system upgrade...which mobo?

[jpk]

Looking to update my machine. I will aquire parts as I'm able but I have already bought a new graphics card, an EVGA GTX260. Next I will probably get the ram since it is so cheap right now. However I will need a mobo and I'm looking in the C note range. I would prefer an AMD board. I do occational gaming so I would like a board that will last through a few updates down the road. Any suggestions accepted. Thanks.

 

[nerp]

Hmm. I hear a lot of good things about Biostar's 790Gxxx boards. I love my 780G board but I'm not OCing or anything. Are you planning on OCing?

In terms of AMD boards now, it's a tough call. You could go AM3 but that might add a couple dollars to the cost and you'd be stuck buying DDR3 ram. An AM2+ board with DDR2 and a Phenom II x4 or x3 runs great and there isn't much performance benefit to going with AM3 and DDR3 right now. BUT -- and it's a big but -- you're interested in something that will give you some legs down the road. So maybe you should consider an AM3 board and DDR3 since this will give you upgradibility options down the road. There will be a time when AMD is releasing newer processors for AM3 only.

 

[jpk]

Not planning on OC'ing. My current setup has lasted well for around 2 years now but it is needing an upgrade. I'm at the end of the upgrade path with this mobo/cpu/memory combo. I don't need the latest and greatest but I do want to have some flexibility later on. Perhaps AM3 is the way to go. I will check prices. Any mobo recomendations for AM3? Is that cpu even out yet?

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: jpk
Not planning on OC'ing. My current setup has lasted well for around 2 years now but it is needing an upgrade. I'm at the end of the upgrade path with this mobo/cpu/memory combo. I don't need the latest and greatest but I do want to have some flexibility later on. Perhaps AM3 is the way to go. I will check prices. Any mobo recomendations for AM3? Is that cpu even out yet?

Phenom II 720BE AM3 / Biostar 790gx AM2+ Sweet Spot: $207
Don't be surprised by the location of the primary PCIe x16 slot.

There are AM3 motherboards available at a minimum 25% price premium (plus the additional cost of your RAMs). If you have some DDR2 I'd stick with an AM2+ mobo with an AM3 cpu (which you may move to an AM3 mobo when prices come down a bit more).

If you have an AM2 cpu and simply want a motherboard take a look at the Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4P