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Help deciding on a budget priced AMD motherboard

S

Slickone

Diamond Member
I'm looking for a mobo to build a system (for my parents), which will be doing no home theater/video playback, but will have some gaming (ie. FSX), and I plan to add a dedicated graphics card now or later anyway. I also wanted native eSATA.

I was looking at the GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H and Sempron 140 combo on Newegg and was wondering if there's a cheaper (or better for around the same price) alternative. Plus I have to pay tax with Newegg, so that's another $9.25.

If the GA-MA785GM-US2H is an AM3 board, why is DDR3 not supported? Isn't that the point of being AM3 compatible? Since DDR3 isn't supported, and I won't be doing and home theater stuff, is there a good reason to get it or an ASUS AM3 (like the ASUS M4A78 series) vs. one that's just AM2 (ASUS M3A78 series)?

Also, if not doing any HT/video stuff, is there any other reason to get a 785G, vs. a 780G and 770? Each each new gen of these chipsets also all around faster? And since I prefer a Geforce over a Radeon, how do those chipsets compare otherwise (including compatibility, stability, ease of setup) to a Geforce 8300 or 8200 chipset?

I guess right now maybe it's best to go with DDR2 support, since it's (if only DDR2-800) cheapest now, but with AM3 processor support for a future upgrade? The GA-MA785GM-US2H fits this.

But I've also looked at ASUS, since it seems a lot of people use them, and they also have some older AM2/AM3 boards with eSATA, so with being older, and widely used, can be found on ebay cheaper. Then if going that route, I could spend the money saved on an Athlon II X2 and not worry about a possibly flaky unlocked 2nd core. Newegg reviews for the ASUS mobo's aren't real good though. Some forum posts mention problems too. And their RMA process is a joke. Not sure about Gigabyte.

There's also the MSI 785GM-E65 AM3 board, but I haven't really looked into yet, and it's a little more expensive and takes DDR3 only(?). I don't want an ESC or Jetway.
 
FSX: Flight Simulator 10? Then no single core CPU please! Single core--can't think of any reason to get one anyway, price for dual core not that much more.

FS X takes some processing power, more CPU than GPU. IT will take advantage of a quad core.

Asus/Gigabyte: all good. chances are mobo from either maker will be fine.

NX
 
I'd go with the propus 620 and the cheapest board you can find, depending on whether you plan to use ddr2 or ddr3. I was planning on the 600e or 605e, but they're not here in the states yet, and will cost at least $160 when released. I use a biostar 6150 chipset board for am2+ and am3 cpus, and it works fine, except for overclocking, which I don't do. I got it with the sempron 1250LE for $59.99, and frys has an even better deal this week, for $5 less.
 
Hey Slickone, been thinking about that build for your parents--have you ordered stuff for it yet?

If not, do you get Maximum PC mag? Dec 09 issue, about low cost AMD quad core. (Just looked, it's not on line at their web site yet.)

Because of FS X, that may be perfect CPU for your rents.

NXIL
 
To answer your question with a question, what's your budget?

That's actually a pretty decent deal, and it'd be hard to find anything better for under $100. You can certainly find cheaper motherboards, but the next recent processor "up" would be the Athlon II X2 240 @ $60. So that only leaves $39 for a motherboard unless you can find a combo deal/rebate. There's not a lot of room for quality in the sub-$40 range.

I'd encourage you to keep the Gigabyte motherboard you listed and combo it instead with the Athlon II X2 240 for another mere $20, at the least. That's a solid motherboard, and the IGP is good enough that you might find you don't need a discrete card, depending on what games/resolutions/details you play.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?ItemList=Combo.273663

If you've got a larger budget than $100, of course there are other options to consider. The Athlon II X4 620 (Propus) that o1die mentioned is a great chip, but it's $99 sans mobo. Worth every penny if you can afford it.

If you are completely strapped for cash, there are even cheaper options though you're going to lose some functionality. For example, with this combo you'd get a functional CPU/mobo, and you could upgrade the CPU later on without losing too much sleep over the wasted $9.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?ItemList=Combo.278812
 
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