). My PC spec is as follows:

8GB Crucial Ballistix Sport RAM,
1TB Western Digital Blue HDD
NVidia MSI 660 Twin Frozr OC 2GB
ATX Case
Standard CoolerMaster Fans
£10 x24 Disc Drive

I am into PC Gaming (Titanfall, Battlefield 4, CS:GO, GTA etc.).
I use Photoshop and occasionally use Premier Pro.
^^
I know those 2 factors are affected by CPU cores and frequency.

I have been looking at some Intel Core i5's and i7's, and Z87 / Z97 Chipset motherboards, with a socket 1150 / 1155.

All help is much appreciated, and I will try to give you all the information you need. Thanks!

More about : choosing cpu motherboard medium budget 200 300

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June 15, 2014 8:50:12 AM

At your budget I'd look at the Intel Core i5 (most recent) and a mid-tied Motherboard for whatever money you have left in your budget.
June 15, 2014 3:34:57 PM

Karsten75 said:
At your budget I'd look at the Intel Core i5 (most recent) and a mid-tied Motherboard for whatever money you have left in your budget.


Thanks for the help.

I found this CPU: http://m.novatech.co.uk/products/components/processors/...

And this motherboard:http://m.novatech.co.uk/products/components/motherboard...

Does the chipset matter? If I bought a motherboard with Socket1150, would the chipset type determine if the CPU and motherboard work with each other?

Should I get Z87 chipset, or Z97?
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June 15, 2014 6:11:13 PM

That's an extremely high-end (and expensive) motherboard. If it was my money I'd buy a lot cheaper mobo to be in line with the other components. There are two parts to the chipset numbers.

The Z-prefix allows for overclocking.
The H-prefix are for other high-function mobos.

The 97 number is Intel's most recent chipset with native USB3.0 and a few other bells and whistles.
The 87 number is the slightly older but still very capable predecessor where USB 3.0 suppport and additional SATA ports are supplied by 3rd party chips on the mobo.

Choose something that's about 1/2 the price of what you have now - I like ASRock and Asus are also very good. Make sure you get high-grade capacitors. and decide if you want a board with integrated Wifi.
June 16, 2014 5:47:28 AM

Karsten75 said:
The Z-prefix allows for overclocking.
The H-prefix are for other high-function mobos.

The 97 number is Intel's most recent chipset with native USB3.0 and a few other bells and whistles.
The 87 number is the slightly older but still very capable predecessor where USB 3.0 suppport and additional SATA ports are supplied by 3rd party chips on the mobo.

Choose something that's about 1/2 the price of what you have now - I like ASRock and Asus are also very good. Make sure you get high-grade capacitors. and decide if you want a board with integrated Wifi.


Ok, I now understand the chipset things. So, in terms of performance, the overclocking will be very handy. Onboard WiFi is not needed, I have wired my house up with Cat5e cable. Here is what I have found:

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/motherboa...

I presume the CPU I stated above will work with Z97 mobo?

(is: '4th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 4670K 3.40GHz Socket LGA1150' compatible with: GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-SLI Intel Z97)

Thanks very much for your help!
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June 16, 2014 6:43:20 AM

Ryan OLeary said:


Ok, I now understand the chipset things. So, in terms of performance, the overclocking will be very handy. Onboard WiFi is not needed, I have wired my house up with Cat5e cable. Here is what I have found:

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/motherboa...

I presume the CPU I stated above will work with Z97 mobo?

(is: '4th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 4670K 3.40GHz Socket LGA1150' compatible with: GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-SLI Intel Z97)

Thanks very much for your help!


Looks like a nice board, although not the one I would choose (every person has his own preferences in terms of some vendors and I've not use a Gigabyte board in several years - ASRock is my favorite). You may want to see if there are reviews out that talk about the ease-of-use of their UEFI interface, etc. I'ver also not looked through the detailed specifications list - that's your job to make sure the board will work for you. :) 

I did check the Gigabyte site ( http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=...) and it claims compatibility.

I also checked Intel's site (http://processormatch.intel.com/MotherBoards/Compatible...) and fount the board listed as compatible.

You should be good to go.

June 16, 2014 2:13:43 PM

Karsten75 said:
Ryan OLeary said:


Ok, I now understand the chipset things. So, in terms of performance, the overclocking will be very handy. Onboard WiFi is not needed, I have wired my house up with Cat5e cable. Here is what I have found:

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/motherboa...

I presume the CPU I stated above will work with Z97 mobo?

(is: '4th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 4670K 3.40GHz Socket LGA1150' compatible with: GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-SLI Intel Z97)

Thanks very much for your help!


Looks like a nice board, although not the one I would choose (every person has his own preferences in terms of some vendors and I've not use a Gigabyte board in several years - ASRock is my favorite). You may want to see if there are reviews out that talk about the ease-of-use of their UEFI interface, etc. I'ver also not looked through the detailed specifications list - that's your job to make sure the board will work for you. :) 

I did check the Gigabyte site ( http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=...) and it claims compatibility.

I also checked Intel's site (http://processormatch.intel.com/MotherBoards/Compatible...) and fount the board listed as compatible.

You should be good to go.



Thanks! Been a real help!! I will look into the UEFI of the mobos, and check compatibility things. Once again, thank you! I do actually pike Asrocks new line up by the way :-)
!